Ng, Mau-sang, “A Common People's Literature: Popular Fiction and Social Change in Republican Shanghai” (1995)

Title : “A Common People's Literature: Popular Fiction and Social Change in Republican Shanghai”

Author(s) : Ng, Mau-sang

Year : 1995

Type : Journal article

Subject : History

Keywords : culture;literature

Journal : East Asian History

Number : 9

Start page : 1

End page : 22

Language:Name : English

Support : Print

Abstract : Much popular literature produced in China in the early 20th century was first serialized in newspapers. Rapid urbanization in this period created a consciousness of cultural disjunction, and popular literature sought to provide urban readers with a sense of identity and community. Thus, the texts employed narrative styles that signified continuity with the past while fixing aspects of the new landscape into a relationship with this symbolic past. A close reading of the extremely popular Begonia (Qiuhaitang) by Qin Shouou illustrates the community-building function of China's popular writing and how it was carried out.