The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century

Bonnie S. McDougall, Kam Louie. The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century. New York. Columbia University Press. 1998 (C) 1997). vii + 504 pages. $35. ISBN 0-23111084-7.

Bonnie McDougall and Kam Louie have performed an invaluable service by producing the fine introductory survey The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century. Concentrating on the "canon" of modern Chinese literature as defined by a majority of Chinese intellectuals and its readers and writers-a body of work also frequently characterized as "serious," "realist," "ameliorative," "socially conscious," "westernized," and even "elitist"-they consciously exclude popular entertainments, urban commercial best sellers (pulp fiction), and poetry in classical Chinese. Their focus is still further narrowed by their stated attempt to cover particularly those works that are available in English translation. This emphasis, together with a select thirteen-page bibliography of translations and studies, makes the volume an excellent textbook for courses in modern Chinese literature in translation. A Chinese...