University British Literary History, Volume 1

Author: Chen Jia
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-09-01
Features: At the suggestion of the participants at a conference held in Hangzhou in May 1980 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Education, this College History of English Literature has been designed and finally brought to completion. It is based on A History of English Literature (in four volumes, the Commercial Press), a distinguished work of high academic standing by the late Professor Chen Jia of Nanjing University. In view of the different levels of proficiency in the English language among students of English in Chinese colleges and universities today, the present book has been deliberately made shorter and more accessible. Thus, some of the wealth of references and extensive discussions on literary topics in the original work have either been simplified or dispensed with. However, great efforts have been made, in this shorter version, to carry out the guiding principles of Professor Chen's scholarly volumes and to follow the original format in its divisions into nine chapters, which are further divided under different headings and subheadings to enable the reader to follow or consult it easily. Care has also been taken to use, for reference, the fruits of the latest research done both in this country, notably the foreign literature section of The Chinese Encyclopaedia, and in Britain and the United States. In order to accommodate actual students' needs in the present work, the draft, in monograph-sheet form, has been put to classroom use several times at Suzhou University and has received necessary alterations and modifications in the light of these trials. My warmest gratitude goes to Professor Chen Jia, my beloved teacher, not only for his generosity in providing me with his work, but also for his inspiring guidance and meticulous care that constantly enhanced the progress of the book. I am also very grateful to Professor Mao Minzhu (Mao Minzhu) of Nanjing University who kindly contributed her share of Chapters 1, 2, 6. My debt to Professor Li Yixie (Li Yixie) of Nankai University and Professor Yang Qishen (Yang Qishen) of Fudan University is far larger than that which a writer conventionally owes to his editors; they read the whole manuscript on behalf of the Textbook Evaluation Committee of the State Commission for Education and made not a few valuable suggestions and improvements. If there are still mistakes peeking through the pages or even boldly intruding, they are all my responsibility. Thanks are also due to Ms. Zang Tianying (Zang Tianying) of Jiangsu Education Institute for her magnificent work in typing Chapters 8-9 of the manuscript. Finally, I wish to thank the staff of the Commercial Press, especially Mr. Zhu Yuan (Zhu Yuan), senior editor, and Ms. Zheng Weilin (Zheng Weilin), executive editor, for their efforts to bring this book to publication.