A Comparative Study Of The Tragic Narratives In The Works Of Xu Lianshun And Yan Geling

Tragedy is not only the eternal theme of human beings,but also the eternal theme of literature and art.The study of tragic narrative,tragic spirit and tragic consciousness has always been one of the hot topics in literary circles.Xu Lianshun,a famous Korean writer in China,and Yan Geling,an American Chinese writer,also express their preference for the theme of tragedy through their works.Both Xu Lianshun and Yan Geling were female writers,both born in the 1950s,and both experienced the Cultural Revolution and immigration.They have roughly the same historical memory and thematic resources.In their works,regardless of the background,identity and experience of the characters,they suffered from the injustice of fate in the Cultural Revolution and immigration,and also confided their resistance and transcendence to the tragic fate to the readers.At present,the comparative study of the two writers in academic circles is still blank.Therefore,based on the current research situation,starting from the specific works of Xu Lianshun and Yan Geling,this paper explores the inevitable relationship between their personal experiences and tragic consciousness,and analyses their narrative attitudes toward the tragedies of the Cultural Revolution and immigration,with the aim of focusing on their reflections and Reflections on the tragic reality.Compassion and care for all living beings.This paper is divided into six chapters:The first chapter is the introduction.The introduction first clarifies the purpose and significance of the study,the research object and the research method of this paper,combs the current academic research results of Xu Lianshun and Yan Geling’s works,and explains the concept of tragedy.The origin of tragedy is not yet clear,but it is generally believed that tragedy originated from songs and dances in ancient Greek religious ceremonies.With the development of the times,from Aristotle to later Hegel,Schopenhauer and Nietzsche,people gradually have a deeper understanding of tragedy.People think that tragedy is a reflection of the misery in life and the real life leading to such misery,and tragedy should play a positive role in guiding the real life.The aesthetic significance of tragedy lies not only in expressing the impermanence of life and the hardship of reality,but also in expressing people’s courage and belief in resisting fate through unfortunate manifestation,that is,tragic consciousness.Yin Hong put forward in "Tragic Consciousness and Tragic Art" that "tragic consciousness is the feeling and understanding of the tragic fate that human beings encounter in the opposition between freedom and necessity.This understanding includes two levels:first,the exploration of the origin of tragedy,the inquiry of why people suffer,who caused the tragedy and who should be responsible for it.Secondly,it is concerned about the significance of human existence and future,thinking about what people should do in the plight,how to do it,how to overcome or bear the tragic fate."①The second chapter is "tracing the origin of the tragic consciousness of Xu Lianshun and Yan Geling".This chapter describes the influence of the growth environment and personal experience of the two writers on their tragic consciousness.Xu Lianshun grew up in a stubborn family with the idea that men are superior to women,and suffered from the neglect of her family when she was young.Yan Geling lost her warm family during the Cultural Revolution and became a "helpless and unreliable" poor man.But the lack of love and insecurity give them sensitivity and delicacy different from ordinary people,and these special feelings also make the two writers have a better resonance with the marginal and weak in society.Not only that,the lack of childhood also urges them to constantly seek their true selves and happiness through their works,and this persistence also endows the characters with love and kindness that they will never give up in the face of tragedy.The third chapter mainly analyses the characters and events in Xu Lianshun’s and Yan Geling’s works from the perspective of the Cultural Revolution,and perspective the narrative attitude of the two writers towards the tragedy of the Cultural Revolution.When they take themselves away from the space of the Cultural Revolution and look back on the past from the distance between the times and history,their works are often full of rational judgment and examination of tragedy.This chapter tries to reveal the repression and distortion of human nature in the Cultural Revolution from the perspectives of "individual"and "collective".During the Cultural Revolution,people were like puppets manipulated by politics.They lost the good feelings of family,love,kindness and so on.Even innocent children became executioners of the times.Individual emotional repression will inevitably lead to a lack of spiritual world,and people with spiritual emptiness are more enthusiastic about the "correct" values given to them by the times and politics.In the works of the two writers,the protagonists will injure their bodies in order to join the army and make the mad act of plunging Chairman Mao’s badge into their chest.Some even think that "only by giving their lives can they be qualified as a revolutionary".Chapter Ⅳ,taking "immigration" as the breakthrough point,analyses the immigration states in Xu Lianshun’s and Yan Geling’s works.The two writers use real and calm strokes to tell a helpless human tragedy.The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States and the establishment of China and South Korea has brought earth-shaking changes to people’s lives.In order to survive,people have abandoned their families and set foot on the road to the United States and South Korea.Many immigrants are struggling to survive in the cultural gap between their home country and their country of residence.Women have dedicated their beauty and body in order to gain economic freedom of their family and their own,while men have dedicated their lover in return for a happier and better future.However,life tells them the truth that "things go against their wishes "with a tragedy.When women show off their success with generous rewards,they realize later that they have lost their ability of self and love;When men take the life security that their lover gives them as a blessing,they find that they have lost their sovereignty and dignity as the head of the family.The fifth chapter,by combing the tragic consciousness in Xu Lianshun’s and Yan Geling’s works,refines the positive and optimistic values of the two writers on tragedy by breaking the dualistic opposition of "indifference-beauty of human nature" and "estrangement-tolerance".Both writers express their longing for and love for life through their works.Whether in the depressing period of the Cultural Revolution or in the period of immigration with separation of flesh and blood,there are many good and brave roles in their works.The glorious humanity entrusted by the writers also expresses their tragic consciousness and tragic spirit to the readers.During the Cultural Revolution,strangers will always be lent a helping hand at the risk of being implicated,which will be the ignition of an era of apathy;in other countries,people will always break through the dual opposition structure of Chinese Korean and Korean,Chinese and Americans,and cross a cultural gap with their tolerance and understanding.Chapter 6 is the conclusion.The conclusion part mainly combs the context of the article,summarizes and summarizes the content of the paper.