This comprehensive introduction to Chinese aesthetics and literature includes the major modern genres of poetry, fiction, and drama. Featuring the work of renowned scholars in Chinese studies, the book provides an historical survey of Chinese literature and explains its philosophical and historical underpinnings in Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian thought. The traditions of lyric poetry, fiction, and theater are presented as cultural practices. Modern responses to the political and social crises of twentieth-century China and on the avant-garde experimental literature of twenty-first century...

Contributors give contemporary presence to Asian studies through a variety of themes and topics in this multidisciplined and interdisciplinary volume. In an era of globalization, scholars trained in Western traditions increasingly see the need to add materials and perspectives that have been lacking in the past. Accessibly written and void of jargon, this work provides an adaptable entree to Asia for the integration of topics into courses in the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, and global studies. Guiding principles, developed at the East-West Center, include noting uncommon...