Introduction

The history of Chinese literature in the 20^th century can be described as a series of challenges posed by its writers to its readers and to each other: to view the past as a burden that impedes a creative response to the present; to view China’s modernisation as an opportunity to contribute to the country’s modernity; to view the present as a disastrous retreat from the glorious culture and civilisation of the past two millennia; to seize a unique moment in China’s history for self-development and literary experiment; to take advantage of the fact that the present, like the past, provides the educated elite with a salaried office from which to exercise social and moral leadership.

When the

This article in full comprises 3052 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.

Published 21 August 2006

Citation: McDougall, Bonnie S.. "Chinese Literature, 1900 to the present". The Literary Encyclopedia. 21 August 2006.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1676, accessed 20 November 2009.]