20th Century Chinese Lit in Translation

SAME AS V29.0731 & V41.0716.

This class explores the changing trends in literary writing and how it relates to the social and historical contexts of the period. Students study the literature to reflect on the culture and self-understanding of modern China.

In this course we will examine the development of modern Chinese literature from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. We will begin with the late-Qing literature written just prior to the collapse of the imperial order with the 1911 Republican revolution. We will then turn to the work of Lu Xun, long considered the father of modern Chinese literature. We will then trace the development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature in the context of colonialism, war and revolution. Our focus will be upon how China both critically assimilates and transforms the modern concept of literature according to the specific needs of a “semi-colonial, semi-feudal” modern nation-state in the process of its formation. Emphasis will be placed on developing the skills needed for careful and critical analyses of literary texts.