The so-called Intellectual youth is a very special group in Chinese modern history.  After the big historical dislocation,  they don't know where to replace themselves, actually there is no a right place for them either.  While peasants always considered they are City kids,  city kids already mock at them for being so corny.   This kind of embarrassment of identification has been reflected in their literature and the related commentary.  Their real tears of joy or sadness in the life always look like a kind of squeamish sentiment.   People judge their literature normally only on the basis of their agreement with the moral value they found therein.

Intellectual youth  also have their own  problems.  Lack of formal education often let them feel keenly that their literature  ability falls short of their ambitious wishes to reflect their rich life experiences and the big era.   The many years personal hard strivings have also branded them for life.  Therefore their works naturally exhibit a legacy of individualism, or even egocentricity, beside a hefty dose of  provincialism.