Citation :

Tanvi Negi, "Fragmented Memories and Narrative Ruptures: A Critical Study of Yu Hua’s Worldly Things Are Like Mist and 1986," International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 13-4, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V13I4P115

Abstract

Chinese literature in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, which ended in 1976, remained preoccupied with memories of the trauma caused by the unceasing political movements launched by the State since the establishment of the PRC in 1949. The “obsession with history”, the intense need and desire to make sense of the recent past and at the same time to move forward towards the future, was central to the writers at this time. The avant-garde fiction that emerged in the 1980s was an important literary movement that attempted to articulate the trauma of the recent past while experimenting with narrative structures and language. Yu Hua, arguably one of the most important avant-garde writers, began writing in the 1980s and achieved international fame and critical acclaim. Memory is a critical narrative element in Yu Hua’s works. The memory represented in the avant-garde works is fragmented and unreliable, which is deeply reflective of the consciousness of Yu Hua’s generation. Through a careful study of the narrative structure, plot and voice in two of Yu Hua’s short stories, 1986 and Worldly Things Are Like Mist, this paper will attempt to explore how memory is represented and articulated in these works.

Keywords

Yu Hua, Memory, Narrative Structure, Narrative Voice, Critical Study.

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