The Chinese Essay in the 20th Century

In the collection in hand one finds more than 40 so far untranslated essays of Chinese writers both in Chinese and in English. The essays have been selected according to their popularity in China. The volume is divided into three parts: an overview and introduction to the genre, a modern part for the first half of the 20th century and a contemporary part with essays of the latter half. The modern part is featuring Republican authors like the social-critical Lu Xun with his polemical miscellaneous essays, contrasted by his brother Zhou Zuoren with his short literary pieces and Belles Lettres, written for art’s sake. We find Bing Xin with her Letters to the children, and Ba Jin with anecdotes with social critical undertone. The contemporary part comprises a colorful range of stories, familiar to Chinese readers: More essays by Bing Xin and Ba Jin, but also authors of world literature like Qian Zhongshu, the traditional-style scholar Wang Zengqi, the great narrator Zhu Ziqing with a moving, autobiographical anecdote. Moreover this collection includes the Taiwanese Yu Guangzhong, the former Minister of Culture Wang Meng, the famous woman author Zhang Jie, known from her novels depicting the cultural revolution, as well as Jia Pingwa with rural stories, and finally the young, kafkaesk essayist Si Yu.