Mao Dun Novel -- Student Reading Classics

Author: Mao Dun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Among modern Chinese literary writers, Mao Dun is renowned for his novels, especially as a master of the long novel, leaving a significant mark on the history of modern Chinese literature. The author himself seemed to be acutely aware of this. People remember that in his later years, when he donated 250,000 yuan of his manuscript fees to the Writers' Association, he also hoped to establish a literary prize for long novels to reward the best annual long novels. In fact, through his diligent efforts, he set an example for Chinese fiction writing. When we think of long novels like Red Rainbow, Night in Shanghai, Stories of the Transition Period, Corruption, and Red Leaves Are Like February Flowers, we naturally recall his contributions to the long novel genre. The Red Rainbow selected here is a long novel he wrote after completing his trilogy Eros. This novel was completed between April and June 1929 and serialized in Monthly Literary Magazine (Volume 20, Issues 6-8) in 1930, later published by Kaixin Publishing House. This was precisely the period when he was living in exile in Japan after the Great Revolution. Both Eros and Red Rainbow depict the lives of intellectual youth, but they exhibit distinct characteristics. Naturally, the former reflects the spiritual turmoil of some intellectual youth before and after the Great Revolution, and thus the tone of the narrative is relatively somber.