Research On Aesthetic New Changes Of The Spy Images In The Novels Since1990s

The spy refers to the people who are appointed by the organization or leadershipto work in secret field. They are engaged in intelligence work or arrests,assassinations, and sabotage actions in order to maintain their national, class orpolitical groups’ interests. Since the spy images enter the Chinese Modern andContemporary Literature, they gradually formed a literary image of pedigree and havetheir own experience. However, the research on the spy images from the point of viewof literature aesthetics and historical evolution is lacking. Since the1990s, affected bypolitical factors, changes in the literary aesthetic and readers’ needs, thecharacterization of spy images in the novels has been showing a shift from unitary,stereotyped, externalized to diversified, individualized and internalized.Basing on the spy theme novels especially representative writers and theirworks since1990s, and Combined with similar works of “Seventeen Years’Literature”,“Cultural Revolution Literature” and the New Period Literature, thisthesis analyzes and demonstrates the new aesthetic changes of the novel spy images,trying to pursuit some innovations. This paper is divided into three chapters:Chapter one analysis the characterization of spy images’ transition from unitaryto diversified which manifested in the spy images’ duality, the nation’s diversification,and their enriched businesses. Since1990s, a large number of positive and negativespies, alien spies and decoding intelligence spies have been emerging.Chapter two discusses the characterization of spy images’ transition fromstereotyped to individualized which manifested in the rising of alternative heroes,human nature and masculine beauty. After1990, the impact of the market economicsystem makes the literature tend to be market-oriented, and coupled with the praisingof the theme of humanity in1980s, writers gradually awake to the crisis and defects ofthe stereotyped characterization, and they are concerned about the complexity andmultifaceted nature of the fictional figures. So the spy images are able to achieve theaesthetic transition from stereotyped to individualized.Chapter three elaborates the characterization of spy images’ transition fromexternalized to internalized which manifested in the psychological conflicts andbalance, personality’s split and confrontation. Previous spy images mostly rely on theaction, language and plot contradictions to show character, and they usually lack of a process of struggling and transforming in ideology, psychology, and even actions.Since1990s, the writers deliberately portrayed the characters’ inherent psychologicalconflict and balance, as well as personality’s split and confrontation, to makes thecharacters tend to be full, complex and vivid.