"Leaving Home" In The Local Novels Of The1980s

Since ancient times, China is an agricultural country, but it was achieved in modern timesthat the farmers started to become the hero in literary works. From the beginning of the20thcentury, farmers were struggling to survive. The city is the Holy Land where many peopleaspire to live in for a better life. The city’s bustling and wealthy stimulate and tempt manyyoung people who are unwilling to live in rural areas like their fathers. After the founding ofNew China, due to the limitations of the household registration system, it was impossible for alot of ambitious young people to enter the city. After the loosening of the urban-rural dualsystem in the1980s, it provided some opportunities for these young people to change their fateby entering into the city, the army or the university, depending on their own ability andperseverance. However, they paid a heavy price in the process of "leaving home". The "leavinghome" in the1980s had its special meaning of the times.This dissertation investigated on the "leaving home" in the1980s from three aspects. Firstly,the process of leaving home: all roads lead to Rome. This part mainly discussed the historicalbackground reasons why young people were keen on leaving their homes to enter the city in the1980s. There were mainly three aspects: the system and identity differences, the temptation andexcitement of material, the ideological and cultural differences, as well as the pursuit ofself-value. Secondly, we researched the narrative mode of "leaving home". This part discussedtheir life after leaving home from two modes of "leaving home". Some people were subjectedto life change and moral decline. Some people were subjected to the double decline of life andmoral and become the "leaving home–no return" mode. The most distinctive of this mode wasthe successful "no return" in which self-value was achieved; some people realized the"homecoming" that the reconstruction of spiritual home ascribed to the spiritual salvation aswell as the self-torture of the mind. Thirdly, we discussed the sense of the "leaving home" in the1980s. During the transitional period, the rural people who had been subjected to the baptism ofmodern civilization could not look at the urban and rural areas with the vision of a pure farmer.This status and situation caused their different life trajectories: some of them had to withstandthe emotional and moral betrayal and wander; some people were subjected to the contradictionand confusion of choosing lifestyle; some others achieved their self-value in the1980s. At theend of this dissertation, we summarized the "leaving home" during the transitional period in the1980s, and could see the history of the struggle of self-value realization. Although the processis very difficult, it provides a reference for today’s farmers who intend to leave their homes."Leaving home" is a main topic on the survival of farmers. Regardless of people’s leaving their homes or returning homes, this is a choice of their life. It can be said that leaving homeand returning home would be exist simultaneously as long as the gap between urban and ruralareas presented. Nevertheless, the theme that should be emphasized at different times wasdifferent. The Local Novels during the transitional period in the1980s emphasized more on thehero’s pursuit of self-value and domination of self-fate at the times when thinking was justemancipated.