The romantic and the realist: the 'China' writing of Robin Hyde and Rewi Alley during the Sino-Japanese war

Abstract

Robin Hyde and Rewi Alley were two very distinct New Zealanders, who each through different sets of circumstances, found themselves situated in China at a time of war. The second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-45, like the Spanish Civil War, was significant in the development of a New Zealand understanding of international politics, as well as the growth of an international consciousness in New Zealand literature during the 1930s. The experiences Alley and Hyde had in China were very different, reflecting their differing political and personal perspectives on the conflict, and of themselves as strangers and New Zealanders in a foreign land. Whilst Hyde and Alley went to and resided in China for very different reasons, their personalities were likewise, quite distinct. While the focus of this thesis is on their differences (or similarities) as writers, it is also interesting to note their (sometimes amusing) personal differences.