Asian Studies 248 - Contemporary Chinese Fiction

A study of representative Chinese fictional writings from 1949 to the present focusing on the ways in which issues of individual and national identity, modernity, and gender have been probed and represented by different generations of Chinese writers. A particular emphasis will be placed on the novels and short stories published since the 1980s, in which both traditional ideology and literary styles are seriously questioned and challenged. Readings include works by Nobel Prize winners Gao Xingjian, Mo Yan and other famous writers, such as Wang Meng, Zhang Xianliang, Zhang Jie, Wang Anyi, Yu Hua, Su Tong, Han Shaogong,etc.