"A Struggling Symphony" and the Imagined "China"——Re-reading Children of the Rich from the Perspective of Nation

Abstract: This article re-reads Lu Ling's novel Children of the Rich from the perspective of the national issue, exploring the unique presentation of the "China" concept and the national imagination of the characters in the work. In the text, the word China often abruptly appears in the characters' speech and thoughts, breaking the daily narrative and forming a complex picture of national imagination. Jiang Chunzu's national imagination swings restlessly under the tempering of reality and the test of love, revealing the complex relationship between the individual and the nation depicted throughout the book. The novel writes history through the spiritual world of the characters, presenting the dynamic process of the construction of national consciousness and its shaping effect on the growth of the subject. Although it has the limitation of over-reliance on subjective imagination, it vividly presents the national consciousness and spiritual predicament of intellectuals during the War.