ABSTRACT

Editor Howard Goldblatt explains that while most societies analyse and revere their literary trends in retrospect, post-Liberation China’s literary trends tend to be announced beforehand allowing for critics to judge how close or far from the prescribed norms a piece of art is. In this volume, a collection of speeches and reports from the Fourth Congress of Writers and Artists, well-known Chinese writers (novels, poets, and dramatists alike) debate the future direction of Chinese literature for the 1980s. Originally published in 1982, the book lends a contemporary view into the state of art and literature in China during a critical era of transformation. This title is suitable for students of Literature and East Asian Studies.

chapter 6|12 pages

No Breakthrough, No Literature

chapter 7|6 pages

Our Responsibility

chapter 10|18 pages

The Call of the Times

chapter 11|11 pages

Man is the Aim, Man is the Center

chapter 12|5 pages

A Personal Statement

chapter 13|11 pages

Telling Mother What's on My Mind

chapter 14|9 pages

My Hopes