Exile And Searching

If the novels of the authors called ' The Generation without Root' were studied at the angle of tracing to the source of ideal hometown, we could find that their marginal spirit was not thorough because they were eager for center though they were on the edge. Among 'The Generation without Root' from 1950s to 1970s, four authors respectively represented the different patterns of three stages. These authors were Yu Lihua, Bai Xianyong, Chen Ruoxi and Nie Hualing. They mostly became 'The Group of Regress' in the middle or late of 1970s.It was difficult for them to be introjected when they were abroad. But after they came back to the main land, their places were still not changed. So it was necessary for us to reflect on the essence of tracing to the source of ideal hometown.When 'The Generation without Root' wrote abroad, their marginal character was reflected in three respects: the marginal character of language environment, writing action and the relationship with mother tongue. This article used 'exiled marginal words' to define their works of tracing to the source of ideal hometown in order that we could exactly know the marginal character of these words. Besides, there were three characters of these words. First, they agreed with the central words in a certain degree though they stood off them. Sticking to the marginal character was an expedient survival strategy, not the final goal. Secondly, the character of self-exile was once the most important element of the marginal words, but nationalism made it fade away. Finally, the marginal image, which was difficult to be introjected, was not only reflected in the cultural conflict, but also reflected in the conflict among different ideologies in the same cultural system.In the expressive fashion and the realm of thought, there were huge difference between Chinese exiled marginal words and western exiled words. This article started with the cultural genetic code concealed in the game of blindman's buff, and explored the cultural reasons for some Chinese author's love knot of tracing to the source of ideal hometown. It was concluded that, the marginal spirit of'The Generation without Root' was not thorough mainly because they responded blindly to collectivism (nationalism).