A Flaw in the Jade, Not Yet a Masterpiece — A Critique of the Urban Writing in Shi Yifeng's Novel The World Has No More Chen Jinfang

Abstract

In The World Has No More Chen Jinfang, Shi Yifeng adopts a detached, on-site narrative attitude and a condescending narrative stance towards the survival dilemmas of the urban petty bourgeoisie. Although Shi Yifeng writes with sympathy about the dramatic and tragic lives of the urban poor, the image of the urban poor represented by Chen Jinfang inevitably becomes stereotyped due to a lack of real-life experience and a critical vision that transcends appearance to reach essence. Furthermore, the portrayal of urban citizens in The World Has No More Chen Jinfang implies a narrative of the suffering of the urban poor. However, the author only presents fragmented scenes of Chen Jinfang's childhood hardships through humanitarian sympathy in minor details, lacking the power and inclination to present the real-life scenes of the urban poor with true realist literary passion and compassionate literary sentiment. This determines the regrettable situation where The World Has No More Chen Jinfang, like a flaw in an otherwise fine jade, falls short of being a masterpiece.