张天翼是“左联”杰出的讽刺小说家，他写得最多的题材即为“小市民”的灰色生活。张天翼的“小市民”书写，浓缩了城市中流社会的广阔面貌，显示出高超的讽刺艺术和鲜明的个人风格。在30年代的左翼文坛，张天翼接续了鲁迅所代表的国民性批判的传统，将阶级意识与文化意识相结合，对“小市民”身上沉积的文化心理进行了生动的呈现，提升了左翼文学的艺术性和表现深度。本文从国民性视野研究张天翼的“小市民”书写，分析张天翼对“小市民”劣根性的呈现，挖掘张天翼在剖析国民性、展现人性心理方面的价值，并在张天翼与五四文学、左翼文学的联结之中，探讨其创作特色和独特贡献。
本文正文共分四章：
第一章主要结合市民社会的实况，对张天翼的“小市民”书写情况进行概述。在30年代的长三角地区，半殖民地的社会环境和相对发达的资本主义工商业，造就了重实利、善钻营的市民性格。张天翼对小市民的生活有着深切的个人体验，其“小市民”书写主要涉及小公务员、中小学教师、小商人以及小知识分子等群体。
第二章立足于文本，对其中呈现的国民文化心理展开具体分析。张天翼对小市民“向上爬”的欲望、市侩式的逐利与投机、人与人之间的冷漠虚伪进行了生动的展现。此外，张天翼也深刻剖析了小知识分子的虚浮无聊和革命者的动摇败退。
第三章探讨张天翼的“小市民”创作与鲁迅国民性批判的承传关系。张天翼以《阿Q正传》为中心，写了多篇研究和评论文章，在其相关创作谈中，表达了对国民性主题的深切认同。鲁迅所批判的国民劣根性，在张天翼关于“小市民”的创作中也得到不同程度的复现。
第四章在30年代的左翼语境中考察张天翼的“小市民”书写。一方面，张天翼的创作带有明显的左翼色彩。这表现在他严肃的文学态度、革命意识和斗争意识以及对阶级观念的自觉运用上。另一方面，张天翼的“小市民”书写又突破了左派的“幼稚病”：他摒弃了“革命加恋爱”的公式；对城市中流社会的描写，也丰富了左翼的题材；借助国民性视角，将普遍人性价值与社会价值相结合，扩展了左翼文学的深度和广度；注重作品的文学性，获得了独特的讽刺艺术成就。

Chang T’ien-i is an excellent satirical novelist of the Left-wing League, and the subject he writes most frequently is the gray life of urban petty bourgeois. Chang T’ien-i’s fictions about urban petty bourgeois condense the broad face of urban middle-class society, showing superb satire art and distinct personal style. In the left-wing literary circles of the 1930s, Chang T’ien-i continued the tradition of national character criticism represented by Lu Hsün, combined class consciousness with cultural consciousness, vividly presented the cultural psychology deposited on urban petty bourgeois, and enhanced left-wing literature’s artistic and expressive depth. This thesis studies Chang T’ien-i’s writing of the urban petty bourgeois from the perspective of national character, analyzes Chang T’ien-i’s presentation of the inferiority of the urban petty bourgeois, and explores Chang T’ien-i’s value in analyzing national character and showing human psychology. Besides, explore Chang T’ien-i’s creative characteristics and unique contributions between his connection of the May 4th literature and the Left-wing literature.
The main body of this thesis is divided into four chapters:
The first chapter summarizes the overall situation about Chang T’ien-i’s fictions about the urban petty bourgeois, based on the reality of civil society. In the Yangtze River Delta region in the 1930s, the semi-colonial environment, along with the relatively advanced capitalist industry and commerce, created the citizen’s character who valued real profit and was good at business. Chang T’ien-i has a deep experience of the life of urban petty bourgeois, and his writing of the urban petty bourgeois, mainly involves small civil servants, primary and secondary school teachers, small businessmen, and small intellectuals.
The second chapter is based on the text, and carries out a concrete analysis of the national cultural psychology which is presented in it. Chang T’ien-i vividly demonstrated the desire of the petty citizens to “climb up”, the philistine-style profit-seeking and speculation, and the indifference and hypocrisy between people. In addition, Chang T’ien-i also deeply analyzed the vainness and boredom of small intellectuals and the wavering and defeat of revolutionaries.
The third chapter discusses the inheritance relationship between Chang T’ien-i’s creations about the urban petty bourgeois and Lu Hsün’s criticism of national character. Focusing on The True Story of Ah Q, Chang T’ien-i wrote many research and commentary articles. In his creative talk, he also expressed his identification with the theme of nationality. The inferiority of the people criticized by Lu Hsün has also been reproduced to varying degrees in Chang T’ien-i's creations about the urban petty bourgeois.
The fourth chapter examines Chang T’ien-i’s fictions about the urban petty bourgeois in the background of the 1930s’ left-wing literature. On the one hand, Chang T’ien-i’s creations are clearly left-wing. This is reflected in his serious literary attitude, revolutionary consciousness and consciousness of struggle, and conscious use of class concept. On the other hand, Chang T’ien-i’s writing about the urban petty bourgeois broke through the left-wing literary model. He abandoned the formula of “revolution and love”; his description of urban middle-class society also enriched left-wing themes; with the help of the perspective of national character, he combined universal human values with social values, expanding the depth and breadth of left-wing literature; focusing on the literary character of the work has obtained a unique satirical artistic achievement.