Twentieth-Century History of Chinese Literature (Volume 1)

Author: Wang Xiaoming, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: This is the revised edition of A History of Twentieth-Century Chinese Literature. Since its publication by our press in 1997, the book has had a broad impact and has become a standard reference for researchers in related disciplines both at home and abroad, as well as a graduate-level textbook for many universities. This revised edition includes significant integration and revisions to the original work. The original edition, which featured eighty-two articles, has been reduced to twenty-eight; twenty-one new articles reflecting the latest achievements in academia have been added, accounting for over 40% of the revised volume. The entire book has been condensed from four volumes and 1.5 million words to the current two volumes and 1 million words.
As an edited collection of historical and critical essays on literature, this book systematically compiles important research findings on twentieth-century Chinese literature since the 1980s, showcasing the overall level and emerging trends of the discipline of modern and contemporary Chinese literature. The selected essays have all undergone rigorous screening. They include reassessments of topics such as late Qing fiction, the May Fourth literary tradition, and the "Seventeen Years Literature," as well as comprehensive explorations of themes like modernist literature in China and the "implicit writing" of contemporary literature. The essays cover both internal literary issues—such as the examination of literary genres like fiction, poetry, prose, and drama, as well as literary translation and literary criticism—and external relationships, including the connections between literature and society, literature and the city, and literature and other media. There are in-depth discussions of major figures like Lu Xun and Cao Yu, as well as detailed analyses of renowned works such as The Family, Rickshaw Boy, and White-haired Girl.
On an individual level, each essay presents rigorous, fresh arguments with strong intellectual depth and impact. When compiled as a whole, the book essentially encompasses various methodologies and approaches in the study of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, offering ample inspiration and enlightenment in terms of disciplinary methodology.