''Wenming Xiaoshi'' (), translated into English as ''Modern Times'', is a novel by
Li Baojia
Li Baojia (), courtesy name (zi) Li Boyuan (; 1867-1906PL, p547), art name nickname (hao) Nanting tingzhang () was a Qing Dynasty-era Chinese author. He was a writer, essayist, ballad author, poet, calligrapher, and seal carver. He edited a fiction ...
(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
''Officialdom Unmasked'' (), is a late-Qing Chinese novel by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan). The theme of the work is the disintegration of the late Qing dynasty civil service bureaucracy as it is deteriorating.Holoch, p. 77. The novel was translated to E ...
''.
From 1903 to 1905 the work was serialized in ''Fiction Illustrated''. The first edition of the entire work was published in 1906.
[Hegel, p. 189.] Douglas Lancashire published an English translation of the first five chapters, titled "Modern Times," in ''
Renditions'', 2 (Spring 1974), p. 126-164.
[
]
Plot
In Chapter 16 Master Yao takes his son and three disciplines and Shanghai in order to show what Western civilization looks like to them. Master Yao has them explore Shanghai and familiarize themselves with the academic programs at schools in the area.[Yeh, p]
128
Characters
* Master Yao - He is a provincial degree holder with a son[
]
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 tr ...
''. Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
, August 13, 2013. p. 697-731. , 9780231528511.
* Hegel, Robert E. "The Chinese Novel at the Turn of the Century
''The Chinese Novel at the Turn of the Century'' is a 1980 book edited by Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, published by the University of Toronto Press. It was the first book that had been written in a Western language that chronicled fiction pub ...
" (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 140 ...
, 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 university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been 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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