Masculinity besieged? : issues of modernity and male subjectivity in Chinese literature of the late twentieth century / Xueping Zhong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zhong, Xueping, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Chinese literature.

Masculinity in literature.

Literature and society--China.

Literature and society.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (222 p.)

Other Title:

Issues of modernity and male subjectivity in Chinese literature of late twentieth century

Place of Publication:

Durham : Duke University Press, 2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Masculinity Besieged? Xueping Zhong looks at Chinese literature and films produced during the 1980s to examine male subjectivities in contemporary China. Reading through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, Zhong argues that understanding the nature of male subjectivities as portrayed in literature and film is crucial to understanding China’s ongoing quest for modernity.Before the 1990s onslaught of popular culture decentered the role of intellectuals within the nation, they had come to embody Chinese masculinity during the previous decade. The focus on masculinity in literature had become unprecedented in scale and the desire for “real men” began to permeate Chinese popular culture, making icons out of Rambo and Takakura Ken. Stories by Zhang Xianliang and Liu Heng portraying male anxiety about masculine sexuality are employed by Zhong to show how “marginal” males negotiate their sexual identities in relation to both women and the state. Looking at writers popular among not only the well-educated but also the working and middle classes, she discusses works by Han Shaogong, Yu Hua, and Wang Shuo and examines instances of self-loathing male voices, particularly as they are articulated in Mo Yan’s well-known work Red Sorghum. In her last chapter Zhong examines “roots literature,” which speaks of the desire to create strong men as a part of the effort to create a geopolitically strong Chinese nation. In an afterword, Zhong situates her study in the context of the 1990s.This book will be welcomed by scholars of Chinese cultural studies, as well as in literary and gender studies.

Contents:

Ch. 1. Masculinity Besieged? Toward an Understanding of Chinese Modernity and Male Subjectivity

Ch. 2. Sexuality and Male Desire for "Potency"

Ch. 3. From Heroes to Adjuncts, Nobodies, and Antiheroes: The Politics of (Male) Marginality

Ch. 4. Zazhong gaoliang and the Male Search for Masculinity

Ch. 5. Manhood, Cultural Roots, and National Identity.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-198) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780822324423

0822324423

9780822397267

0822397269

OCLC:

893681281