Stubborn Weeds

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"The literature of the People's Republic of China became livelier and more varied during the "Thaw" of 1979-80 than at any other time since the revolution. Perry Link, who lived in China during that period, has assembled the most representative examples, as well as those of most interest to Western readers, of "stubborn weeds"--the writing that would not die in spite of the pressures of the Cultural Revolution. The volume includes fiction, drama, poetry, and such popular performing arts as comedians' dialogues and clappertales. The writers range from the prize-winning Jiang Zilong, to the controversial Bai Hua, to university students who wrote under pseudonyms in unofficial publications. These works reveal that literary conventions were stretched and liberalized, in both technique and content. In addition to exposing the injustices of the Cultural Revolution, the writers touch on previously heretical topics such as suicide, poverty, and the corruption of the regime. Perry Link's informative introductions trace the byzantine twists and turns of literary movements in contemporary China and place them in a societal context. Because of its rich reflections of Chinese realities, Stubborn Weeds: Popular and Controversial Chinese Literature after the Cultural Revolution will interest sociologists and political scientists as well as literary scholars and general readers, who will welcomes these authentic views"--Back cover.