Synopses & Reviews
Blending history and theory,
Chinese Modernism in the Era of Reforms offers both a historical narrative and a critical analysis of the cultural visions and experiences of Chinaandrsquo;s post-Mao era. In this volume, Xudong Zhang rethinks Chinese modernism as a historical genre that arose in response to the historical experience of Chinese modernity rather than as an autonomous aesthetic movement. He identifies the ideologies of literary and cultural styles in the New Era (1979andndash;1989) through a critical reading of the various andldquo;new wavesandrdquo; of Chinese literature, film, and intellectual discourse.
In examining the aesthetic and philosophical formulations of the New Eraandrsquo;s intellectual elites, Zhang first analyzes the intense cultural and intellectual debates, known as the andldquo;Great Cultural Discussionandrdquo; or andldquo;Cultural Feverandrdquo; that took place in Chinese urban centers in the mid- and late 1980s. Chinese literary modernism is then explored, specifically in relation to Deng Xiaopingandrsquo;s sweeping reforms and with a focus on the changing literary sensibility and avant-garde writers such as Yu Hua, Ge Fei, and Su Tong. Lastly, Zhang looks at the the making of New Chinese Cinema and films such as Yellow Earth, Horse Thief, and King of the Childrenandmdash;films through which Fifth Generation filmmakers first developed a style independent from socialist realism. By tracing the origins and contemporary elaboration of the idea of Chinese modernism, Zhang identifies the discourse of modernism as one of the decisive formal articulations of the social dynamism and cultural possibilities of post-Mao China.
Capturing the historical experience and the cultural vision of China during a crucial decade in its emergence as a world power, Chinese Modernism in the Era of Reforms will interest students and scholars of modernism, Chinese literature and history, film studies, and cultural studies.
Review
andldquo;Chinese Modernism in the Era of Reforms will be a first in its elaboration of the social and symbolic construction of Chinese Modernism, and I expect it to elicit a great deal of lively and provocative discussion.andrdquo;andmdash;Wendy Larson, University of Oregon
Review
andldquo;Xudong Zhang opens our eyes to the complex cultural and ideological mutations behind the facade of the economic and political andlsquo;modernizationandrsquo; of China.andrdquo;andmdash;David Wang, Columbia University
About the Author
Xudong Zhang is Assistant Professor of Comparative and Chinese Literature at New York University.