Rupture or Transformation

The survival dilemma of the new citizens in the 1980s through the lens of Chi Li's Troubled Life

Abstract

This article analyzes the existential dilemmas of the new citizen class in the 1980s through the life dilemmas of Yin, Jiahou, the protagonist of Chi, Li's novel A Troubled Life. Facing the multiple pressures of husband and wife, father-son relationship and career development, Yin, Jiahou reflects the identity dilemma of the new citizens in urban life. Meanwhile, starting from the clues of his son, Yin, Lei, and his house, he explores the problems of rupture and transformation faced by the new citizens during the period of social transformation. Under the background of reform and opening up, the new citizens both harbor aspirations for a better life and face existential dilemmas, presenting a complex and multidimensional state of existence. This is not only a personal predicament, but also an inevitable product of the transformation of the times.