ABSTRACT
In the 1950s, large quantities of Soviet literature were translated and distributed in China, with the aim of shaping popular perception about socialist ideology. In the public venues (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Chinese readers enthusiastically discussed the topics of revolution, socialist construction, and the cause of Communism, which largely met official expectations. Yet privately, as this chapter shows, people were more drawn to themes of love, intimacy, personal freedom, and humanism in Soviet novels, which significantly departed from the party line.
