History of Contemporary Chinese Literature

Here presented for the first time in English translation, Hong's (contemporary Chinese literature, Beijing U., China) thorough survey of Chinese fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction was first published in Chinese in 1999. The works discussed were written between 1949-1999. The text proceeds chronologically, with a focus on stylistic trends and literary themes. The depth of scholarship is impressive. Readers may find the constant use of quotation marks surrounding common words and phrases (perhaps a result of the translation) a tiresome impediment to the author's otherwise cogent discussion. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Hong Zicheng has been a professor of contemporary Chinese literature in the Chinese Department at Peking University since 1961. His most recent monograph is a revised edition of The History of Contemporary Poetry in China (1993, 2005), and he is also the director of the Contemporary Chinese Literature Institute at Peking University.