Ecological awareness in contemporary Chinese literature

Abstract

If perceived from a thematic perspective, Contemporary Chinese fiction harbors a variety of political dimensions. To subvert the conventions of socialist realism, many works in the 1980s joined to affirm the Party’s reform policies, but writers today seem to be keen on the status quo resulting from the economic reform. The fiction of the new century has fully recovered from the sentimental retrospection and naïve, simplistic socialist realism in the decades following the end of the Cultural Revolution. The main characteristic of Chinese fiction in the twenty-first century is its sheer diversity featured by various thematic concerns. Examples of novels can be identified that address issues of globalization, hi-tech, urbanization, marketing economy, internet and poverty and their impact upon the lowly common Chinese such as the disadvantaged rural farmers. This turn to reality gives rise to a burgeoning ecological awareness in Chinese literature. Writers in the new century have diverged from the conventional way to sing along with or speak for the dominant ideology of the economic reform as many did during Deng Xiaoping’s time. They have shifted their attention to the shaded side of contemporary China, writing about the marginalized and reflecting on the social issues that accompany the existing social order. Efforts have been made to explore specific national and regional identities, displaying a reengagement with a realist tradition. It is argued that more and more Chinese, having felt distressed by increasing evidence of environmental deterioration, are now becoming conscious of environmental issues and speaking out about their concerns. This paper then attempts to examine how contemporary Chinese writers contemplate the consequences of China’s explosive capitalist growth and environmental issues in order to fashion their greening dimensions.