On Zhang Xin’s Urban Novels

Ever since1990s, the influence of present age city life experience has beenhighlighted day by day to the literature creation and a group of writers have emergedto devote themselves to the urban novel writing. They catch the metropolis vigor,describes urbanite’s present life situation, which impelled the prosperity of Chinametropolis novel in the90’s. Zhang Xin’s novel takes the city professional females asa breakthrough point, reflected their universal puzzle of human nature, thus becomingthe typical work of the urban novel. Her unique creation style is deeply popularizedby readers and appeals to both cultured and popular tastes with its romantic,traditional, lively and dignified features. Her novels have become the beautiful andunique scenery in the contemporary metropolis literature.The thesis takes intensive reading as main research technique and gives anoverall contemplation and objective explanation from following three aspects, namelymetropolis theme, female image, narrative form and creation style.The first chapter focuses on description on metropolis prospects. Zhang Xin’surban novel takes Guangzhou (central of Lingnan culture) as the written object andreflects its regional culture characteristic of Lingnan culture by depicting metropolislandscape from architecture, dialect, diet to civilian life. Zhang Xin takes“commercial affair and love” as the main angle of view, pays great attention todescribe how intellectuals struggle for survival and go through emotion change underbrutal business circumstance during social reforming period. By taking the metropolisdesire as the essence, while clearly reveals urbanite’s desire for material welfare andpassion, also hope to find a balance for romantic with reality, material and spiritualand seek out a poetic homeland for urbanite’s souls.Second chapter focuses on city beauty image description. Zhang Xin’s works areclosely centers on metropolis and metropolis females. It can be called that ZhangXin’s “metropolis complex” takes “the feminine complex” as the essence. Sheportrays two groups of binary opposition feminine images (watcher and profit seeker)with her exquisite depiction on emerging professional urban feminine community.The emotion performance has been taken as a window to understand feminine worldand survival significance, as well as to get the essence of the modern feminine’s emotional puzzle and transformation. Zhang Xin vividly descript the strugglesmetropolis females have done in contradiction among enterprise, family, affection,reality, ideal compromises, and gives widespread grief and concern to them.Third chapter is about narrative form and style of urban novels. Zhang Xin’smetropolis novel creation is provided with sober reader consciousness and civilianconsciousness, making her novel both readable and reliable. Judging fromabovementioned two creation standpoints, Zhang Xin’s work is rich and changeable innarrative form, which is not only filled with greatly strengthened theatrical nature, butalso can unfold big wisdom in the narrow view. Moreover its narrative style appeals toboth cultured and popular tastes, while arouse popularity among readers, also inspirehuman to think deeply about it.