@article{ART003290835},
author={Zhang Xiang and KIM,MEE JEONG},
title={On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels},
journal={Journal of Chinese Language and Literature},
issn={1225-083X},
year={2025},
number={100},
pages={219-240},
doi={10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219}
TY - JOUR
AU - Zhang Xiang
AU - KIM,MEE JEONG
TI - On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels
JO - Journal of Chinese Language and Literature
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 100
PB - Chinese Literary Society Of Yeong Nam
SP - 219
EP - 240
SN - 1225-083X
AB - Death constitutes the profound background and core dynamic of Yu Hua's novels. Focusing on Yu Hua's five major novels (excluding Chronicle of a Blood Merchant), this paper systematically analyzes the internal constitution, operational mechanisms, and ideological evolution of his “death narrative” from a narratological perspective. First, the study classifies death events into “Major Deaths” and “Minor Deaths” based on their plot functions, demonstrating the complementary tension between structural framework construction and historical background rendering. Second, by examining narrative chronology, the paper identifies three forms: “Destined Death,” “Sudden Death,” and “Post-Mortem Death,” It reveals how the manipulation of narrative time—from fatalistic foreshadowing to retrospective reconstruction—constructs a multi-dimensional experience of tragedy and reflection. Third, the paper analyzes the structural models of death narratives, pointing out that “Explosive Death,” “Gradual Fading,” and “Ritualistic Destruction” correspond to external violent devastation, compromise under time's erosion, and spiritual transcendence, respectively. Finally, the paper traces the evolution of Yu Hua's death narrative from the indifferent spectatorship of his avant-garde period to the fatalistic compassion of his transition period, and ultimately to the search for spiritual redemption in his new century works. The study concludes that Yu Hua transforms the philosophical proposition of “being-towards- death” into concrete narrative rhetoric. By establishing an aesthetic distance through the reorganization of time and form, he achieves a “reverse confirmation” of life's resilience via the reconstruction of death, thereby offering a unique literary response to the existential state of individuals within history.
KW - 余华(Yu Hua);长篇小说(Novels);死亡叙事(Death Narrative);叙事时序(Narrative Chronology);叙事结构(Narrative Structure)
DO - 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
ER -
Zhang Xiang and KIM,MEE JEONG. (2025). On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 100, 219-240.
Zhang Xiang and KIM,MEE JEONG. 2025, "On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels", Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, no.100, pp.219-240. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang, KIM,MEE JEONG "On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature 100 pp.219-240 (2025) : 219.
Zhang Xiang, KIM,MEE JEONG. On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels. 2025; 100 : 219-240. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang and KIM,MEE JEONG. "On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.100(2025) : 219-240.doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang; KIM,MEE JEONG. On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 100, 219-240. doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang; KIM,MEE JEONG. On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature. 2025; 100 219-240. doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang, KIM,MEE JEONG. On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels. 2025; 100 : 219-240. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
Zhang Xiang and KIM,MEE JEONG. "On the Death Narrative in Yu Hua's Novels" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.100(2025) : 219-240.doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.219
