A Study Of The Saga Novels Of Modern China

The mood of family is very solid in China. It determines the Chinese living in all aspects. In the 20^th century, family system was collapsed, but the feelings is always strong. Saga novels of modern China inherit the literary traditions of Ming and Qing Dynasties. They narrate the decadent process of families, record the history of the China, depict the Chinese daily living, and reflect the changes of the Chinese spirit. The changes of saga novels reflect the authors' different imagination about individual, family and nation in every period. These novels express the Chinese pursuit of modernization in the 20^th century, and refract the change of the culture context and authors' feelings.Saga novels have similar aesthetic characteristics in some ways, for example, morality, blood relationship, rich and varied culture intension, dense historical atmosphere, grand structure, varied images and complicated characters. The vanguard novelists explore some possibilities from the angle of narration. These trials develop the realm of the aesthetic manifestation. The modern intellectuals' dilemma mood breed contradictory narrative of family. In the aspect of narrative view and function, saga novels undergo a revolution from omniscient point to limited point and from political imagination to cultural fabrication in the 20^th century. Meanwhile, the dispute of discourse, the rhetoric of pastiche and the artistic skill of tragedy or comedy both reveal the novelists' sense and law of value.The main content of saga novels is the exhibition of peoples' existence style in family. The decadence of family is a chief kind subject of narrative. The gratitude or resentment and romances of family are the important content of the novels, too. In addition, the changing situation of modern intellectuals' mind, the countryside and peasants' destiny, the female's living during a century are also ordinary subjects of these novels. And the novels depict a series of imagines. They are vivid and varied.Saga novels of modern China achieve a great of success, but they have some shortcomings by comparing with the foreign literatures, for example, narrative political utilized , living trivialized, televised, commercialized. The plot and intention of novels are resemble. The narrative is short of originality. Saga novels must discard old ideas and bring forth new ones, and then create a unique art world.