EASC New Book Series: Modern China - Why Fiction Matters in Contemporary China

In this session:

Why Fiction Matters in Contemporary China (Brandeis University Press, 2020)

 

AUTHOR: David Der-wei Wang (Edward C. Henderson Professor in Chinese and Comparative Literature, Harvard University)

 

DISCUSSANT: Carlos Rojas (Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University)

Beginning by examining President Xi Jinping’s call in 2013 to “tell the good China story,” Wang illuminates how contemporary Chinese cultural politics have taken a “fictional turn,” which can trace its genealogy to early modern times. He does so by addressing a series of discourses by critics within China, including Liang Qichao, Lu Xun, and Shen Congwen, as well as critics from the West such as Arendt, Benjamin, and Deleuze. Wang highlights the variety and vitality of fictional works from China as well as the larger Sinophone world, ranging from science fiction to political allegory, erotic escapade to utopia and dystopia. The result is an insightful account of contemporary China, one that affords countless new insights and avenues for understanding.