The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from the Republican Period (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780773547667)

The May Fourth Movement launched an era of turmoil and transformation in China, as Western ideas and education encroached on the Confucian traditions at the root of Chinese society. The Republican period (1919-49) witnessed an outpouring of poetry in a form and style new to China, written in the common people's language, baihua ("plain speech"). The New Poetry broke with the centuries-old tradition of classical poetry and its intricate forms, and the rise of China's modern poetry reflects the rise of modern China.

The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry presents English translations of over 250 poems by fifty poets, including a rich selection of poetry by women writers, to provide a nuanced picture of the rapid development of vernacular verse in China from its emergence during the May Fourth Movement, through the years of the Japanese invasion, to the Communist victory in the Civil War in 1949. Michel Hockx introduces the historical and literary contexts of the various schools of vernacular poetry that developed throughout the period - the pioneers, formalists, symbolists, "peasants and soldiers" poets, and Shanghai poets of the late 1940s. Each selection of verse begins with a biographical sketch of the author's life and literary career, including their roles in the Civil War and Japanese occupation. Introducing English readers to master poets who are virtually unknown to Western audiences, this anthology presents a collection of verse written in an age of struggle that attests to the courage, sensitivity, and imagination of the Chinese people.

Author: Herbert Batt
ISBN-10: 0773547665
ISBN-13: 9780773547667
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/18/2016
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2017