The Tradition of Telling and the Desire of Showing in Ge Fei’s ‘Fictional Minds’
abstract
This paper aims at conducting a preliminary analysis of some results derived from Ge Fei’s narrative research, through a close-reading of some narrative patterns in his recent trilogy, Renmian taohua (Peach Blossom-beauty, 2004), Shanhe ru meng (Mountains and Rivers Fall Asleep, 2007) and Chunjin jiangnan (End of Spring in Jiangnan, 2011). On the one hand Ge Fei tends to assimilate and re-invent the traditional patterns of Chinese novel, however, on the other hand, he doesn’t ignore, and, on the contrary, tries to adopt also some narrative devices from Western fiction theory and practice. The aim of this research is to detect the evolution of his technique in defining the main characters of the three novels as full-rounded ‘fictional minds’, and to explore Ge Fe’s strategy to link Chinese traditional fictionality with his analysis of the modern Chinese individual consciousness.
Keywords: Peach Blossom-beauty • Chunjin jiangnan • Mountains and Rivers Fall Asleep • Shanhe ru meng • Renmian taohua • End of Spring in Jiangnan
permalink: http://doi.org/10.14277/6969-095-2/SV-3-10