Abstract: Novels by Wu Jianren in the Late Qing Dynasty are marked by distinct regional characteristics,with his life experiences closely intertwined with his regional writings.Born in Beijing,raised in Guangdong,and making a living in Shanghai,Wu depicts the typical landscapes and character groups of these three places in detail.Through such depictions,his novels convey symbolic connotations:Beijing as a representation of the feudal twilight,Shanghai as an embodiment of capitalist vitality,and Guangdong as a reflection of traditional crises.Shaped by regional cultures,the narratives of the three places connect various cultural phenomena through the travels of the novel characters,forming a highly interactive geographical network.Rooted in his salvific enthusiasm for “restoring morality” and his political ideal of “collecting folk customs and investigating local traditions”,Wu Jianren delves deeply into the spiritual essence of three regional cultures—those of the capital area (Jingji),the Jiangnan region,and the Lingnan region—and presents their interactions.In doing so,he weaves a profound spiritual map of the Late Qing Dynasty,accomplishing an allegorical portrayal of the overall social landscape of that era.This signifies a preliminary shift in regional cultural studies from the traditional “dual-city” pattern to the modern “three-place” framework.

Key words: Wu Jianren's novels, the “Beijing-Shanghai-Guangdong” trio, Late Qing Chinese fables, spatial narrative