The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature (Volume 2, 1375-1949)

"The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature" is one of the series of national literary histories published by Cambridge University Press. The series is compiled by top experts in related fields. Because the target readers are the general public, it strives to write a coherent and readable cultural history in a narrative way, rather than a research work for expert reference only; at the same time, it can present the most cutting-edge views and academic achievements in related fields in an easy-to-understand way.
The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, divided into two volumes, each containing 500,000 words, begins in 1375. Edited by Yuwen Suo'an and Sun Kangyi, respectively, the book features contributions from over a dozen prominent American sinologists, including Martin Koch, David Conway, Tian Xiaofei, Yuwen Suo'an, Ai Langno, Fu Junmai, Lin Shunfu, and Xi Rugu (Volume 1); and Sun Kangyi, Lü Liting, Li Huiyi, Shang Wei, Ivey, Wang Dewei, and Xi Mi (Volume 2). Structured chronologically rather than stylistically, the book explores the three-thousand-year development of Chinese literature, from ancient oral literature and epigraphic inscriptions to the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It also explores the story of writing in Chinese culture—how writing served not only as a tool of state rule but also as a cultural medium external to the state. Each chapter presents a distinct narrative, informed by the author's distinctive scholarly and expressive styles.
The first volume, beginning with Chinese written language and early inscriptions in the late second millennium BC, traces the origins of the world's longest-lasting literary tradition. By the end of the 14th century, when this volume concludes, commercial printing culture had reached a high level, and alongside the established classical Chinese writing, a new urban vernacular writing system had gradually become prevalent. The chapters describe the rise and fall of major dynasties, the role of the court in literary production, the social and material contexts that nurtured renowned writers, and the cultural influences of other Asian countries, including the importation of Buddhism. Over this long period, writing and its interpretation transformed from the specialized skills of a narrow, royal class of writers to a fundamental status symbol for the elite of a vast empire. The contributors to this volume understand that tradition is both preserved in classical texts and shaped by the conditions that initially produced these texts.
The second volume begins with Ming Dynasty culture, which took shape around 1375, and continues through the Qing Dynasty under Manchu rule, all the way to modern literature before the founding of the People's Republic of China. The diverse literary forms and styles of this period overturned traditional literary categories, and accordingly, the second volume covers a wide range of topics, including the impact of political censorship on literature, the evolution of print culture, the relationship between dynastic change and literary development, brothel culture, and the rise of female writers. In addition to traditional literary works such as poetry, novels, opera, and storytelling, this volume also explores the Chinese translation of Western literature and the rise of the modern "New Novel."
The basic positioning of this book is different from the general literary history writing in China. Because the editor-in-chief and the author are both in the academic environment of the United States and are influenced by popular Western academic trends such as the New Cultural History, they strive to transcend the traditional literary history model that is structured by genre or dynasty and focuses on the analysis of the social, political and cultural background of individual writers and their works, and establish a new literary history perspective, namely literary and cultural history: compared with the analysis of the social background of literature, it pays more attention to the impact of material cultural development on literature, such as manuscript culture, printing culture, magazines and newspaper supplements, which have played a key role in the evolution of literature; compared with the strong focus on individual writers, it pays more attention to the influence of material cultural development on literature. The organic integrity of literary history, coupled with its analysis of trends and currents, culminates in a rich focus on literary exchange, literary associations, literary societies, and regional identity. Compared to previous periods divided by dynasties and conflated with political history, this book emphasizes the historical autonomy of literature and culture. This innovative chronological approach is a key highlight. For example, the first chapter begins and ends with the ancient period to the Western Han Dynasty—not only because many works attributed to the Three Dynasties or the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were actually compiled and formalized in the Western Han Dynasty, but also because it captures the shift in material form from oral transmission to written texts on bamboo and silk slips. The time periods of the remaining chapters are all different, each offering its own perspective, resulting in a novel and unique narrative of literary history. Compared to traditional literary history's focus on defining and defining authors and works, this book emphasizes the uncertainty of texts, thus according to unprecedented attention the question of authorship, the history of text reception, the compilation of anthologies, and the production, circulation, and rewriting of texts.

2013-06-01

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