The Defence And Anxiety Of Mediocritication—On Yan Zhen’s Novels

From Wandering at the Worlds End to To Live, Yan Zhen pays particular attention to intellectuals all the time. He said that he would regard writing novels as recording history that novels should be “intellectuals’ history of mind”. But it is not only belong to intellectuals but also every individual’s history during the process of secularization of transformation period of society. The history of mind continues to now from the end of 1980 s, which is not only feature of every individual but also the entry of research of Yan Zhen’s writing.There are complicated circumstances during the transformation period of society. Market economy becomes the mainstream of the present era. Mass culture is widely reported. The era of secularization comes, mass culture destruct the political authority and remove the intellectuals’ concern. The process of modernization is developing, but the reflection of modernization and destruction are existing. And at the same moment, pre-modernism is a kind of ingrain traditional culture which exists in the secret but wide culture psychology. This is a “breaking” society, a busting society, a society without any common features. Under the background of era of secularization, intellectuals come down from enlightenment and face survival problems with people who are enlightened. Intellectuals and secular individual are struggling in the circle of money, power and lust. After multiple and scattered secular society replace the ultimate value of great society, ubiquitous paradox intrigue the occurrence of nihilism. During the era of secularization which lacks torchbearers, what should intellectuals do? What should individual do? Yan Zhen describes public life conditions under the background of present era via realistic style, but his characters’ inner conflicts are more serious. Because Yan holds the “prejudice” to traditional culture. He was eager to found the spiritual resources from traditional culture, which adapts to the making of new humanism in current society. Yan found that it is impossible to combine new with old so he feels fear because of uselessness. The author invests much “sympathy” and “understanding” to mediocrity of his characters, which harms the critical ability of works.Whatever intellectuals or individual, they have no ways but to face a group of basic contradiction between secularization and metaphysics. How to choose or move ahead in the paradox? There’s no doubt that Yan Zhen has own independent exploration. During secular era with the trend of dreams’ dying, this is the problem which we have to face. This is a secular era, what should intellectuals focus their belief on? Yan Zhen feels nervous with his characters. But he also assures that disasters would happen if we lose belief.