Milestones on a golden road : writing for Chinese socialism, 1945-80 / Richard King.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

King, Richard, 1951 February 5-

Series:

Contemporary Chinese studies.

Contemporary Chinese Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Chinese literature.

Socialism in literature.

China--In literature.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Milestones on a Golden Road, Richard King presents pivotal works of fiction produced in four key periods of Chinese revolutionary history: the civil war (1945-49), the Great Leap Forward (1958-60), the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the post-Mao catharsis (1979-80). Taking its cues from the Soviet Union's optimistic depictions of a society liberated by Communism, the official Chinese literature of this era is characterized by grand narratives of progress. Addressing questions of literary production, King looks at how writers dealt with shifting ideological demands, what indigenous and imported traditions inspired them, and how they were able to depict a utopian Communist future to their readers, even as the present took a very different turn. Early "red classics" were followed by works featuring increasingly lurid images of joyful socialism, and later by fiction exposing the Mao era as an age of irrationality, arbitrary rule, and suffering � a Golden Road that had led to nowhere.

Contents:

pt. 1. The war years and the search for form, 1945-48

pt. 2. The great leap forward and the stuff of heroism, 1959-62

pt. 3. The cultural revolution and the spirit of struggle, 1972-76

pt. 4. After Mao : reversing judgments, 1979-80.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-86477-0

0-7748-2374-7

OCLC:

824177585