Zhang Ailing's Ironic Narration

Zhang Ailing is a "dissident" in the Chinese Modern Literature. She became a special flower in the 1940s for her unique artistic style and narration. Irony was a basic feature and necessary attitude in her novels that was used for revealing human nature and describing the situation in the world. Irony was also an aesthetic aspect of her novels. Ironic narration became her main narrative strategy for demonstrating the truth of human nature. The contradictory structure leaded the significance of the text to show a space tension. She realized her deep philosophical reflection for the real world and the human world.My article will explain her narrative features from four areas that conclude elements, types, methods and special characteristics. Zhang Ailing maintained a detached attitude to the outside world and made the readers maintain a psychological and aesthetic distance with the stories, which usually did not mean that the author completely withdrew. She would involve when necessary, so the readers could grasp her irony meanings accurately. There were three ironic types. They were word irony, situational irony and structure irony. The three ironic types presented contradictions between surface language and the true meaning, between kinds of circumstances and between internal structures. All the types might enrich the meaning of works. Zhang Ailing also took some writing methods that made us understand the meaning of irony better. She was good at setting up unique images. When the climax was coming, she liked to switch to a fall to reach an unexpected effect. She subverted the traditional way of thinking to deconstruct family myth, digest sacred love and profane the sense of life. Her criticism was not entirely negative. The ironic undertone was bleak. The lines included understanding and forgiveness of human nature. After the irony, there was sympathy and compassion left. One was meaningful irony, on the one hand, was sorrow which was suppressed. She embodied the unique creative arts through integrating the two properties.