Masculinity Besieged?
Issues of Modernity and Male Subjectivity in Chinese Literature of the Late Twentieth Century
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Duke University Press
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
A feminist psychoanalytic account of changing conceptions of men and masculinity as seen in recent Chinese literature.
Looks at Chinese literature and films produced during the 1980s to examine male subjectivities in contemporary China. Reading through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, this book argues that understanding the nature of male subjectivities as portrayed in literature and film is crucial to understanding China's quest for modernity.In Masculinity Besieged? Xueping Zhong looks at Chinese literature and films produced during the 1980s to examine male subjectivities in contemporary China. Reading through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, Zhong argues that understanding the nature of male subjectivities as portrayed in literature and film is crucial to understanding China’s ongoing quest for modernity.
Before the 1990s onslaught of popular culture decentered the role of intellectuals within the nation, they had come to embody Chinese masculinity during the previous decade. The focus on masculinity in literature had become unprecedented in scale and the desire for “real men” began to permeate Chinese popular culture, making icons out of Rambo and Takakura Ken. Stories by Zhang Xianliang and Liu Heng portraying male anxiety about masculine sexuality are employed by Zhong to show how “marginal” males negotiate their sexual identities in relation to both women and the state. Looking at writers popular among not only the well-educated but also the working and middle classes, she discusses works by Han Shaogong, Yu Hua, and Wang Shuo and examines instances of self-loathing male voices, particularly as they are articulated in Mo Yan’s well-known work Red Sorghum. In her last chapter Zhong examines “roots literature,” which speaks of the desire to create strong men as a part of the effort to create a geopolitically strong Chinese nation. In an afterword, Zhong situates her study in the context of the 1990s.
This book will be welcomed by scholars of Chinese cultural studies, as well as in literary and gender studies.
“[A] highly valuable and inspiring work for anyone who is interested in understanding the proliferation of gender binarism and essentialist notions of gender in post-Mao China.” - Tze-Lan D. Sang, The Journal of Asian Studies
“By pulling together a comprehensive discussion of these writers and their critics, Zhong has provided a useful overview of this period in Chinese literature. She also summarizes and applies several major theoretical influences, such as Hegel, Freud, Lacan, Foucault, and feminists such as Silverman and Butler.” - Susan Brownell, The China Journal
"A thoughtful study. . . . Even those not necessarily committed to a feminist or psychoanalytic approach to this material will welcome the attention [Zhong] brings to bear on some notable works of contemporary Chinese fiction." - Allan H. Barr, China Review International
“Bold, far-reaching in its implications, brilliant in its interpretation of specific texts. Zhong has contributed to the growing literature of the meanings of Chinese modernity in a most illuminating way.”—Marilyn Young, New York University
“I cannot think of a single other work on China that goes into the cultural politics of masculinity in contemporary Chinese literature in such depth. This book will generate a great deal of discussion.”—Lisa Rofel, University of California, Santa Cruz
“This is an outstanding book. Rarely does one come across a work in the China field that considers gender and related theoretical issues with as deep a sense of history as does this one. Zhong’s scholarship provides us with extraordinary new insights into the cultural politics of post-Mao China in the 1980s.”—Lydia Liu, University of California, Berkeley
“[A] highly valuable and inspiring work for anyone who is interested in understanding the proliferation of gender binarism and essentialist notions of gender in post-Mao China.” -- Tze-Lan D. Sang * Journal of Asian Studies *
“By pulling together a comprehensive discussion of these writers and their critics, Zhong has provided a useful overview of this period in Chinese literature. She also summarizes and applies several major theoretical influences, such as Hegel, Freud, Lacan, Foucault, and feminists such as Silverman and Butler.” -- Susan Brownell * The China Journal *
"A thoughtful study. . . . Even those not necessarily committed to a feminist or psychoanalytic approach to this material will welcome the attention [Zhong] brings to bear on some notable works of contemporary Chinese fiction." -- Allan H. Barr * China Review International *
ISBN: 9780822324065
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 653g
224 pages