A Discussion on the Hero Narrative in Modern Chinese Literature

Author: Zhu Defa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: An aesthetic text of the main body construction of modern Chinese literature, the heroic narrative is splendid and diverse, holding a prominent and dominant position. The ideological and cultural atmosphere and artistic vitality it forms deeply influence the aesthetic value orientation of a broad readership. Through the reading, appreciation, commentary, and discussion of generations of scholars, it constitutes a reception history full of diverse perspectives and conflicting opinions, also shaping the unbreakable psychological complex of admiring heroes in the Chinese people. However, in recent years, due to various reasons, the study of heroic narrative in modern literature in academia has lagged behind the public's admiration for heroes and the era's call for heroes. Particularly, the heroic narrative in revolutionary war novels is often replaced by the discourse of "everyday life narrative." In the view of some scholars, the era of "heroic narrative" has become history, and what is needed now is to break free from the so-called grand revolutionary narrative, dissolve the hero complex, and redirect the readers' attention and aesthetic interests toward literary works focused on everyday life narrative. It is not to say that the study of everyday life narrative in modern Chinese literature should not be concerned (even everyday life narrative cannot completely extinguish heroic passion), but rather that it should be placed in an appropriate position on the research platform. The research subject consciousness should not have a psychological tendency to reject heroic narrative in the literary world.