"Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature" by Li-hua Ying - Part 1 pdf

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LITERATURE • CHINESE LITERATURE
MODERN
CHINESE
LITERATURE
LI-HUA YING
HISTORICAL
DICTIONARY
OF
Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, No. 35
Modern Chinese literature has been flourishing for more than a century, with
varying degrees of intensity and energy at different junctures of history and
points of locale. Although it has been challenged and enriched by external
influences, it is an integral part of world literature in constant dialogue with its
counterparts across the globe—contributing to the wealth of worldwide literary
culture. In terms of themes and styles, modern Chinese literature is rich and var-
ied: from revolutionary to pastoral, romanticism to feminism, and modernism
to postmodernism, as well as critical, psychological, socialist, and magical real-
ism. Indeed, it encompasses a full range of ideological and aesthetic concerns.
This Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature presents a broad
perspective of the development and history of literature in modern China. It
includes a chronology, introduction, bibliography, and more than 300 cross-

referenced dictionary entries on authors, literary and historical developments,
trends, genres, and concepts playing a central role in the evolution of modern
Chinese literature.
Li-hua Ying is director of the Chinese and Japanese Program at Bard College,
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. She is also the executive director of the
Association of Shufa Calligraphy Education, an academic organization based
in the United States.
YING
HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF
MODERN
CHINESE
LITERATURE
HD Modern Chinese Lit Litho.indd1 1HD Modern Chinese Lit Litho.indd1 1 10/28/09 1:59:21 PM10/28/09 1:59:21 PM
Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts
Jon Woronoff, Series Editor
1. Science Fiction Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2004.
2. Hong Kong Cinema, by Lisa Odham Stokes, 2007.
3. American Radio Soap Operas, by Jim Cox, 2005.
4. Japanese Traditional Theatre, by Samuel L. Leiter, 2006.
5. Fantasy Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2005.
6. Australian and New Zealand Cinema, by Albert Moran and
Errol Vieth, 2006.
7. African-American Television, by Kathleen Fearn-Banks, 2006.
8. Lesbian Literature, by Meredith Miller, 2006.
9. Scandinavian Literature and Theater, by Jan Sjåvik, 2006.
10. British Radio, by Seán Street, 2006.
11. German Theater, by William Grange, 2006.
12. African American Cinema, by S. Torriano Berry and Venise
Berry, 2006.
13. Sacred Music, by Joseph P. Swain, 2006.

14. Russian Theater, by Laurence Senelick, 2007.
15. French Cinema, by Dayna Oscherwitz and MaryEllen Higgins,
2007.
16. Postmodernist Literature and Theater, by Fran Mason, 2007.
17. Irish Cinema, by Roderick Flynn and Pat Brereton, 2007.
18. Australian Radio and Television, by Albert Moran and Chris
Keating, 2007.
19. Polish Cinema, by Marek Haltof, 2007.
20. Old Time Radio, by Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, 2008.
21. Renaissance Art, by Lilian H. Zirpolo, 2008.
22. Broadway Musical, by William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird,
2008.
23. American Theater: Modernism, by James Fisher and Felicia
Hardison Londré, 2008.
24. German Cinema, by Robert C. Reimer and Carol J. Reimer,
2008.
25. Horror Cinema, by Peter Hutchings, 2008.
26. Westerns in Cinema, by Paul Varner, 2008.
27. Chinese Theater, by Tan Ye, 2008.
28. Italian Cinema, by Gino Moliterno, 2008.
29. Architecture, by Allison Lee Palmer, 2008.
30. Russian and Soviet Cinema, by Peter Rollberg, 2008.
31. African American Theater, by Anthony D. Hill, 2009.
32. Postwar German Literature, by William Grange, 2009.
33. Modern Japanese Literature and Theater, by J. Scott Miller,
2009.
34. Animation and Cartoons, by Nichola Dobson, 2009.
35. Modern Chinese Literature, by Li-hua Ying, 2010.
Historical Dictionary
of Modern Chinese

Literature
Li-hua Ying
Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts,
No. 35
THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
Lanham • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2010
Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2010 by Li-hua Ying
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ying, Li-hua.
Historical dictionary of modern Chinese literature / Li-hua Ying.
p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts ; no. 35)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8108-5516-8 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-7081-9 (ebook)
1. Chinese literature—20th century—Dictionaries—English. 2. Chinese
literature—20th century—Bio-bibliography. 3. Authors, Chinese—20th century—
Biography—Dictionaries. I. Title.
PL2303.Y59 2010
895.1'09'00503—dc22 2009027237

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The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
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Printed in the United States of America
v
Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff vii
Preface ix
Reader’s Notes xi
Chronology xiii
Introduction xxi
THE DICTIONARY 1
Bibliography 295
About the Author 465
Contents

vii
Chinese literature is an amazingly hardy breed. During the modern period,
roughly since the beginning of the 20th century, it has had to contend with
the most adverse conditions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and imperial rule;
invasion and occupation by Japan; the long civil war between the Nation-
alists and the Communists, and then under communism the dictates of
Mao Zedong and other leaders; and the rampant materialism of the present
day. Yet, in every period, it has found forms of expression and in some
cases flourished, leaving an impressive legacy that is still being enriched
at present. Alas, while those who know Chinese can enjoy it, this privilege
is only gradually being shared with outsiders as more and more works are

translated into English and other languages. This is finally encouraging
its spread to new readers and new admirers, who are becoming familiar
with a plethora of new authors—novelists, essayists, playwrights, and
poets—and masses of intriguing works. Yet, this did not emerge from a
vacuum, and Chinese literature is much easier to fathom in the context of
its historical and literary trends.
Providing this context, and introducing the authors and their works, is
the main task of this Historical Dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature.
It goes about it in several ways. The chronology traces the evolution, one
with many twists and turns and only rare straight stretches, which partially
account for the variety and diversity. The introduction provides a useful
overview, one in which to insert the authors and their works. The diction-
ary follows on with hundreds of entries on writers, in all possible genres,
of all possible proclivities, with varying styles and subject matter. Other
entries present the historical and political events that impacted on this
literature and the assorted literary currents and trends that shaped it. Since
China is a vast country, with a population of over a billion, it is helpful
to remember that it consists of regions, some of which have their own
traditions, such as Tibet, and also that Chinese writers not only live and
create in the People’s Republic of China but also the Republic of China
Editor’s Foreword
(Taiwan), Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia and, indeed, at present in the
United States and other Western countries. Having once discovered how
rich this literature is, there will inevitably be many who will want to read
the works either in the original or translation and gain further background,
which is facilitated by the bibliography.
Given the extensive period, the geographical spread, and the broad
range of writers and works, the author of this volume has done an ex-
traordinary job of bringing all the various strands together and providing
a comprehensive picture. Li-hua Ying grew up in the People’s Republic

of China and studied at Yunnan Normal University, where she received a
B.A. in English and also briefly taught. Moving to the United States, and
not without maintaining her interest in English literature, she has increas-
ingly specialized in Chinese literature. With a foot in each culture, and at-
tuned to the increasing flows between them, she is an excellent guide to the
literature of the world’s largest cultural community, the rapidly expanding
literary output of which is bound to be known and read increasingly in
coming years.
Jon Woronoff
Series Editor
viii • EDITOR’S FOREWORD
ix
How to define “modern Chinese literature”? The challenge has to do spe-
cifically with the terms modern and Chinese. First of all, when does the
modern period begin and end? Second, by “Chinese,” does one mean “of
China” or “in the Chinese language”? If the scope is limited to 1918 to
1949, then the issue can be settled without much controversy. If the histori-
cal line stretches further down, however, the problem becomes potentially
divisive. What about Taiwan? What about prehandover Hong Kong? And
the Chinese diaspora?
In the process of sorting through nearly a century of literary production,
I have decided to adopt a more inclusive, thus more controversial, defini-
tion of “modern Chinese literature” in order to take into consideration
the complex and diverse paths of its development. In terms of historical
framework, I begin with the May Fourth generation and continue to the
present. Acknowledging the defining role of the vernacular language, I
have chosen to exclude texts written in classical Chinese during the same
period. In terms of geographical boundary, I have also opted for a more in-
clusive line of demarcation. In addition to writers in the People’s Republic
of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, those who have settled in the West but

continue to address the topic of, for the lack of a better word, “Chinese-
ness,” are considered as part of the modern Chinese literary enterprise.
Treating modern Chinese literature as a continuous and borderless entity,
this dictionary of Modern Chinese Literature thus adopts a liberal usage
of the words Chinese and modern by selecting from writers publishing
since the beginning of the 20th century to the present whose language of
expression is Chinese. A more accurate but cumbersome title could be “A
Dictionary of Modern Chinese (Language) Literature.”
I am certainly aware that the inclusion of Taiwanese writers in this dic-
tionary could be a point of contention. My process of selection, however,
is guided by considerations of linguistic as well as cultural and literary
Preface