{"id":37580,"date":"2023-08-29T15:47:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hkmu.edu.hk\/as\/?page_id=37580"},"modified":"2024-01-05T12:46:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T04:46:55","slug":"chinesescifi-seminar-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hkmu.edu.hk\/as\/research\/ridch\/chinesescifi-seminar-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Seminar"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Development of Chinese Novels in the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0Century<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Prof. Xu Zidong<\/strong><\/p>

9 November 2021<\/p>

Inaugural Seminar for the series of “Chinese Science Fiction in the Digital Age”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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In the seminar, Professor Xu Zidong explored the development of Chinese novels in the 20th century, from Liang Qichao’s sci-fi utopia The Future of New China<\/em> (1902) to Liu Cixin’s bestseller The Three Body Problem<\/em> (2006).<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Professor Xu first introduced the four major traditional genres of Chinese fiction. The first was the Courtesan (Qinglou) novel. Lu Xun considered Flower<\/em> and Moon Trace<\/em> \u82b1\u6708\u75d5 commendable, The Nine-Tailed Turtle<\/em> \u4e5d\u5c3e\u9f9c contemptible, and The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai \u6d77\u4e0a\u82b1\u5217\u50b3 close to reality. This tradition matured in the early 20th century and continued through writers like Yu Dafu and Zhang Xianliang, transitioning from domesticating the courtesan to prostituting the household. The second was the chivalric detective novel. It was influenced by Western detective novels like Sherlock Holmes<\/em> during the late Qing Dynasty and declined after the May Fourth Movement. It was later revived by authors like Jin Yong, who emphasized the spirit of Water Margin<\/em> and reflected official-citizen conflicts to meet the mass aesthetic demands. The third was the grotesque condemnation novel. Late Qing works focused on criticizing the dark society and appealed for saving the nation. The fourth was science fiction. Its development in the 20th century was relatively weak, with notable works including Liang Qichao's The Future of the New China <\/em>\u65b0\u4e2d\u570b\u672a\u4f86\u8a18 and contemporary works like The Three-Body Problem <\/em>\u4e09\u9ad4. These four genres can be summarized as facing the challenge of \u201cself-cultivating, family-ordering, state-governing, and world-pacifying.\u201d<\/p>

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Professor Xu then analysed the four great late Qing dynasty novels, all belonging to the social condemnation genre, with the core theme of \u201cScholars witnessing Officials in the oppression of Commoners.\u201d Officialdom Unmasked<\/em> \u5b98\u5834\u73fe\u5f62\u8a18 adopted indiscriminate criticism, attributing official corruption to contemporary flaws. Bizarre Happenings Eyewitnessed Over Two Decades<\/em> \u4e8c\u5341\u5e74\u76ee\u7779\u4e4b\u602a\u73fe\u72c0 provided a more subjective, individual perspective. A Flower in a Sinful Sea<\/em> \u5b7d\u6d77\u82b1 didn’t entirely condemn officials and advocated for intellectuals to govern the country. And The<\/em> Travels of Laocan<\/em> \u8001\u6b98\u904a\u8a18 prominently embodied the theme of \u201cScholars witnessing Officials in the oppression of Commoners.\u201d Late Qing novels concentrated on criticizing the dark society and appealed for saving the nation.<\/p>

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In addition to the distinctiveness of vernacular Chinese, political concerns, and realism which already existed in late Qing literature, the real contribution during the May Fourth period is anti-tradition. Various types of intellectuals emerged in Lu Xun's works, including the madmen, the remorseful, the frustrated, and the complicit. He also depicted the complexity of the common people as both the victim and the victimizer. Officials were portrayed as implicit villains and not explicitly visible in stories. Lu Xun attempted to save China by reshaping the national character.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The literature during the Yan'an period focused on officials in the division of benevolentness and maliciousness. Later, the narrative style of \u201cgood officials doing bad things\u201d emerged, portrayed as well-intentioned but resulted wrongly. Writers like Mo Yan adopted a magical realist style, particularly in his work Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out<\/em> \u751f\u6b7b\u75b2\u52de, which Professor Xu considered to have the qualities of science fiction. White Deer Plain<\/em> \u767d\u9e7f\u539f was seen as representative of inheriting the tradition of \u201cThree Kingdoms Romance.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The contemporary science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem<\/em> attempted to break out of the Chinese story's framework, however also projected a Chinese aspirational heroism of world-saving. The work contained the universal value of \u201cDark Forest\u201d and also triggered a collective unconsciousness among Chinese readers.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

In conclusion, Professor Xu elucidated the developmental context of 20th-century Chinese fiction through the analysis of representative works from different periods and how authors shaped typical characters. From the late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth Movement and up to the present day, Chinese fiction has undergone a complex evolution, presenting a rich tapestry. The seminar broadened the perspective for understanding Chinese literature and provided a unique angle of insight.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u5f9e\u6881\u555f\u8d85\u300a\u65b0\u4e2d\u570b\u672a\u4f86\u8a18\u300b\u5230\u5289\u6148\u6b23\u300a\u4e09\u9ad4\u300b: \u4e8c\u5341\u4e16\u7d00\u4e2d\u570b\u5c0f\u8aaa\u7684\u767c\u5c55 The Development of Chinese Novels in the 20th\u00a0Century Prof. Xu Zidong 9 November 2021 Inaugural Seminar for the series of \"Chinese Science Fiction in the Digital Age\" In the seminar, Professor Xu Zidong explored the development of Chinese novels in the 20th century, from Liang Qichao's sci-fi utopia The Future of New China...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"parent":428,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"content_default_2.php","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"yoast_head":"\nInaugural Seminar - School of Arts and Social Sciences - Hong Kong Metropolitan University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hkmu.edu.hk\/as\/research\/ridch\/chinesescifi-seminar-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inaugural Seminar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u5f9e\u6881\u555f\u8d85\u300a\u65b0\u4e2d\u570b\u672a\u4f86\u8a18\u300b\u5230\u5289\u6148\u6b23\u300a\u4e09\u9ad4\u300b: \u4e8c\u5341\u4e16\u7d00\u4e2d\u570b\u5c0f\u8aaa\u7684\u767c\u5c55 The Development of Chinese Novels in the 20th\u00a0Century Prof. Xu Zidong 9 November 2021 Inaugural Seminar for the series\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hkmu.edu.hk\/as\/research\/ridch\/chinesescifi-seminar-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"School of Arts and Social Sciences - 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