Publisher Description

This book examines the Chinese fictions (xiaoshuo) published between 1898 and 1927 – three pivotal decades, during which China underwent significant social changes. It applies Narratology and Sociology of the Novel methods to analyze both the texts themselves and the social-cultural factors that triggered the transformation of the narrative mode in Chinese fiction. Based on empirical data, the author argues that this transformation was not only inspired by translated Western fiction, but was also the result of a creative transformation in tradition Chinese literature.  

Author Biography

Pingyuan CHEN, a professor at Peking University, is a leading scholar in modern Chinese literature and the author of more than 30 books. His primary research focus is on twentieth-century Chinese literature, Chinese fiction and essays. His previous works include The Change of Narrative Modes in Chinese Fiction (Chinese edition), The Old Examination System and Dissemination: a Study of Chinese Folk Literature (Chinese edition), etc. Some of his books have been translated into different languages, including The Development of Chinese Martial Arts Fiction: A History of Wuxia Literature (2016), Touches of History: an Entry into 'May Fourth' China (2011), and The Starting of Modern Chinese Novel: a Study of Novels between Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China Period (1991) in English, and Sept Leçons Sur Le Roman Et La Culture Modernes En Chine in French.
Rosie Guixia XIE, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Sun Yat-sen University and a practicing translator. She received her Ph.D. in Translation Studies at the Translation Center of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include Chinese Shakespeare translation and translation history in the early twentieth-century China, and translation.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction.- Part I Enlightenment from Western Fiction and the Transformation of Narrative Mode in Chinese Fiction.- Chapter Two: Transformation of Narrative Time in Chinese Fiction.- Chapter Three: Transformation of Point of View in Chinese Fiction.- Chapter Four: Transformation of Narrative Structure in Chinese Fiction.- Part II Influence of Traditional Literature on the Transformation of Narrative Mode in Chinese Fiction.- Chapter Five: Creative Transformation of Traditional Literature.- Chapter Six: Penetration of Traditional Style into Fiction.- Chapter Seven: Influence of Historical Biography and Poetry.- Chapter Eight: Conclusion.

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