A Study Of Gender Ethics In Zhang Ling’s Novels

Zhang Ling is one of the stars of contemporary overseas Chinese literature,together with Yan Geling and Hong Ying,they are called the "troika" of overseas Chinese literature.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the complex gender identity and narrative ethics in Zhang Ling’s novels by applying theories related to literary ethics and social gender,and to reveal the unique significance of Zhang Ling’s gender writing,namely,the ethical vision of building harmonious and equal gender relations beyond tradition and modernity.This paper focuses on four aspects:In the first chapter,the concepts of gender,ethics,literary ethics and gender ethics are used to explore the gender ethics of Zhang Ling’s novels.Zhang Ling looks at the world with a neutral vision,magnifying the beautiful qualities of women’s patience,tolerance,and resilience,and allowing men to return to the everyday life,and her warm and affectionate writing shows the harmony and equality of gender in the overall framework of "humanity.Chapter 2 analyzes the multiple ethical identities of the characters in Zhang Ling’s novels through the critical theory of literary ethics,revealing Zhang Ling’s multifaceted view of complex human nature.The interpretation of the ethical identities in her novels shows the process of women’s self-help and "saving others" through the coexistence of multiple ethical identities;the butterfly transformation of ethical identities is meant to reveal women’s transformation into butterflies in the difficult situation of survival,which implies the expectation of future gender ethics;and the recovery of ethical identities points to the writer’s unceasing search for the root of human life and spiritual home.The search for ethical identity points to the writer’s relentless pursuit of the root of human life and spiritual home.Chapter 3 explores the gender-ethical narratives of Zhang Ling’s novels from the perspective of narratology.Zhang Ling looks at the world of both genders in a way that subverts traditional "male power" and modern "female power.The women in her novels display a reed-like quality of "toughness as silk" and are able to prostrate themselves through life’s difficulties no matter how extreme the circumstances are.The self-consciousness of their subjectivities motivates women to face the difficulties of life in a positive manner and to actively make self-selection and self-improvement.The male figures in Zhang Ling’s novels,however,are stripped of their "heroic" trappings and reverted to the everyday,signaling another gender dilemma of male "androgyny decline" in reality,which Zhang Ling does not deride in a feminist manner,but rather constructs with the ethics of gender equality.Zhang Ling does not deride it in a feminist way,but understands it with the ethical construction of gender equality.Chapter 4 explores the cultural vision of gender narratives in Zhang Ling’s novels,starting from the demand for "super-gender" consciousness and the construction of "partnership".Zhang Ling’s novels are neither a mere subversion of the "male-centered" narrative nor a one-sided promotion of "feminism," but an attempt to find a complementary and different gender ethic.The gender narrative ethics of Zhang Ling’s novels reflect the idea of breaking away from the single gender conceit,getting rid of the confrontation between the two genders,and gaining a positive life form by transcending the dilemma of existence in a holistic human way with a broad-minded and lofty human sentiment,so it is also different from the general super-gender poetics.In Zhang Ling’s view,the partnership of mutual respect,mutual support and common development between the two genders is the true socio-cultural level of gender equality and harmony of life.