Chi Zijian’s Novels from the Viewpoint of Ecological Aesthetics

Abstract

Chi Zijian's novel The Last Quarter of the Moon (E'erguna He You'an) is an excellent historical novel themed around the life of the Evenki people. It depicts the important theme of “looking back at home” and reveals a yearning for “poetic dwelling” shared by many contemporary people who feel lost. The novel’s unique perspective explores the “origin” of home and shows the close relationship between the lives of the Evenki people, the landscape, and their fate on the right bank of the Argun River. The unique grounds on which the novel stands can be found in its inquiry into the “uniqueness” of home, vividly describing the Evenki people’s special living “place” and their unique approaches to birth, death, marriage, and funeral. In this recollection, the novel shows us the unique ecological beauty of Evenki homeland, including the feminine beauty of harmonious well-being found between people and nature, as well as the masculine beauty of the struggle that exists between humans and nature, which are both reflected in the “ecological sublimity” of the primitive religious ceremonies carried out by two generations of shamans for tribal benefits.

Keywords

Chi Zijian, The Last Quarter of the Moon, ecological aesthetics

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