Modernity Reflection and Existential Redemption in Ge Fei’s Jiangnan Trilogy from the Perspective of Literary Geography

Ge Fei spent more than a decade polishing his Jiangnan Trilogy. Set against the regional temporal-spatial backdrop of Jiangnan spanning a hundred years from the late Qing and early Republican era to the Reform and Opening-up period， the trilogy centers on three generations of intellectuals from the Lu and Tan clans and their utopian pursuits that all end in disillusionment. It profoundly dissects the evolutionary trajectory of Chinese modernity， while offering distinctive ontological responses to the widespread spiritual confusion and existential anxiety plaguing individuals amid modernity. Taking the core symbolic image of “phoenix ice flower” as the entry point， this paper integrates Ge Fei’s modern reinterpretation and creative elaboration of the truth-illusion ideology in A Dream of Red Mansions. From three dimensions--the dispelling of obsessive attachments， spatial metaphors， and the return to authentic being--it sorts out how the text deconstructs century-old utopian obsessions and constructs a localized existential framework centered on “introspection inward and return to one’s original mind”. From the lens of literary geography， the regional spaces of Jiangnan are far more than mere narrative backdrops； they constitute literary fields carrying layered spiritual connotations. Their unique natural landscapes， humanistic temperament and evolving spatial forms deeply permeate the work’s critique of modernity and the construction of existential redemption. By organically merging avant-garde narration with classical literary traditions， the trilogy provides forward-looking literary insights for contemporary people to break free from the shackles of instrumental rationality and recover authentic spirituality， thereby achieving innovative transcendence in modernity writing within contemporary Chinese literature.