Why do people in socialist China read and write literary works? Earlier studies in Western Sinology have approached Chinese texts from the socialist era as portraits of society, as keys to the tug-of-war of dissent, or, more recently, as pursuit of "pure art." The Uses of Literature looks broadly and empirically at these and many other "uses" of literature from the points of view of authors, editors, political authorities, and several kinds of readers. Perry Link, author of Evening Chats in Beijing, considers texts ranging from elite "misty" poetry to underground hand-copied...
Why do people in socialist China read and write literary works? Earlier studies in Western Sinology have approached Chinese texts from the socialis...
Using ingenious research methods, the contributors to this book explore the search for meaning among ordinary people in China today. The subjects of these vivid essays span the social spectrum from hip young entrepreneurs to sweatshop workers and homeless beggars. The issues are equally diverse, ranging from domestic violence to homosexuality to political corruption. The culture of popular China emerges as a mixture of exhilarating new aspirations--as seen in the basketball fans who dream of "flying" like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant; rueful cynicism--as bitingly conveyed in the many...
Using ingenious research methods, the contributors to this book explore the search for meaning among ordinary people in China today. The subjects of t...
