Inheritance and Recreation: The Transformation of Literary Paradigms in Fan Hua’s Shanghai Urban Narrative

Abstract

The developmental history of literature revolves around a continuous process of retrospection and breakthroughs regarding literary context through “inheritance” and “recreation.” Since the May Fourth Movement, new literature has flowed and transformed between established literary paradigms. Shanghai’s urban narrative, as one of the most vibrant literary contexts, exemplifies a creative stance that is both traditional and pioneering, which is reflected in its century-long literary evolution. This paper aims to select the representative Shanghai urban narrative text of the twenty-first century, Fan Hua, to explore the transformation of literary “paradigm” in contemporary literature from two dimensions: inheritance and innovation. The representative contemporary text of Shanghai’s urban narrative, Fan Hua, surrounds two key elements, investigating its relationship with ancient texts and new-style novels, showcasing the perseverance and evolution of the literary soul and spirit over time after enduring the vicissitudes of classical paradigms.