The Neglected Muse

Author: (American) Geng Huadao, translated by Zhang Quan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: "Disintegration" is a negative term, but it aptly describes the political and military situation in China from 1937 to 1945. At that time, the Chinese nation, which was struggling for unification, was further fragmented by war. However, throughout the period of turmoil, a cultural life that made significant contributions to modern Chinese literature was maintained in the areas occupied by Japanese forces, including the cultural centers of Shanghai and Beijing. Instead of discussing the well-known, common works and writers introduced in lengthy research studies, this book focuses on the little-discussed literature from occupied areas, aiming to incorporate the literature of this specific historical period into the mainstream of modern Chinese literary history and criticism. The ultimate goal is to direct critical attention to the valuable literary works of this period. The subject of this book is Chinese literature in Japanese military-occupied areas during the Sino-Japanese War. Its main task is not to explore the social role of literature or the moral dilemmas faced by writers, but to evaluate it from the perspective of a critic, with the purpose of incorporating the literature of this specific historical period into the mainstream of modern Chinese literary history and criticism.