INSTITUTIONAL EVIL IN YAN LIANKE’S FICTION: THE FOUR BOOKS AND DREAM OF DING VILLAGE
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Abstract
The article examines the representation of evil in Yan Lianke’s fiction from the perspective of structure and mechanisms of operation, rather than as a moral category tied to individual behavior. Through an analysis of two representative novels, The Four Books and Dream of Ding Village, the study demonstrates that evil is first constructed as an institutional phenomenon, existing in the form of anonymous systems of rules, plans, and discourses that legitimize violence and facilitate the dehumanization of individuals in everyday life. At the same time, the research clarifies the role of the crowd in actualizing and reinforcing evil, as individuals gradually internalize the logic of power, engage in self‑surveillance, denounce one another, and actively participate in the reproduction of oppression. In doing so, the article shows how Yan Lianke places human beings in situations where the boundary between victim and perpetrator becomes blurred, compelling readers to confront fundamental questions about moral responsibility in modern collective life.
Keywords
contemporary Chinese Literature, Dream of Ding Village, institutional evil, The Four Books, Yan Lianke
Article Details
References
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