The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature (Modern Asian Literature Series)

I strongly recommend this book for all who are interested in modern Chinese literature and history. I reference this book extensively in my history class, and my students enjoy having "book club" sessions about this book. The fact that all literature included in this book are relatively short make them excellent materials to work with in teaching and learning. All translations are beautifully done, and we need more books like this to promote Chinese literature for English readers.

OK. That is fine.

There are not so many books and translations on Chinese literature. I am using the book for my studies. Thanks.

This is a very collection of modern Chinese literature reading class. Classical masterpiece of Chinese writers from 1919 to 1976.

write a review

These comments are for the first edition of the book, which was published in 1995, not the second/revised version, which came out in 2007.The book was the largest collection of modern Chinese literature that I've seen, and must've taken some years to compile. It contained 152 works by 83 authors. There were 50 short stories (42 authors), 71 poems (30 authors), and 30 essays plus 1 excerpt from an autobiography (11 authors). The short fiction comprised about 70% of the book, poetry 10% and essays/excerpt 20%.There were 88 works from the 20th century from mainland China (47 writers), 58 from Taiwan (31 writers, including émigrés), and 6 works from Hong Kong from the 1970s and after (5 writers). Seventeen of the authors were women.The works were divided into short fiction, poetry and essays, with each of these divided further into pieces from 1918-49 (early modern), 1949-76 (post-"Liberation") and since 1976 (post-Mao). The middle period, 1949-76, was represented almost entirely by Taiwanese, including émigrés from the mainland. This was because most of the literature from the mainland during that time, intended mainly to promote the new society under the Communist Party, was judged unable to stand inclusion on artistic merit. The one exception was a poem by Mu Dan published at the period's end, in 1976.The short fiction was by far the most enjoyable section, with stories by the early moderns to 1949 (including Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Lao She, Shen Congwen, Ba Jin, Zhang Tianyi, Ding Ling, Wu Zuxiang, Xiao Hong, Zhang Ailing), writers from Taiwan from the 1960s to 1990 (Zhu Xining, Bai Xianyong, Li Yongping, Yuan Qiongqiong, Li Ang, Xiao Sa, Zhu Tianwen), and mainland writers after 1976 to 1991 (Qiao Dianyun, Wang Meng, Li Rui, Can Xue, Chen Cun, Mo Yan, Yu Hua and Su Tong). No writer besides Lu Xun was presented in any depth, but the coverage was broad. There were many strong works: humorous, ironic, naturalistic and humanistic, the best of which were written with compassion, powerful imagery and historical insight.Before 1949, there were a narrator's description of the decline of a store that couldn't shift with the times (Lao She), a ferocious depiction of oppression by landlords (Wu Zuxiang), a compassionate story about the effects of prejudice (Xiao Hong) and a wry description of a brief encounter in Shanghai (Eileen Chang). After 1976, there was a fascinating story showing how the treatment of an ancient artifact reflected the changing political currents of the times (Qiao Dianyun) and a piece showing unusually keen psychological insight into one man's behavior (Chen Cun). On Taiwan, there were stories with great descriptive power (Li Yongping), sometimes with allusive symbolism (Zhu Xining), reminiscences about the past (Bai Xianyong), and careful depictions of a relationship (Yuan Qiongqiong, Xiao Sa) and contemporary decadence (Zhu Tianwen).Missed in this prose section were a story from Liu Xianwu, one of the earliest post-Mao writers, Kong Jiesheng, another early post-Mao writer, and pieces from the 1980s by mainland authors Bei Dao, Cheng Naishan, Feng Jicai, Wang Anyi and Wang Shuo.In the poetry section, there were poets before 1949 (including Xu Zhimo, Wen Yiduo, Li Jinfa, Feng Zhi), many poets from Taiwan between the 1950s and 80s (Ji Xian, Yu Guangzhong, Ya Xian, Xiong Hong) poets from the mainland from the 1970s to 1990 (Mu Dan, Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Yang Lian, Wang Xiaolong, Gu Cheng) and an anonymous poem from Hong Kong following the government crackdown on the mainland in 1989.For this reader, the poems were much less interesting, marked by much self-consciousness and obscurity. One enjoyed was "Self" (1976), by Mu Dan, in which the speaker looked back at the selves of his life and wondered which one was real. Moving poems missed in this collection included "Spring Waters" (1923) by Bing Xin on love and optimism, the despairing "All" (ca. 1980) by Bei Dao, and a reply to it, "Also All," (ca. 1980) by Shu Ting. Or anything by Zha Haisheng (Haizi), another important poet for the post-Mao generations. Early poetry by Ai Qing from the 1930s was included, but nothing from 1979 or after ("Hope," "The Great Wall," "The Colosseum of Ancient Rome").The essay section highlighted writers before 1949 (Lin Yutang, Zhou Zouren, Zhu Ziqing, Feng Zikai, Liang Yuchun), those in Taiwan after 1949 (Lin Yutang, Yu Guangzhong, Yang Mu), a few writers on the mainland from the late 1970s (Ba Jin, Wen Jieruo) and one from Hong Kong in the 1980s (Dong Qiao). The majority of their works seemed bookish and/or ephemeral, unconcerned directly with the major events of their time, with too many on subjects like installing a telephone, going shopping, quitting smoking, getting sick or visiting the barber, activities about which it was often felt necessary to cite passages from Chinese classics or historic anecdotes.Interesting exceptions were an essay from the 1920s by Lu Xun for his first collection of short stories that described the aims behind his writing and the excerpt of a memoir by Wen Jieruo and an essay by Ba Jin about the suffering of those close to them during the Cultural Revolution. For most of the rest, I would've gladly traded the space they took up for more excerpts from memoirs -- such as Half of Man Is Woman (1985), by Zhang Xianliang -- or even extracts from important modern novels like Fortress Besieged (1947). No essay by Qian Zhongshu was included, either.All of the younger prose writers from the mainland who were featured in this anthology were still based in China after 1989. Among the poets, however, Bei Dao and Yang Lian had subsequently moved abroad, and Gu Cheng had emigrated in 1979.Because this first edition was published in 1995, the coverage of the 1990s naturally was scant: only five works. I'm looking forward to reading what's been added to the second edition, published in 2007, to reflect recent developments among Chinese writers, both in China and overseas.

This is an authoritative anthology put out by a couple of great translators.Like other reviewers, I also enjoyed the fiction selections more than the poetry or essay selections. With poetry, things get lost in translation, and the essay selections were very different stylistically from Western expository writing. Whereas Western essay writing tends to value persuasive, descriptive details, some of the essays were vague and abstract and almost read like Taoist parables. The topics were, however, interesting in that they were totally different from what you might encounter in Western style essays--for example, in-depth analysis on whether or not ghosts age in the afterlife.As for the fiction, part one (1918-1949) included a lot of selections examining poverty in the context of a free market, and I thought many of these selections were pertinent for Americans. Favorites includes "Spring Silkworms" by Mao Dun, with vivid descriptions of the cultivating of silkworms as a metaphor for human greed; "Dog" by Ba Jin, a story told from the point of view of a lower class person who is treated so poorly he thinks he's a dog; "When I Was in Xia Village" by Ding Ling, about meeting a former Comfort Woman and learning about she plans to live out the rest of her stolen life; "Hands" by Xiao Hong a story about the bullying of a poor, annoying, young girl; and an "An Old and Established Name" by Lao She about how businesses need to change with the times or get taken over by capitalistic ways. Also "Steelyard" by Lai He, a meandering story about the stark disparity between the haves and have nots that ends in a dramatic turn of event, the criminal justice system stepping in to ensure tragedy. I should probably also mention "One Evening in the Rainy Season" by Shi Zhecun about a young woman who has a sudden and very deep flirtation with a man on a bus; the story sheds light on the changing roles of women in the 20th-century. A similar story "Sealed Off" tells the story of a man who thinks he sees his wife (or a former lover) also on public transportation.The selections from the later period, especially in Part 3 (Fiction since 1976) get awfully dark. There is more sex and adult topics, including the politics of the day which weigh heavily on the characters. In these stories, it's no longer capitalism causing the poverty, but communism. Stand-outs for me included: "Dogs*** Food" by Liu Heng about a spirited woman with a goiter who succeeds in feeding her family through the Great Leap Forward by feeding them dogs***; "Iron Child" by Mo Yan, a quasi-magical realistic story about a stranded orphan; and "A Story", a deeply disturbing story told from the point of a view of a man who is basically going around raping women but is unaware of it--worthy of discussion in the Western world.Many of the stories throughout, but especially in the later periods, feature dissolute characters who have lost any sense of decency because of poverty or corruption or both.Most of the selections are pretty short, between 3-20 pages so make for quick reading.It would be great if the author bios came at the beginning of each story, rather than altogether after the introductions, and if each story included a 1-5 sentence summary so the reader can decide if they are in the mood for that particular kind of piece or if they are at all interested in the story, depending on what their purposes are.

utile, ma mancano i nomi in cinese dei brani in antologia, con indicazioni precise sulla data di pubblicazione o sulla raccolta di cui fanno parte.

A must have for everyone who is approaching to modern chinese litterature.The Antholy covers the period from lu xun to the newest chinese authors.Highly recommended for Chinese-related studies.

Although the actual cover page appears to be different from the photo, the book is in good condition. I am very happy with it.