Open AccessReading Memories in the Drizzle
Author(s) -
Anne Wedell-Wedellsborg
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the copenhagen journal of asian studies/the copenhagen journal of asian studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 2246-2163
pISSN - 1395-4199
DOI - 10.22439/cjas.v39i2.6366
Subject(s) - reading (process) , interpretation (philosophy) , existentialism , vignette , china , history , sociology , psychology , literature , political science , social psychology , law , linguistics , art , philosophy
This vignette presents Yu Hua´s novel from 1991 and analyses two different interpretations of the novel with fifteen years between them written by the same prominent critic, Chen Xiaoming. The first interpretation was written in 1992 when China was in the early stages of economic reform. The second was written in 2007 when deep-going social changes had affected the life of the individual. By comparing these two essays, I aim to show how a literary text may act as a catalyst for bringing out existential issues at stake at a particular point in time.