On Yu Dafu's Novels

Yu Dafu invented a new style of lyric novel called the "auto-narrated" in the history of Chinese modern literature, and made it an influential novelistic school during the "May 4th period . He portrayed a series of lyric characters with much social connotation and peculiar personalities. Many of these characters mirrored the author himself.Living in the first half of the 20th century China, an unprecedented age of multiple and muddled values , Yu deliveted his aethetic dilemma in both periods of his works. In his earlier works, Yu put his characters in a narrow crack between the Chinese and Western culture, a perplexing state in which they had to face the conflicts between flesh and soul, and were puzzled with choices of life. In fact, their perplexity originated in the author's own dilemma, hidden deep in his soul. Later, he continued his hard exploration towards realism, however, he fell again into the aethetic dilemma: his "hermit novel" was criticized as a note of discord in the stormy symphony of the era.To conclude, all the unique stylistic features found in Yu dafu's novels, such as strong lyricism, prose structure, and poetic conception, distinguished him from his contemporaries in the field of " May 4th" novel.