Two outstanding literary phenomena of the Chinese literature at the end of the 20th century

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2021-0001

Abstract

The emergence of some literary phenomena in Chinese literature at the end of the 20th century was the last hit to the collapse of the literature order that had been established since several centuries ago after the founding of new China (1949). This emergence is considered equivalent to the establishment of an innovative literary concept, bringing literary composition and delivery closer to the nature of the literature. Nowadays, upon discussing the Chinese literary phenomenon at the end of the 20th century, it is inevitable to connect it with the life-long career of an aging generation of writers. To unearth the contribution of this generation is somehow similar to an archeologist’s work and also comparable to the critical observation of a turning point in the literary history. Elements that those literary phenomena used to strive to overthrow in order to replace them with new concepts have been eradicated or outdated, which seems to be the “fate” of any “pioneering” movement. However, that fate is inevitable during the course of literary history. Therefore, it is deemed vital to conduct an objective research on the contributions of the outstanding literary phenomena at the end of the 20th century to the development of modern Chinese literature.