History of Chinese Popular Literature

Author: Zheng Zhenduo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-08
Features: This book was first published by the library in 1938 and is a pioneering and classic work in the study of Chinese folk literature. The author defines "popular literature" as "literature that is popular, that is folk literature, and that is literature for the masses." He boldly asserts that "popular literature has not only become a major component of Chinese literature but also the center of Chinese literary history." Based on this, he classifies the genre into five categories: poetry, fiction, drama, narrative literature, and game literature, and discusses the development of popular literature (excluding fiction and drama) from the pre-Qin period to the late Qing Dynasty in chapters. The value of this book lies in filling the gaps in the study of Chinese literary history and proposing many original and progressive theoretical insights.