Chinese female writer Zhang Yueran and fictional features of her prose

In this paper, the author analyzes the fiction of contemporary Chinese female writer Zhang Yueran (b. 1982). As a radiant and influential representative of the post-1980s generation in contemporary Chinese literature, Zhang Yueran is considered to be one of most talented and strong young writers. Post-1980s Chinese writers are known by depiction of young people’s lives in big cities with elements of magical realism, however, unlike the most Post-1980s Chinese writers, Zhang Yueran focuses more on the characters’ subjectivity and their pursuit of love (parental and romantic). Her complex characters thrive for love and happiness, but also suffer from loneliness and lack of parental attention. Zhang Yueran’s writing is visceral and almost poetic in its use of metaphor. The development of Zhang Yueran’s prose can be divided two key periods. Her early works are aesthetic psychological thrillers about unhealthy love, inspired by classical fairytales that end with a character’s death and self-destruction: while the language is beautiful and almost poetic, but there is a lack of narrative depth. In her second era, Zhang Yueran returns to realism and successfully combines style and deep narrative by contrasting scenes of cruelty and mercy. At the moment her latest novel “Cocoon” embodies all significant fictional features from the perspective of both style and narrative.