Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.3, 2025

“The Joys and Sorrows, Successes and Failures of Ordinary Men and Women in the World”—On Ye Zhaoyan’s Novel The Garden of the Qu Family

(Abstract)

He Yanhong

Ye Zhaoyan’s novel The Garden of the Qu Family is an important work of civilian literature in the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature. It not only writes about the spirit, survival and destiny of the urban civilians in the area of Qu Family Garden in the way of “de-elitism” and the literary, historical and moral views of civilianism, but also explores and displays the moral ideals within the civilians while revealing and writing about their imperfect lives and humanity with humanistic feelings.