The Literary Images in the Age of “Integration”/“gap”

Title：The Literary Images in the Age of “Integration”/“gap”：Focusing on the Fictions of the Seven Writers (“一体化”/“差距”时代的文学想象:以七位作家的小说为中心)

Author:

ZHANG Zhulin (张柱林)

PhD  2008 Dissertation   

Abstract:  

From 19centuries, along with modern technical more and more flourishing, the global integration is pushed by western capitalism and imperialism have been speeding up, and the gap of each global part is more and more big in the meantime. China deeply draws in the progress of the global integration, experiences the process from traditional "empire"("world") to modern "nation-state" painfully. After 1949, the Chinese Communist Party unified the Mainland, at every realm, from ideology and political economic system, to society public life and daily life, the state power propels internal "integration", in order to quickly coagulate whole country of strength, and accelerate modernization. At Mao’s ages, because of the special circumstances of Cold War, what China adopted the policy of "the anti-Western westernization" or "the modernity of anti- modernity". In 1970's end, China practice "the reform and opening-up" policy, especially in 1980's end the beginning of 1990's,after a series international changes, the road of Chinese modernization obviously turned classic western modernity, the integrational process speeds up .At the same time, the gap of city and countryside have been enlarging day by day, so that China becomes one of the biggest places of gap between rich and poor, some scholars name this kind of each parts of development pole the appearance of the unbalance as "split society". The literature progress in China since the end of 1970's, at so-called head to world and future, also represent the imagination of process to this integration. This thesis particularly wants to pay attention to of, some sensitive writers output among them shocked in this process experience and its token, inquiry into them how to comb their own experience with the novelistic form, how comprehend with express their own experience, try a description to present among them of to the insight into of world, comprehension and imagination of outline, comb their thread of thoughts, analyze their esthetic interests, particularly the ideology factors behind narrative forms.

This thesis think that because of various reason at the integration process these writers contact the very different environment, they shocked, so  the process that they attempt to overcome this kind of mental shocked is also the process that they try hard to explore the methods to overcome these inextricable social conflicts in the imagination. In some writers’ eyes, the gap can overcome with the integration, for example, the disparity between city and countryside can narrow with the industrialization and urbanization. But in another writers’ eyes, the gap really existed is attributable to the integration, more the integration and the gap is more big. Some writers described the integration/the spilt society in another way, some argue each different condition before integration is more charming and interesting life, some look for different space in the integrative process, resist to the solidify of the integration. The realistic condition of contemporary China is profuse and confusing complicated and change violent, at the right moment provided huge space for literature development, although because of various reason, up to now it haven't appear that the great work concerning China of "modern" experience, some contemporary Chinese writers including seven writers that we discuss, still keep making huge effort, made the most sharp response to the reality. In this kind of response, the writers displayed the thought function of literature through the literary forms. Pass to expose the suppression of reality, pass to image the new living space, the narration of the writers displayed the side of literature poetry, provide the different imagination of Chinese "modern" from mainstream narrations, keep and provided the possibility of another choice for our life. The thesis mainly sets out from the problem, in the analytical process adopt the research methods that the content analysis combines with form analysis, strive to avoid sinking into "the topic decide to talk about" or the formalism of analysis simply, try to emphasize that the literature creations is a kind of independence narrative practice, and try to avoid sinking into treat the literature creations as a “autonomy” esthetic realm outside of society meantime.

Contents:

Introduction: the coming of the era of "integration"/" gap"

Chapter 1: The dilemma of the represent

Chapter 2: The nostalgia of the era of integration

Chapter 3: Pursuit of difference space

Conclusion: shock experience, spatial imagination and identification