In The Postmodern Horizon

Since the beginning of 1990's, the New-generation Writers have been holding an important place in Chinese literature. They offered many fresh propositions and some significant texts. At the same time, because Chinese culture became very multiple in 1990's, the New-generation Writing also became complicated. Before studying the 20th century Chinese literature history, we must study the New-generation Writers in advance. Post-modernity is one of the New-generation Writers' characteristics and an effective key to study them. This dissertation makes a full-scale research to the New-generation Writers and tries to discover some general characters to bring along the study of New-generation Writers to a higher grade.There are four chapters in this dissertation.Chapter â…  is an introduction to the New-generation Writers in contemporary cultural atmosphere. The dissertation gives a definition to the New-generation Writers. Based on the definition, the dissertation sees about the writing of the New-generation Writers and reviews the study achievements. Then the dissertation traced the postmodern theories' birth and development in west countries and how the postmodern theories were introduced into China and spread abroad in China.The first section of Chapter â…  reviews the conception of the New-generation Writers. First, as its derivation, new-generation is related to the Cenozoic Era and then was used in sociology field first in Japan to describe a newly-born generation at that time which was described by words such as consummatory. After that, the word of new-generation was spread to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore used to relate the generation born in late 1960's and growing up in 1990's. in 1990's, the word of new-generation was introduced into the mainland of China. The concept was used in film study and then in the field of literature review in 1990's China. The Third Generation Poets was also called the New-generation Poets and most of them became the most important authors of the New-generation novel writers. The New-generation Writers are also called the Newly-born Writers, but we choose the former one. Second, generation possesses rich social and cultural significance. It means an aggregation by the same aged people which have the same cultural experiences in a particular culture background and a particular society. But it is not only a thing of the age. It has something to do with many aspects of the society. To distinguish the generations of Chinese people in 20th century, there are many rules and methods. From the view ofgeneration, we can understand more thoroughly the cultural status and the common characteristics of the New-generation Writers. The conception of generation was used in literature study because it is very important in 1990's Chinese literature. Third, as an aggregation, the New-generation Writers have similar life experiences and write similar novels. In the mean time, they have clear collective consciousness and strong feeling of attachment to the generation group.The second section of Chapter I analyzes the writing of the New-generation Writers and the study about them. We deem that as a group the birth of the New-generation Writing should be set in 1994. Their writing has been about ten years. In the former five years, they concentrated in novelettes and short stories and in novels in the latter five years. The studies of the New-generation Writers consists of three phases, the discussions of single New-generation writer, the total investigations of the New-generation Writers and the critical comments towards the New-generation Writers. There are many successful perfective results and problems to be resolved in all these three phases.The third section of Chapter I looks back on the birth and development of postmodern theories in west countries. After the World War II, postmodern theories came into being as transcendental and revolting theories to modernism. From then on, theses theories have become very important in the field of society and culture in west. In 1980's, they were introduced into China in the form of theoretical books with many controversies. They are integrated with Chinese culture to form Chinese discourses in postmodernism. And these discourses effected the 1990's Chinese literature especially the New-generation Writers. In terms of that, we can analyze the New-generation Writers from the perspective of post-modernity.Chapter II investigates the neo-historicism writing of the New-generation Writers. There are three kinds of history literature in 20th China that includes history story, new-history story and neo-historical story. The neo-historical novels reach a higher grade in the New-generation Writers' texts. There are two kinds of neo-historical novels in the New-generation Writers' texts, fictional history and historical fiction. Many writers tries to produce more novels by those two means. The dissertation also analyzes the gameness in the New-generation Writers' novels. These writers change novels into game by three means: overthrowing the convention, deconstructing the significances and reconstructing the rules. They produce many collages, ridiculous imitations and ironies in their novels. Gameness shows the postmodern nature of the New-generation Writers' novels. At the same time, gameness should be restricted in aconfine and limitless game will harm literature in reverse. So the New-generation Writers should deal the relation between novel and game carefully.Chapter HI is about the growing-up memories in the New-generation Writers' novels. They pay much attention to their growing-up experiences and represent them in their novels. On the one hand, they represent their mental hurt in their novels. The mental-hurting memories in the New-generation Writers' novels are analyzed through investigating some novels. On the other hand, while representing the growing-up stories in contemporary society, the New-generation Writers often concentrate on the characters that have no spirit roots and keep floating in different values. The relationship between these characters and the society is analyzed via some examples. Rootless floating in values is another aspect of the post-modernity oft the New-generation Writers.Chapter IV sums up all the postmodern characteristics of the New-generation Writers' novels. They are discussed in three main aspects: merry-making, complanation and fashionableness. According to Mikhail Bakhtin's carnival theory, the dissertation analyzes the merry-making in language and imagination. For complanation, the New-generation Writers spatialize the time and dispel some former mode of meaning making their texts compianate. And they use by-standing narrators and won't intrude their views upon the scenes and the stories. For fashionableness, all the spots, behaviors, costumes and scenes are stylish. These writers most represent the life scenery in the urban. TV plays and films also affect the narration. And some writers transform their texts into anecdotes or snacks.The epilogue analyzes "the Detaching Behavior" launched by the New-generation Writers in 1998. they hope to fight against the convention in 20th century's China and the contemporary literature order as for finding a place for themselves. But after that they must try to discover a kind of real individual literature composition.