A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature Book

Translator's Note xi

Foreword xiii

Part 1 Literature of the 1950s-1970s

Chapter 1 The 'Transition' in Literature 3

1 The Literary Scene in the 1940s 3

2 The 'Choice' of the Left-Wing Literary World 8

3 The Literary Thought of Mao Zedong 12

4 The Establishment of a 'New Direction for Literature' 17

Chapter 2 Literary Norms and the Literary Environment 21

1 The Literary Environment of the 1950s-1970s 21

2 Periodicals and Literary Groups 27

3 Literary Criticism and Campaigns of Criticism 30

4 The Change in the Overall Nature of Writers 33

5 The Cultural Dispositions of 'Core Writers' 36

Chapter 3 Contradictions and Conflicts 41

1 Frequent Campaigns of Criticism 41

2 The Continuation of Internal Contradictions Within Left-Wing Literature 47

3 Querying the Norms 51

4 The Nature of Divergence 56

Chapter 4 Hidden Poets and Poetry Groupings 64

1 The Choice of Paths for Poetry 64

2 A Universal Artistic Predicament 67

3 The Fate of the 'Nine Leaves' Poets 72

4 The Lot of the 'July Group' Poets 73

Chapter 5 The Forms of Poetry 76

1 The 'Realist' Tendency and the Narrative Poetry Tide 76

2 The Artistic Path of Young Poets 81

3 Political Lyricism 85

Chapter 6 Themes and Forms of Fiction 90

1 The Division of Fiction Writers 90

2 The Systemization and Classification of Themes 93

3 The State of Typology in Fiction 96

4 The Trend Toward Unity in Form 100

Chapter 7 Rural Area Fiction 104

1 The Contemporary Forms of Rural Area Fiction 104

2 Zhao Shuli and the Shanxi Writers 108

3 The 'History of the Critical Value' of Zhao Shuli 112

4 Liu Qing's History of Pioneering Work 115

Chapter 8 The Narration of History 120

1 RevolutionaryHistorical Fiction 120

2 The Pursuit of 'Epic Character' 122

3 Red Crag's Mode of Composition 127

4 Another Type of Memory 130

5 The Song of Youth and the Discussion Surrounding It 135

6 The Historical Novel Li Zicheng 140

Chapter 9 The Plight of Other Forms of Fiction 143

1 Inhibited Fiction 143

2 In Search of New Substitutes 146

3 'Urban Fiction' and 'Fiction of Industrial Themes' 150

4 Three Family Lane and the Discussion Surrounding It 153

Chapter 10 Beyond the Mainstream 156

1 'Non-Mainstream Literature' 156

2 The First 'Heterodoxy' 157

3 'Hundred Flowers Literature' 160

4 Symbolic Narration 165

5 Permutations of Positions 169

Chapter 11 Prose 171

1 The Concept of Contemporary Prose 171

2 The 'Renaissance' of Prose 173

3 Prose Writers and Their Creative Patterns 177

4 The Fate of the Miscellaneous Essay 180

5 Memoirs and Historical Biography 183

Chapter 12 The Theater 186

1 A Survey of Dramatic Art 186

2 Lao She's Teahouse 190

3 Historical Drama and Related Discussion 193

4 The 'High Tide' of Drama 200

Chapter 13 Towards 'Cultural Revolution Literature' 203

1 The Literary Campaign of 1958 203

2 The Radical Ideological Trend in Literature and 208

3 Literature's Modes of Existence 212

4 Characteristics of 'Revolutionary Literature' 218

Chapter 14 The Re-Construction of 'Classics' 222

1 The Experiment in the Creation of 'Models' 222

2 'Revolutionary Model Opera' 226

3 The Fiction of Hao Ran and Others 230

4 Difficulties in the Creation of 'Models' 234

Chapter 15 A Divided Literary World 236

1 The Public World of Poetry 236

2 Fiction Writing 239

3 The Last Poems of Mu Dan 242

4 The 'Baiyang Marshes Poetry Grouping' 245

5 Hand-Copied Fiction 249

6 The Poetry of Tian'anmen 253

Part 2 Literature Since 1976

Chapter 16 The Literary Environment During the 1980s 257

1 The Thought Liberation Tide 257

2 Outside Influences During the Open Period 261

3 Division and Regrouping Among Writers 267

4 Literature and the 'Market Economy' 271

Chapter 17 A Survey of 1980s Literature 275

1 Process: The First Half of the 1980s 275

2 Process: The Second Half of the 1980s 279

3 A Variety of Literary Forms 285

4 Overall Styles and Stances of Writers 290

Chapter 18 Fiction During the First Half of the 1980s 293

1 A Few Concepts of the Fiction Tide 293

2 The Formation and Characteristics of the Tide 297

3 Memory of the Wounds of History 300

4 'Educated Youth Fiction' in the Reconsideration of History 309

Chapter 19 1980s Poetry 315

1 Poetry Circles After the 'Cultural Revolution' 315

2 The Poetry of the 'Returnees' (A) 319

3 The Poetry of the 'Returnees' (B) 328

Chapter 20 The New Poetry Tide 335

1 'Misty Poetry' and the Related Polemic 335

2 Major Writers of 'Misty Poetry' 341

3 The 'Newborn Generation' of the New Poetry Tide 349

4 Other Major Poets 356

Chapter 21 Fiction of the Second Half of the 1980s (A) 366

1 'Root-Seeking' in Literature 366

2 'Root-Seeking' and the Artistic Forms of Fiction 370

3 Fiction of the Marketplace and Native Soil 373

4 Outside Groupings and Schools 379

Chapter 22 Fiction of the Second Half of the 1980s (B) 382

1 Literary Exploration and 'Avant-Garde Fiction' 382

2 A Description of 'New Realism' 387

3 Writers of 'Avant-Garde Fiction' 390

4 Writers of 'New Realism' in Fiction 395

5 Other Major Writers of Fiction 398

Chapter 23 The Art of Woman Writers 404

1 The Upsurge of Woman Writers 404

2 The Fiction of Woman Writers (A) 408

3 Concepts of 'Women's Literature' 413

4 The Fiction of Woman Writers (B) 416

Chapter 24 The Art of Prose 420

1 A Survey of the Art of Prose 420

2 Memory of 'History' 424

3 Lyric Prose 428

4 Scholarly Prose and Informal Essays 431

Chapter 25 The Situation of Literature in the 1990s 437

1 Changes in the Literary Environment 437

2 Important Literary Phenomena 441

3 The Overall Situation of Literature in the 1990s 444

A Chronology of Contemporary Literature in China 451

Postscript 505

Glossary of Terms, Organizations, and Periodicals 507

Bibliography 551

Titles of Works Cited 573

Index 619