Lu Hsun, pioneer and standard-bearer of modern Chinese literature, wrote this book during the early twenties. It is a study of the historical development of Chinese fiction from early myths and legends down to well-developed long novels written at the end of the Ching Dynasty.The characteristics of various forms of fiction through the centuries, the development of these forms and their influence on each other are lucidly presented, while such major works as the novels Hung Lou Meng (A Dream of Red Mansions) and Shue Hu Chuan (Water Margin) are reviewed in detail.Chinese fiction had its roots in story telling, and the feudal ruling class despised folk literature of this kind. The May 4th Movement of 1919 dealt a mortal blow to the feudal forces in Chinese culture. Then the study of this form of literature began to make headway, Lu Hsun being one of the first to carry out research in this field.This book, the earliest systematic study of the history of Chinese fiction by a Chinese writer, still exercises a great influence among Chinese scholars.This English translation is illustrated with reproductions of early Chinese woodcuts.

A Brief History of Chinese Fiction grew out of the lecture notes Lu Hsun used when teaching a course on Chinese fiction at Peking University between 1920 and 1924. In December 1923 a first volume was printed and in June 1924 a second volume. In September 1925 these were reprinted as one book. In 1930 the author made certain changes, but all subsequent editions have remained the same.

This book develops interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to analyzing the cross-cultural travels of traditional Chinese fiction. It ties this genre to issues such as translation, world literature, digital humanities, book culture, and images of China. Each chapter offers a case study of the historical and cultural conditions under which traditional Chinese fiction has traveled to the English-speaking world, proposing a critical lens that can be used to explain these cross-cultural encounters. The book seeks to identify connections between traditional Chinese fiction and other cultures that create new meanings and add to the significance of reading, teaching, and studying these classical novels and stories in the English-speaking world. Scholars, students, and general readers who are interested in traditional Chinese fiction, translation studies, and comparative and world literature will find this book useful.

Regarded as a pioneering classic study of 20th-century Chinese fiction, this volume covers some 60 years, from the Literary Revolution of 1917 through the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.'

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.

This study makes a linguistic case for the twentieth century revolution in Chinese language and literature. It offers a history of reform and change in the Chinese language throughout the country’s history, and focuses on the concept of ‘baihua’, a language reform movement championed by Hu Shi and other scholars which laid the foundation for the May fourth New Literature Movement, the larger New Culture Movement and which now defines modern Chinese. Examining the differences between classical and modern Chinese language systems alongside an investigation into the relevance and impact of translation in this language revolution - notably addressing the pivotal role of May Fourth leader Lu Xun - this book provides a rare insight into the evolution of the Chinese language and those who championed its development.

This book examines the Chinese fictions (xiaoshuo) published between 1898 and 1927 – three pivotal decades, during which China underwent significant social changes. It applies Narratology and Sociology of the Novel methods to analyze both the texts themselves and the social-cultural factors that triggered the transformation of the narrative mode in Chinese fiction. Based on empirical data, the author argues that this transformation was not only inspired by translated Western fiction, but was also the result of a creative transformation in tradition Chinese literature.

This important contribution to the study of early modern Chinese fiction and representation of gender relations focuses on literary representations of the prostitute produced in the Ming and Qing periods. Following her heavily symbolic body, the present work maps this fictional heroine's journey from innocence to sex-work and beyond. This crucial angle allows the author to paint a picture of gender identity, sexuality, and desire that is at once unitary and multi-layered, and that comes to illuminate some of the major themes in the construction of Chinese modernity.