Sentiment--the Metropolitan Tone Of The Novels Of The Neo-sensualism

The Neo-sensualism, which appeared in the late 1920s and early 1930s and is represented by Liu Na' ou, Mu Shiying and Shi Zhecun, is an important novel school in the history of the Modern Chinese Literature. Under the influence of Japanese Neo-sensualism, it has established an irreplaceable position in the modern literary world. The previous researchers used to pay more attention to the novelty in its language and style rather than the metropolitan background. In order to grasp the accurate connotation of the works of the Neo-sensualim, however, the special metropolitan circumstance of Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s should by no means be ignored. Based on the exploration of the peculiar metropolitan background, the dissertation has probed into the modernity in the texts of the novelist belonging to The Neo-sensualism. Starting from the analysis of the new changes taken place during the modernization process in the Chinese metropolises, Shanghai for instance, this dissertation has dissected the living condition of the urbanites under the material pressure in the metropolitan cultural atmosphere, and people' s alienation caused by the material incentive in the commercial environment. Consequently, the paper has drawn up a conclusion from the analysis of the novels of the Neo-sensualism, namely, the peculiar relationship, as well as the paradox of the development between the city and people: while bringing people material enjoyment, modernization has plundered them of their souls. Because of the urbanites living in this contradictory condition, the novels of the Neo-sensualism herein have born a strong sentimental tone in describing the metropolises.