This book aims to demonstrate the multiplicity of configurations of the individual in modern Chinese literature through analyzing several classic texts written by Zhou Zuoren, Lu Xun, Lao She, and Mu Shiying. It attempts to refresh our understanding of the history of modern Chinese literature and indirectly responds to the controversial issue of “individual rights” (or “human rights”) in present-day China, showing that in modern Chinese literature, various configurations of the individual imply political possibilities that are not only irreconcilable with each other, but...