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Abstract Zhang Henshui's early works reflect the transformation of Chinese fiction from tradition to “modern”， and manifest various symptoms in this process. For example， in Zhang's “love trilogy”， he gradually moves backwards to the narrative conventions of classical Chinese novels in both form and content. The themes range from the lamentation of personal fate to the reflection of the corruption of the upper class of society， and then to the expression of the simple political justice concept of the citizens， all of which show the gradual expansion of the author's social vision， his continuous renewal of concepts and consistent efforts to innovate old literature. The conceptual transformation brought about by the change of the times advanced the evolvement of the works from the “conservative” old style to the “renovated” new style. However， the existing conservative mentality hinders these works from probing into the social causes of the contradictions， which retains these works in the form of semi-traditional novels. It shows that the modernization of literary form and the modernity of narrative content are indispensable， which sheds light upon the transformation of old literature and the dispute over refined and popular literature.
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Received: 30 January 2023
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2023, Vol. 62 
