Overview

In Milestones on a Golden Road, Richard King presentspivotal works of fiction produced in four key periods of Chineserevolutionary history: the civil war (1945-49), the Great Leap Forward(1958-60), the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the post-Maocatharsis (1979-80). Taking its cues from the Soviet Union’soptimistic depictions of a society liberated by Communism, the officialChinese literature of this era is characterized by grand narratives ofprogress. Addressing questions of literary production, King looks at how writersdealt with shifting ideological demands, what indigenous and importedtraditions inspired them, and how they were able to depict a utopianCommunist future to their readers, even as the present took a verydifferent turn. Early “red classics” were followed by worksfeaturing increasingly lurid images of joyful socialism, and later byfiction exposing the Mao era as an age of irrationality, arbitraryrule, and suffering – a Golden Road that had led to nowhere.

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""""Milestones on a Golden Road"" could hardly be more timely or welcome. The core subject, the fiction of the early PRC, is important in its own right, but until recently it has been treated inadequately or ignored. King, already recognized as a leading authority of contemporary fiction, has created a robust framework for the consideration of eight major novels from four key periods in modern Chinese history. This significant contribution to modern literary criticism and history will stand as a classic in its field for years to come."" - Bonnie S. McDougall, author of Fictional Authors, Imaginary Audiences: Modern Chinese Literature in the Twentieth Century """"Milestones on a Golden Road"" presents 'red classics' in fiction before, during, and after the Maoist socialist period - a newly emerging field of inquiry. King's scholarship is excellent, and he makes good use of the primary and secondary materials, in English and Chinese. His accessible and lively book will be an important text for scholars and students of modern Chinese literature, history, and culture."" - Xiaomei Chen, author of Acting the Right Part: Political Theater and Popular Drama in Contemporary China

Milestones on a Golden Road could hardly be more timely or welcome. The core subject, the fiction of the early PRC, is important in its own right, but until recently it has been treated inadequately or ignored. King, already recognized as a leading authority of contemporary fiction, has created a robust framework for the consideration of eight major novels from four key periods in modern Chinese history. This significant contribution to modern literary criticism and history will stand as a classic in its field for years to come. - Bonnie S. McDougall, author of Fictional Authors, Imaginary Audiences: Modern Chinese Literature in the Twentieth Century

Author Information

Richard King is a professor of Chinese studies at theUniversity of Victoria, teaching Chinese literature and film, Asianpopular culture, research methods, and Chinese language. He is theeditor of Art in Turmoil: The Chinese Cultural Revolution,1966-76 (UBC Press, 2010).

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