옌거링(嚴歌苓)의 『죄수 루옌스(陸犯焉識)』에 나타난 역사적 트라우마와 기억의 서사

Abstract

This article studies Narrative of Memory and Historical Trauma in Yan Geling’s 『LuFanYanShi(陸犯焉識)』(2011). Yan is one of the most acclaimed contemporary novelists and screenwriters in the Chinese language today. Her works have been translated into fifteen languages, several have been adapted for screen, the latest being Gui Lai, which was filmed by Zhang Yimou. The South Korean translation of this novel was published in 2015, and various studies of Yan’s works are now in progress in South Korea. In this article, the historical trauma which is attached to China’s modern history, and it’s narratological meaning in the novel are mainly analysed. The protagonist Lu Yanshi was a professor before being sent to the labour camp during the Cultural Revolution. Lu, as a survivor and witness of the Cultural Revolution chronicles his most dreadful memories of the days in the labour camp. With Yan’s personal chronicle of the Cultural Revolution, the novel which is focusing on history as memory and narrative is rewriting China’s tragic modern history. In conclusion, the narrative of China’s contemporary history and memory of the past is an important problem. We ought to reject oblivion of the tragic events in China’s modern history, and try to remember them. By remembering the tragic events, we ought to study the relation between history and literature in contemporary Chinese literature.