Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.4, 2022

Oral Narrative in the Hero-Legend Novels of Zhanghui Style

(Abstract)

Feng Wenkai

The hero-legend novels of zhanghui style have been influenced by oral literature in terms of stylistic features, narrative structure, narrative features and narrative concepts, retaining the unique formulaic expressions and oral narrative style of the art of speaking, and borrowing and applying the common themes and rules of narrative structure in oral literature, vividly reflecting the interpenetration and influence of oral literature and written literature. This article analyses how the traditional narrative resources of oral literature are creatively utilized in these novels, providing a new understanding of written literature in terms of the appropriation of the formulaic narrative style, the transfer of the triple narrative structure, as well as the typology of plot and the functionalization of characters.