Chinese Avant-garde Fiction and Changes of some Prominent Writers’ Narrative Styles

Abstract

Beginning in the 1980s, Chinese avant-garde fiction had gone through two major development stages with two respective climaxes, followed by a decline before its revision since the 1990s. During the revival period, some avant-garde writers, notably Yu Hua, Su Tong, Mo Yan, Lin Bai and others of “new age” and “post 70” schools have changed their writing style. Returning to the traditional narrative techniques and exploiting folk literature, they reflect the reality of life with a sense of self-consciousness. The paper analyses the development of Chinese avant-garde fiction with a focus on the change process of some prominent writers’ narrative styles.