Declining Attachment to Confucianism: Yan Lianke’s Mythorealistic Novel The Explosion Chronicles
Declining Attachment to Confucianism: Yan Lianke’s Mythorealistic Novel The Explosion Chronicles
Author(s): Marta TorbickaSubject(s): Philosophy, Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Non-European Philosophy, Other Language Literature, East Asian Philosophy
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: Yan Lianke; mythorealism; modern Chinese literature; Confucian values; myths
Summary/Abstract: By combining mythological motifs, allegory, and absurdity with realistic depictions of daily life in The Explosion Chronicles, Yan Lianke constructs a fictional world that mirrors the dynamic transformations of the People’s Republic of China since the mid-twentieth century. This article explores how mythorealism (shenshi zhuyi 神实主义) serves as a tool for revealing the diminishing importance of Confucian values and traditional ethics in contemporary Chinese society. It examines the diminishing significance of principles of filial piety, propriety, and social harmony in the face of modernization, materialism, and political ideology, and further investigates the interplay between mythological references and the emergence of new cultural paradigms rooted in bureaucracy and the cult of power.
Journal: Roczniki Humanistyczne
- Issue Year: 73/2025
- Issue No: 9
- Page Range: 75-86
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English
