
Chinese Modern
The Heroic and the Quotidian
Xiaobing Tang(Author)
Duke University Press
Published on 3. April 2000
Book
Hardback
402 pages
978-0-8223-2412-6 (ISBN)
Description
Chinese Modern examines crucial episodes in the creation of Chinese modernity during the turbulent twentieth century. Analyzing a rich array of literary, visual, theatrical, and cinematic texts, Xiaobing Tang portrays the cultural transformation of China from the early 1900s through the founding of the People's Republic, the installation of the socialist realist aesthetic, the collapse of the idea of utopia in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, and the gradual cannibalization of the socialist past by consumer culture at the century's end. Throughout, he highlights the dynamic tension between everyday life and the heroic ideal.
Tang uncovers crucial clues to modern Chinese literary and cultural practices through readings of Wu Jianren's 1906 novel The Sea of Regret and works by canonical writers Lu Xun, Ding Ling, and Ba Jin. For the midcentury, he broadens his investigation by considering theatrical, cinematic, and visual materials in addition to literary texts. His reading of the 1963 play The Young Generation reveals the anxiety and terror underlying the exhilarating new socialist life portrayed on the stage. This play, enormously influential when it first appeared, illustrates the utopian vision of China's lyrical age and its underlying discontents-both of which are critical for understanding late-twentieth-century China. Tang closes with an examination of post-Cultural Revolution nostalgia for the passion of the lyrical age.
Throughout Chinese Modern Tang suggests a historical and imaginative affinity between apparently separate literatures and cultures. He thus illuminates not only Chinese modernity but also the condition of modernity as a whole, particularly in light of the postmodern recognition that the market and commodity culture are both angel and devil. This elegantly written volume will be invaluable to students of China, Asian studies, literary criticism, and cultural studies, as well as to readers who study modernity.
Tang uncovers crucial clues to modern Chinese literary and cultural practices through readings of Wu Jianren's 1906 novel The Sea of Regret and works by canonical writers Lu Xun, Ding Ling, and Ba Jin. For the midcentury, he broadens his investigation by considering theatrical, cinematic, and visual materials in addition to literary texts. His reading of the 1963 play The Young Generation reveals the anxiety and terror underlying the exhilarating new socialist life portrayed on the stage. This play, enormously influential when it first appeared, illustrates the utopian vision of China's lyrical age and its underlying discontents-both of which are critical for understanding late-twentieth-century China. Tang closes with an examination of post-Cultural Revolution nostalgia for the passion of the lyrical age.
Throughout Chinese Modern Tang suggests a historical and imaginative affinity between apparently separate literatures and cultures. He thus illuminates not only Chinese modernity but also the condition of modernity as a whole, particularly in light of the postmodern recognition that the market and commodity culture are both angel and devil. This elegantly written volume will be invaluable to students of China, Asian studies, literary criticism, and cultural studies, as well as to readers who study modernity.
Reviews / Votes
"Containing a series of penetrating analyses of landmark cultural works from the entire course of the twentieth century, Chinese Modern represents the most comprehensive account of modern Chinese literature that has ever been published in English. Tang also illuminates-like no one has before-the various ways in which the looming imperative of modernity has left its image on the imagination of modern China."-Theodore Huters, University of California at Los Angeles "Read Chinese Modern for a journey through China's 'long twentieth century.' Xiaobing Tang as guide shows how imaginative sympathy for one's subject nourishes critical acuity."-Norma Field, University of ChicagoMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
North Carolina
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
17 figures
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8223-2412-6 (9780822324126)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2000
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€218.99
Available for download
Person
Xiaobing Tang is Associate Professor in Modern Chinese Literature at the University of Chicago.
Content
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Part I 11
Part II 163
Afterword 341
Glossary 349
Selected Bibliography 357
Index 369
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Part I 11
Part II 163
Afterword 341
Glossary 349
Selected Bibliography 357
Index 369