This course will introduce you to important works in modern Chinese literature from late 19th century to the present, which have served as tools of propaganda, national defense, cultural revolution, self-fashioning, gender-conscious communication, or complete depoliticization. Therefore, the multiple literary genres of novel, folklore tale, theater and poetry will be analyzed against related forms of film, opera, music-drama and painting. Our reading of the texts will be set in the context of the turbulent twentieth century, through which you will also gain a comprehensive understanding of the critical moments in modern Chinese history.
