The Traditional Culture Complex In Zhang Wei' Novels

Zhang Wei is an influential writer in contemporary literary arena. This thesis has analyzed the text of Zhang Wei's novels from different levels and from the angle of culture. It concludes that his novels are permeated with strong traditional cultural connotations. Zhang Wei takes traditional culture as the origin of his novels and tries to offer a way to spiritual destination with classical implications for modern human beings. However this expectation can't be fulfilled because of the great distinction between the way he offers and the living style of people in the modern society.The traditional culture complex in Zhang Wei's novels lie in the following 4 aspect: First , the theory that man is an integral part of nature, which has profoundly influenced Chinese people. The reverence toward nature, the harmonious cultural spirit and the modern ecological consciousness underling in Zhang Wei's, novels are originated from the inspirations and his understanding of the theory, which have combined his attachment for agricultural civilization, his approval of the psychology of the literati and officialdom in feudal China and his pursuit for the traditional ideal personality. Sscond, the development of social history and civilization is unbalanced and Zhang Wei adheres to agricultural civilization in theunbalanced development, which lies in his persistence to the land, the family mentality he has inherited and his beautifying moralization of affection. Third, as a modern intellectual who feels attachment for the nature and land, Zhang Wei pays attention to the politics all the time, on the other hand, his mind is suffering from this all the same time which forces him to surpass the contradictory state of mind to save himself. This happens coincide with the psychology of the literati and officialdom. Finally, Zhang Wei's extraordinary infatuation with the traditional civilization has unconsciously stamped the personality he upholds with the brand of traditional ideal personality. The characters he portrayed not only embody the dominant ideal personality of Confucianism, but also implicate the recessive ideal personality of Taoism.Zhang Wei and the cultural form his novels belong to are more than a simple repetition and explanation of traditional culture. Through this they aim to guide and give an example for others, which is of great importance for people in modern society who are struggling for excessive material desires t^nd money. However this "put new wine into old bottles" method has been less than satisfactory because modern society are greatly different from the ancient. Zhang Wei's undue vigilance and protest against industrial civilization has inevitably show a " conservative" tendency. Generally speaking, what Zhang Wei has played is only an exquisite and moving pastoral, but not an inspiring epochal theme song because it falls far behind the step of the times.