Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature

by Li-hua Ying

Overview

Modern Chinese literature has been flourishing for over a century, with varying degrees of intensity and energy at different junctures of history and points of locale. An integral part of world literature from the moment it was born, it has been in constant dialogue with its counterparts from the rest of the world. As it has been challenged and enriched by external influences, it has contributed to the wealth of literary culture of the entire world. In terms of themes and styles, modern Chinese literature is rich and varied; from the revolutionary to the pastoral, from romanticism to feminism, from modernism to post-modernism, critical realism, psychological realism, socialist realism, and magical realism. Indeed, it encompasses a full range of ideological and aesthetic concerns.

Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature presents a broad perspective on the development and history of literature in modern China. It offers a chronology, introduction, bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on authors, literary and historical developments, trends, genres, and concepts that played a central role in the evolution of modern Chinese literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810870819
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	12/22/2009
Series:	Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts , #35
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	494
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Li-hua Ying is director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College. She is also the executive director of the Association of Shufa Calligraphy Education, an academic organization based in the United States.
Li-hua Ying is director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College. She is also the executive director of the Association of Shufa Calligraphy Education, an academic organization based in the United States.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff)

Preface

Reader’s Note

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Chronology

Introduction

THE DICTIONARY

Bibliography

Notes

Index

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

In 300 multiparagraph entries, Li-hua Ying offers what she declares a controversial definition of Chinese literary modernism: she begins with the May Fourth generation, focuses on literature written in vernacular rather than classical Chinese, and incorporates culturally or politically disparate areas of China. A chronology charts the modernist advance from 1891 to the present. Concise, fully cross-referenced entries profile literary figures, movements, organizations, and publications that shaped the modern literary movement throughout the nation and beyond its political boundaries. An authoritative work.” —Library Journal

“While there are many similar publications in Chinese, this well-researched reference tool will serve English readers well and is recommended.” —American Reference Books Annual

“Recommended.... This work emphasizes authors and their works, along with relevant historical movements and political events, that have influences the development of modern Chinese literature.... This volume will be useful both for entry-level researches and for those undertaking in-depth study of modern Chinese literature.” —N.N. Xiao, Choice Reviews

“Ying, director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College, takes as her province here literature written in Chinese in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora from the May Fourth Movement (1919) movement to the present. She has chosen to acknowledge 'the defining role of the vernacular language' by excluding works written in classical Chinese and 'for the sake of convenience' has omitted many Chinese writers in Southeast Asia. Chinese writers who have settled in the West are included if they address the admittedly slippery issue of 'Chineseness.' Because this dictionary is intended for readers of English, the extensive bibliography provides publication data for Chinese editions (with romanized Chinese titles and their Englishequivalents) as well as, where they exist, English translations; anthologies, surveys, and general critical works; and critical works on individual authors in English. Orienting the reader are the author's introduction and a chronology. Roughly two-thirdsof the volume is the dictionary section, where the majority of admirably cross-referenced entries are biographical (from Lu Xun and Ba Jin of the May Fourth generation to 2000 Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian to younger writers born in the 1960s, such as” —Booklist

“Ying, director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College, takes as her province here literature written in Chinese in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora from the May Fourth Movement (1919) movement to the present. She has chosen to acknowledge “the defining role of the vernacular language” by excluding works written in classical Chinese and “for the sake of convenience” has omitted many Chinese writers in Southeast Asia. Chinese writers who have settled in the West are included if they address the admittedly slippery issue of “Chineseness.” Because this dictionary is intended for readers of English, the extensive bibliography provides publication data for Chinese editions (with romanized Chinese titles and their English equivalents) as well as, where they exist, English translations; anthologies, surveys, and general critical works; and critical works on individual authors in English. Orienting the reader are the author's introduction and a chronology. Roughly two-thirds of the volume is the dictionary section, where the majority of admirably cross-referenced entries are biographical (from Lu Xun and Ba Jin of the May Fourth generation to 2000 Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian to younger writers born in the 1960s, such as Yu Hua and Xu Kun). The vast majority of writers will be unfamiliar to all but specialists and veteran readers of Chinese literature, but the biographical and literary details may spur browsers to seek out these writers. Other entries introduce topics such as Cultural Revolution, Rootseeking literature, and Spoken drama. The bibliography makes up about one-third of the book. Highly recommended as a reference and introduction to the diverse literatures of the various modern Chinese cultures too little known in the West.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

For the second edition of this dictionary, Ying revised or updated more than 40 entries from the first edition and added some 100 new entries. The dictionary provides entries on major authors (offering biographical and literary introductions) and on historical events, social movements, and institutions and schools that played important roles in the development of modern Chinese literature. The dictionary's most valuable contribution is its extensive bibliography, which is organized into four sections: primary works of individual authors (Chinese original works and English translations), anthologies, surveys and general critical works, and critical works on individual authors. Students of modern Chinese literature will find this bibliography a great starting point…. Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers.

Choice Reviews

While there are many similar publications in Chinese, this well-researched reference tool will serve English readers well and is recommended.

American Reference Books Annual

Recommended.... This work emphasizes authors and their works, along with relevant historical movements and political events, that have influences the development of modern Chinese literature.... This volume will be useful both for entry-level researches and for those undertaking in-depth study of modern Chinese literature.

Choice Reviews - N.N. Xiao

Ying, director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College, takes as her province here literature written in Chinese in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora from the May Fourth Movement (1919) movement to the present. She has chosen to acknowledge 'the defining role of the vernacular language' by excluding works written in classical Chinese and 'for the sake of convenience' has omitted many Chinese writers in Southeast Asia. Chinese writers who have settled in the West are included if they address the admittedly slippery issue of 'Chineseness.' Because this dictionary is intended for readers of English, the extensive bibliography provides publication data for Chinese editions (with romanized Chinese titles and their Englishequivalents) as well as, where they exist, English translations; anthologies, surveys, and general critical works; and critical works on individual authors in English. Orienting the reader are the author's introduction and a chronology. Roughly two-thirdsof the volume is the dictionary section, where the majority of admirably cross-referenced entries are biographical (from Lu Xun and Ba Jin of the May Fourth generation to 2000 Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian to younger writers born in the 1960s, such as

Booklist

While there are many similar publications in Chinese, this well-researched reference tool will serve English readers well and is recommended.

May 2010 American Reference Books Annual

Ying, director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College, takes as her province here literature written in Chinese in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora from the May Fourth Movement (1919) movement to the present. She has chosen to acknowledge 'the defining role of the vernacular language' by excluding works written in classical Chinese and 'for the sake of convenience' has omitted many Chinese writers in Southeast Asia. Chinese writers who have settled in the West are included if they address the admittedly slippery issue of 'Chineseness.' Because this dictionary is intended for readers of English, the extensive bibliography provides publication data for Chinese editions (with romanized Chinese titles and their Englishequivalents) as well as, where they exist, English translations; anthologies, surveys, and general critical works; and critical works on individual authors in English. Orienting the reader are the author's introduction and a chronology. Roughly two-thirdsof the volume is the dictionary section, where the majority of admirably cross-referenced entries are biographical (from Lu Xun and Ba Jin of the May Fourth generation to 2000 Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian to younger writers born in the 1960s, such as

July 2010 Booklist

For the second edition of this dictionary, Ying revised or updated more than 40 entries from the first edition and added some 100 new entries. The dictionary provides entries on major authors (offering biographical and literary introductions) and on historical events, social movements, and institutions and schools that played important roles in the development of modern Chinese literature. The dictionary's most valuable contribution is its extensive bibliography, which is organized into four sections: primary works of individual authors (Chinese original works and English translations), anthologies, surveys and general critical works, and critical works on individual authors. Students of modern Chinese literature will find this bibliography a great starting point…. Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers.

Choice