Introduction

This research examines the portrayal of Hakim Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi and his poems in publications affiliated with the Tudeh Party. Despite its importance, there is little research on the subject of literature in the Tudeh Party of Iran. The few existing studies either focus on works after the 1953 coup and do not pay attention to the early years of the party’s formation and its first period of legal activity (such as the article “The Influence of the Tudeh Party on Iranian Fiction Literature (1953-1979)” (Javadi Yeganeh et al., 2012: 20-1)) or, apart from a few famous publications, do not refer to the party's publications, which were the most important tribune for the Tudeh Party of Iran (such as “Research on the Intellectual Foundations of the Tudeh Party’s Literary Theory (1931-1951)” (Farashahi-Nejad, 2019: 85-109)).

Literature Review

Research on the literary content of the Tudeh Party’s publications has also not examined the presence of classical Persian literary figures in the Tudeh Party’s publications (such as “Red Literature, List of Literary Content of Publications Affiliated with the Tudeh Party of Iran, October 1941 to August 1953” (Mohammadi and Haji Aghababaei, 2024); “Marxist Critique of the Stories of the ‘Bidari-ye Ma’ Journal (Organ of the Women’s Organization of the Tudeh Party of Iran, 1944-1948)” (Mohammadi and Haji Azizi, 2021); “Methods of Influence of the Tudeh Party on Contemporary Iranian Literature” (Mohammadi and Haji Aghababaei, 2023)).

Methodology

This article aims to examine Ferdowsi and his valuable work Shahnameh from the perspective of the Tudeh Party’s publications through a descriptive-analytical method by reviewing the publications Nameh-ye Rahbar, Nameh-ye Mardom, Sogand, Payam-e No, Bidari-ye Ma, and Maslahat.

Analysis

Since “literature” in the Tudeh Party’s publications has always been important and considered for attracting various segments of society, promoting party ideas and goals, and ultimately softening the dry atmosphere of political news and ideological articles, the leaders of the Tudeh Party, following the instructions of the Soviet Communist Party, sought to spread the features approved by the Communist Party among contemporary Iranian literary works. Given the strong propaganda tools and newspapers and publications at their disposal, they were largely successful at times and managed to align many poets and writers with them. They used various methods to exploit the potential of leading Iranian writers and poets in alignment with themselves and to express and implement their cultural and literary views. On the other hand, not all poets and writers who were of interest to the Tudeh Party and whose works were published in their publications were contemporary writers; sometimes works of classical literary figures were also published and it seems that only those aspects of these figures’ works that aligned with the thoughts of the publication’s writers and the party’s ideological line were considered. It can be said that the Tudeh Party’s publications’ interpretation of publishing such works was in line with their combat goals and to highlight the themes of anti-oppression in support of social movements. One of the classical literary figures of Iran who was of interest in the party's publications was Hakim Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi. By examining the party's publications during the years 1941-1953, it becomes clear that Ferdowsi's image in these publications was presented in three different ways with three different goals: 1- In some articles, his name and works were interpreted differently (not necessarily incorrectly), in line with party ideas; for example, in the Bidari-ye Ma journal (the women's organ of the party), which, in addition to following all the party's publication instructions, emphasizes the role of women and presents all its ideas with a focus on women, a series of articles summarized the lives of female characters in the Shahnameh: “Rudabeh”, “Gordafarid”, “The Sacrifice of Shahnameh's Mothers”, and “Manijeh” were published, and the type of view on the story and its narrative in these articles was completely in line with the policies of this publication. Or in a long article in the Monthly Mardom journal, descriptions of the Shahnameh stories were presented in line with party ideas, and the writers used them to incite the audience against oppression. 2- In some other publications, Ferdowsi's position among the people of the Soviet Union was addressed, and Ferdowsi's high position in world literature was reflected as an example of solidarity between Iranians and the people of the Soviet Union; for example, the Payam-e No journal, by publishing articles by non-Persian speakers about Ferdowsi, tried to convey this point. 3- Finally, some articles scientifically examined Ferdowsi's works, and the writers of the publications tried to attract serious and educated audiences to their publications by publishing scientific and specialized articles about Ferdowsi; for example, in the Payam-e No journal, a detailed article addressed the incorrect and undocumented legends about Ferdowsi's life that were common among people.

Conclusion

This article aims to examine Ferdowsi and his valuable work Shahnameh from the perspective of the Tudeh Party’s publications through a descriptive-analytical method by reviewing the publications Nameh-ye Rahbar, Nameh-ye Mardom, Sogand, Payam-e No, Bidari-ye Ma, and Maslahat. Since in the Tudeh Party’s publications, literature has always been important and considered for attracting various segments of society, promoting party ideas and goals, and ultimately softening the dry atmosphere of political news and ideological articles, the leaders of the Tudeh Party of Iran, following the instructions of the Soviet Communist Party, sought to spread the features approved by the Communist Party among contemporary Iranian literary works. Given the strong propaganda tools and newspapers and publications at their disposal, they were largely successful at times and managed to align many poets and writers with themselves. They used various methods to exploit the potential of leading Iranian writers and poets in alignment with themselves and to express and implement their cultural and literary views. On the other hand, not all poets and writers who were of interest to the Tudeh Party and whose works were published in their publications were contemporary writers; sometimes works of classical literary figures were also published, and it seems that only aspects of these figures’ works that aligned with the thoughts of the publication’s writers and the party’s ideological line were considered. It can be said that the Tudeh Party’s publications’ interpretation of publishing such works was in line with their combat goals and to highlight the themes of anti-oppression in support of social movements. One of the classical literary figures of Iran who was of interest in the party's publications was Hakim Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi. By examining the party's publications during the years 1941-1953, it becomes evident that Ferdowsi's image in these publications was presented in three different ways with three different goals: 1- In some articles, his name and works were interpreted differently (not necessarily incorrectly), in line with party ideas; for example, in the Bidari-ye Ma journal (the women's organ of the party), which, in addition to following all the party's publication instructions, emphasizes the role of women and presents all its ideas with a focus on women, a series of articles summarized the lives of female characters in the Shahnameh: “Rudabeh”, “Gordafarid”, “The Sacrifice of Shahnameh's Mothers”, and “Manijeh” were published, and the type of view on the story and its narrative in these articles was completely in line with the policies of this publication. Or in a long article in the Monthly Mardom journal, descriptions of the Shahnameh stories were presented in line with party ideas, and the writers used them to incite the audience against oppression. 2- In some other publications, Ferdowsi's position among the people of the Soviet Union was addressed, and Ferdowsi's high position in world literature was reflected as an example of solidarity between Iranians and the people of the Soviet Union; for example, the Payam-e No journal, by publishing articles by non-Persian speakers about Ferdowsi, tried to convey this point. 3- Finally, some articles scientifically examined Ferdowsi's works, and the writers of the publications tried to attract serious and educated audiences to their publications by publishing scientific and specialized articles about Ferdowsi; for example, in the Payam-e No journal, a detailed article addressed the incorrect and undocumented legends about Ferdowsi's life that are common among people.