As reality changes and develops, realism also changes and develops. Realism in the 20th century (after World War II), especially European and American realism, while inheriting the democratic and humanitarian traditions of previous realism as well as some basic creative principles, formed some new characteristics and tendencies. In terms of content, it explores the global situation of human beings and the meaning of their existence, looks for ways of human and human survival and development, and reveals human alienation and loneliness in capitalist society as well as various efforts to overcome them. In the writings of some excellent realist writers, "people can be killed, but they cannot be defeated"; "I am a human, so I am looking". From a formal perspective, it developed the narrative form of 19th-century realism, describing characters, locations, and environmental atmosphere in many aspects, and widely used expression methods that were generally not or rarely used in the past, such as stream of consciousness and absurdity. , direct or indirect inner monologue, time and space reversal, legends, myths, etc., and also absorbs artistic experiences from music, painting and film, such as montage, etc. Especially in Thomas Mann's "Joseph and His Brothers" and Anna Seghers's "Encounter on the Road", Aitmatov's "A Day Is Longer than a Hundred Years" and Bulgakov's "The Master and Martyr". In works such as "Grete", García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Asturias's "The Corn People", not only virtuality and absurdity are used, but also myths that are most intolerable to realist parochialists. and legend, which is a major breakthrough in realist poetry in the 20th century. Precisely because they blend historical time and mythical time, direct truth and indirect truth, legend and reality, and interweave the past and present, the macrocosm and the microcosm, thereby adding new levels, new capacity and new information to the work, and Endow the work with a strong philosophical nature. In their creations, these writers strive to integrate human experience to explore and answer the urgent issue of the era of the relationship between man and historical existence. For them, philosophy not only becomes the content of the work, but also determines the form of the work. As a result, a number of philosophical novels, philosophical dramas and philosophical poems emerged in 20th century literature.

In the 20th century, realist literature has become increasingly diverse and rich in forms and techniques, including its reference to the artistic experience of many schools of non-realism. This does not mean that realism is becoming non-realistic or alienating. On the contrary, this is the inherent need for the development of realism itself, and it is also the advancement of realism with the times. Literary history shows that, no matter in the past or present, different literary schools have always moved forward in challenging and influencing each other. This is a broad path for the development of human art, and it is also a universal law. Since its birth, realist literature has absorbed the artistic experience of classical literature and romantic literature. For example, the comedies, satires, and fables about daily life in classical creations profoundly influenced realism in the 19th century. Creation, and the realist novels of Dickens and Dostoevsky have used romantic creative themes and techniques. As for the creations of Mérimée and Pushkin, it is impossible to make a clean break with romanticism, because they were transformed from early romantics to realists.

In the final analysis, the innovation of realist forms and techniques in the 20th century is the result of life and the call of the times. Lenin once profoundly pointed out: "With the discoveries of each era, even in the field of natural science (not to mention the history of mankind), materialism is bound to change its form." Brecht also has a wise saying: "About literature "Form, we must ask about reality, not aesthetics, nor realist aesthetics." It can be seen that realism, as a creative method or poetic system, has always been dynamic, developing, and open, rather than static. , unchanged, closed. However, for a long period of time, this understanding was not recognized by some realist literary theorists and critics, who still followed traditional realist standards when treating 20th century realist literature. For example, some textbooks and writings in the Soviet Union and my country once believed that realism only "reflects life in the form of life itself", or "describes life accurately and delicately according to its original style"; or expresses "typical characters in typical environments" ”, or as Lukacs believed in the 1930s, he regarded the creations of Balzac and Leo Tolstoy as the only paradigm of realism.

These views are obviously partial and comprehensive, and cannot reflect the full richness of realist creation in the 20th century. They will only cut corners and limit the aesthetic development of realist art, making it impoverished.

In response to these one-sided views, some knowledgeable people in the literary world have put forward their own new insights in the right direction. In the 1930s, Brecht clearly put forward the proposition of "the vastness and diversity of realism" in his famous debate with Lukacs on realism, believing that it could be faithful to reality in details and also You can use metaphors, symbols, and storytelling; it can be funny or exaggerated. In the early 1960s, at and shortly after the far-reaching international symposium on Kafka held in Prague, Aragon and Garrodi proposed the new perspectives of "open realism" and "boundless realism" respectively. In the early 1970s, Soviet scholars Suchkov and Markov also proposed the new propositions of "open categories" and "open systems" of socialist realism respectively, advocating the understanding of life, the choice of subject matter, the expression of form, and the personality of the writer. The display is unrestricted and open.

These are several important milestones in the theoretical exploration of realism in the 20th century.

In fact, realist literary creation in the 20th century is not as uniform as people imagine. It is also a multi-type and multi-school literature. From the perspective of Latin American realist literature, there are at least magical realism represented by García Márquez, Asturias, and Carpentier, and structural realism represented by Vargas Llosa. , psychological realism represented by Ernesto Salvador, etc. From the perspective of global realist literature, it can be roughly divided into: 1. The objective historical school (reflecting life in the form of life itself), such as Italian neorealism after World War II that showed the daily life of ordinary people; the catastrophe of war and the fate of the people; The realism of contemplative Central and Southern Slavic countries (the works of Minac, Ivashkevich, Andrich, etc.), as well as the British anti-war satire, etc. 2. Metaphorical fiction, such as Brecht’s drama, Eluard’s poetry, etc. 3. Psychological descriptive school, such as Hermann Hesse's novel "Steppenwolf", Stefan Zweig's novella "Letter from a Strange Woman" and "Twenty-Four Hours in a Woman's Life" ", Andreev's novella "Red Smile" and Bergolitz's novella "Daytime Stars", etc. Fourth, the allegorical mythology school, such as Aitmatov's novella "White Ship" and "Dog Flower Cliff", Thomas Mann's novels "Jacob's Story" and "Young Joseph", etc.

This division of the internal schools of realist literature in the 20th century is relative, not absolute. Not only that, as far as the division of major genres in literature in the entire 20th century is concerned, it is also relative rather than absolute. Many writers in the 20th century could not unconditionally incorporate a certain "ism". There are many complex situations here, which must not be treated simply: First, some writers have experienced multiple "isms" in their creative paths. For example, Ibsen was a romantic or symbolist first, and then a realist; Gorky was a romantic first ists and critical realists, and then the new type of realists (or socialist realists). Second, some works by certain writers such as Passos, Hemingway and Faulkner are still difficult to classify into the categories of realism or modernism. They may be called hybrid or intermediate works, which deserve further discussion. . Third, the division of "isms" or schools is closely related to the views of the divider and the recipient. There is a matter of different opinions and wisdom. For example, Andreev once said jokingly: To the noble-born decadents, he is a despicable realist; to the traditional realists, he is an extremely doubtful symbolist. Another example is that Sartre is recognized as an existentialist writer in people's eyes, but he calls himself a realist.