Different Positions of Liu Jiming and Cao Zhenglu in Left-Wing Literature

Author: Zuo Ping. July 25, 2025

Liu Jiming and Cao Zhenglu are both representative figures of contemporary China's new left-wing literature, often referred to as "two solitary peaks," but their creative positions, thematic emphases, and historical influences exhibit significant differences, mainly reflected in the following aspects:

I. Thematic Focus and Narrative Dimensions

Cao Zhenglu: In-Depth Analysis of the Fate of the Working ClassCore themes: Concentrates on exposing the plight of workers during the reform of state-owned enterprises. His representative work There portrays the tragedy of union chairman Zhu Weiguo's failed struggle and subsequent suicide, revealing the collapse of faith and spiritual dilemmas of the working class under capital logic. The novel deeply depicts the social reality of state asset outflows and workers being laid off and reduced to the underclass (such as Du Yuemei becoming a streetwalker).Narrative features: Employs realist techniques, using the factory as a microcosm of society to uncover the complex relationships between profit-driven management and worker solidarity, emphasizing the struggle of collectivist spirit under market shocks.Liu Jiming: Panoramic Social Critique and Historical ReconstructionThematic breadth: Breaks through the limitations of single-class focus. In Black/White, he shapes group portraits across multiple classes—landlord descendants, intellectuals, new capitalist elites—interweaving their fates to reveal structural contradictions, described as "a literary mirror of a century of Chinese social development."Historical perspective: Actively reconstructs revolutionary histories denied by the mainstream (such as land reform and people's communes), bridging the rupture between the "two thirty-year periods" of New China. His creations incorporate techniques like magical realism to deconstruct official historical narratives.

II. Creative Concepts and Ideological Positions

Cao Zhenglu: Concrete Presentation of Class ContradictionsAdheres steadfastly to the workers' standpoint, exposing systemic oppression (such as policy traps leading workers to mortgage their homes yet lose control rights), focusing on the inevitability rather than contingency of underclass suffering, and calling for "attention to remedies."Rejected by the mainstream literary circles, his works are regarded as benchmarks of "underclass literature," though he himself is wary of narrowing underclass narratives to mere "suffering themes."Liu Jiming: Systematization of Left-Wing Thought and Radical TransformationUpgraded class analysis: Inherits the tradition of Mao Dun's Midnight, using a "social class analysis" framework to dissect power structures under globalized capital, emphasizing the common fate of intellectuals and the underclass.Radical stance: After breaking with the literary world in 2018, he shifts from "intra-system critic" to "revolutionary left-winger." Through essay-style Weibo writing in Random Thoughts, he lowers the threshold for disseminating left-wing ideas and nurtures young writing forces.

III. Historical Inheritance and Literary Influence

Cao Zhenglu: A "Milestone" Continuing the Left-Wing TraditionEvaluated as "the reviver of left-wing literature after a 30-year interruption," his There is seen as the starting point of new left-wing literature, directly propelling the underclass literature boom after 2004.Influence limitations: Due to thematic concentration on the working class, it has not formed a theoretical system, with his creative state remaining relatively isolated.Liu Jiming: Builder of the Left-Wing Literature SystemPositioned as a spiritual inheritor and expander of Wei Wei, Chen Yingzhen, and Cao Zhenglu, he collaborates with scholars like Kong Qingdong to promote the systematization of theory.Significance in literary history: His epic novel Black/White has sparked over a hundred commentaries, hailed as a "phenomenal spectacle," marking the shift of new left-wing literature from a thematic movement to ideological construction.

IV. Differences in Style and Techniques

Literary StyleCao Zhenglu: Stark realism, detailing workers' lives Liu Jiming: Fusion of realism and modernism, multi-temporal narratives Historical ViewsCao Zhenglu: Focuses on the pains of reform, revealing "shifts in the wind" Liu Jiming: Reconstructs revolutionary history, defending the modernity of the Chinese Revolution Social ConcernsCao Zhenglu: Awakens attention to underclass suffering Liu Jiming: Promotes the revival of class consciousness, nurturing young left-wing forces

Summary: The Core of Positional Differences

Cao Zhenglu, using workers' fates as a vehicle, becomes the founder of new left-wing literature, his creations like a scalpel dissecting the scars of reform; Liu Jiming, in the roles of historical reconstructor and system builder, expands left-wing literature into a critical project encompassing multiple classes and spanning a century, while exploring organized practices in the cultural arena. Together, the two form the evolutionary trajectory of new left-wing literature from "revival" to "deepening." 

(This article is from the Cao Zhenglu-Liu Jiming Research Center, )