The Narrative Tactics of the Shanghai Fiction by Zhang Ailing and Wang Anyi

Different life experiences and artistic personalities have urged Zhang Ailing and Wang Anyi to adopt different narrative tactics in their Shanghai fiction. Zhang Ailing pursues a sort of piercing strength with laser-like depth. Her narrating through imagery and ironic narrating lays special emphasis on orientating the reader's feelings and perception towards the inner worlds of the characters. Wang Anyi, however, prefers to unfold before the readers moving pictures in a wide fictional time and space. The change from direct and objective narration to meta-narration in her fiction shows that what he seeks is a wide artistic radiation range. Compared with Zhang Ailing, Wang Anyi has a wider field of cultural vision and more constant artistic pursuit.