''Wenming Xiaoshi'' (), translated into English as ''Modern Times'', is a novel by
Li Baojia (Li Boyuan). The novel is a satire of pseudo-reformers in the Qing dynasty period who found difficulty adjusting to modernization, including its complexities and problems. The novel consist of 60 chapters.
[PL, p. 548.] It has often been compared to Li's other novel ''
Officialdom Unmasked''.
From 1903 to 1905 the work was serialized in ''Fiction Illustrated''. The first edition of the entire work was published in 1906. Douglas Lancashire published an English translation, titled "Modern Times," in 1996.
Plot
The background of the novel is that in the late Qing dynasty, China's borders were opened by the West. At that time, conservative Chinese people saw the strong ship and sharp cannon of modern Western civilization, leading to the rise of the reformist movement, and many people were sent to study abroad. The article adopts a "Zhulian style" structure, without the protagonist and central character. Their stories unfold one after another, interconnected, and finally concluded in the final chapter.
Characters
* Master Yao - He is a provincial degree holder with a son.
[ In chapter 16, Master Yao takes his son and three disciplines to Shanghai in order to show them what Western life looks like to them. Master Yao has them explore the city and familiarize themselves with the academic programs at schools in the area.][Yeh, p]
128
References
* Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena. "Chapter 38: Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916)" in: Mair, Victor H. (editor). ''The Columbia History of Chinese Literature
''The Columbia History of Chinese Literature'' is a reference book edited by Victor H. Mair and published by the Columbia University Press in 2002. The topics include all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama but also areas not ...
''. Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...
, August 13, 2013. p. 697-731. , 9780231528511.
* Hegel, Robert E. " The Chinese Novel at the Turn of the Century" (book review). '' Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews'' (CLEAR), , 07/1983, Volume 5, Issue 1/2, pp. 188 – 191
* PL, "Li Pao-chia." In: Nienhauser, William H. (editor). ''The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, Part 1''. Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
, 1986. , 9780253329837.
* Yeh, Wen-hsin. "Shanghai Modernity: Commerce and Culture in a Republican City." in: Wakeman, Frederic E., Jr. and Richard Louis Edmonds (editors). ''Reappraising Republican China''. Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2000.
Notes
External links
*
Wenming Xiaoshi
'
Novels by Li Baojia
20th-century Chinese novels
1903 novels
Novels first published in serial form
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