Re-Comment on Stories of “Custom History”—A Sampling Analysis of Chi Zijian's Stories

Abstract

Chi Zijian’s stories connect to the origin of her life’s journey, which is the “Earth Spirit.” Such a connection renders her stories characteristic of “custom history” by demonstrating how the writer reflects reality from her own perspectives, voice, and methods of narration. The narrative style adopted by Chi Zijian is different from that of other modern stories in which nature is allowed to take its course. Chi Zijian’s short stories employ many “accidents” and “coincidences,” bringing the audience back to the storytellers’ time of Chinese classical novels. From a writing perspective, a majority of Chi Zijian’s stories are about lower-class society and are a custom history for the silent population in the north of China.

Key words： Chi Zijian, custom history, writing about the lower class