On the Intertextuality of Liu Renqian’s Literary Creation and Local Chronicles

Abstract

Liu Renqian has written a story of the “yesterday’s world” moving towards today through the construction of the “Xianghe” world, with the products and customs of the Lixiahe rural world permeating his writing, creating a water town world with strong regional characteristics. The intertextuality between modern and contemporary literary creation and local chronicles is not only the inheritance of excellent traditional culture and local memory, but also the reconstruction of modern local writing. From the Xianghe Trilogy to Xianghe Chronicle and Chushui Scenery, Liu Renqian’s short, medium and long novels and essays have all been intertextualized with local chronicles. This article focuses on Liu Renqian’s depiction of the local products and customs, and explores how he inherits and reconstructs modern local writing under this reflective intertextual writing, based on the geographical and personnel divisions in the Xinghua New County Annals.