Abstract: Li Zishu’s novel Liu Su Di does not continue the metafictional narrative of The Age of Goodbyes, but instead uses the realistic narrative that returns to daily life to reach the deep-seated life exuberance of the Malaysian Chinese. Taking “folk” as the method, the novel presents, from an external perspective, the carnival of multicultural coexistence in Malaysian Chinese society, to portray the joys and sorrows under the revelry of local life experiences. From an internal perspective, it bases itself on the dimension of individual emotional exuberance to show the shifts in discursive power between genders and the struggle for survival spaces while reflecting the directional changes in the fate of the Malaysian Chinese. On the one hand, it presents the process by which Malaysian Chinese women break through male authority frameworks and build subject awareness, noting their transition from survival dependence to life independence; on the other hand, it analyzes, using bottom class mutual support models as a reference, the deep causes of the loss of male authority, thereby outlining the genealogical narrative of revelry in the novel. From the perspective of “folk,” this paper analyzes its carnival narrative and, taking into account the folk subject and the carnival core, expands the dimension of text narrative research. This analysis will help us deeply perceive the unique folk cultural characteristics behind Malaysian Chinese literature and penetrate the mist of social history to discover the light of human nature in daily life.

Key words: Li Zishu, Liu Su Di, “folk” as a method, carnival narrative, Malaysian Chinese literature