Research Article
The Oriental Aesthetic Implications of “Qinling Narrative” — A Case Study of Jia Pingwa’s Novels
Abstract
As the “dragon vein” of Chinese civilization, the Qinling Mountains embody the spiritual geography of the East. Writers who are born and raised in this region naturally carry within them a distinctively Eastern aesthetic sensibility. Jia Pingwa, who grew up near the Qinling Mountains, has in recent years made “Qinling” the focal point of his creative endeavors. His novels such as The Old Man (Laosheng), Shanben, and Chronicles of Qinling (Qinling Ji) construct a uniquely Eastern “Qinling chronicle” and “ethnography” within a vast narrative space informed by Oriental aesthetics. These works manifest the Eastern sensibility through their poetic, non-logical, and non-systematic features that stem from deep aesthetic contemplation.
Keywords: Qinling narrative; Oriental aesthetics; Jia Pingwa; novel
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