Abstract
This thesis will discuss the complication during the formation of “the Neo-Sensualism” in Shanghai during 1930s, and mainly focuses on the uniqueness of Shi Zhicun’s literary works. With the advent of Capitalism, this essay will elaborate how Shi Zhicun depicts the people’s inner world in his fictions based on the reality, the author’s perspective on literature, and the atmosphere of the era. It also emphasizes the variety of themes which are “beyond Modern” in his fictions, including the suffering of the poor people, the conflict between one’s sexuality and reality, the abnormality in one’s mind, and the tension of rewriting history stories. In the meantime, I will explore how Shi Zhicun builds up people’s inner world by means of adopting different technique of narration, and the combination of the elements about tradition and modernity in his novels. Additionally, Shi Zhicun’s writings are affected by his attitude towards the limitation of “politics” and the freedom of “literary”; as a result, discussing the relationship between the political ideology and literary writing is a crucial part in this research. In a nutshell, this thesis will further reflections in Shi Zhicun’s literary works and embody his irreplaceable position in modern Chinese fiction history.