The Dilemma of “Moral Failure” by Intellectuals in YAN Zhen’s Novels

YAN Zhen’s novels often focus on "the underprivileged circumstances" of the intellectual youth in contemporary society. When faced with the dilemma of choosing between personal ideals and material survival, the question of whether one forfeits integrity or not looms over this decision, and it awaits judgment from both within and outside the text of the novels. However, the emphasis is not on whether intellectuals forfeit integrity but rather on the underlying reasons behind their moral failure. The alienation between the intellectual as the subject and knowledge as the object is the fundamental cause. The author’s construction of the text and the differing judgments on moral failure in the context of the gendered subjects signify YAN’s bias. Additionally, there exists a dissonance between YAN’s aesthetic ideals and stance as an intellectual, their underclass intention, and techniques of realistic portrayal, as an excessive emphasis on the harsh realities and a fatalistic approach to moral failure undermine the subjectivity of intellectuals.