On the Sinicization of Stream-of-consciousness Narrative Techniques in Liu Yichang’s The Drunkard

Liu Yichang'sThe Drunkard is regarded as the first stream-ofconsciousness novel in China.The work employs stream-of-consciousness techniques to depict Hong Kong society in the 1960s and his views on new literature, with its application of stream-of-consciousness techniques bearing distinct Eastern characteristics and Chinese cultural features.This paper analyzes The Drunkard from perspectives including the infiltration of Eastern philosophical thought and imagery, linguistic localization, expressions in popular literature, and the Hong Kong-specific adaptation of narrative content.Specific analyses include the connection between the protagonist's philosophy and Taoist thought, the continuation of traditional imagery of Chinese literati drowning sorrows in wine, the use of dialectal expressions and martial arts elements, and detailed depictions of Hong Kong's socio-economic conditions.These demonstrate Liu Yichang's innovative Sinicization of stream-of-consciousness techniques in The Drunkard, which holds pioneering and exemplary significance for the creation of stream-of-consciousness novels in modern Chinese literature.This paper holds that the Chineseization of this stream-of-consciousness narrative technique reconstructs the expression paradigm of stream-of-consciousness with local experience and provides important inspiration for the narrative innovation of modern Chinese novels.