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Stubborn Weeds

Popular and Controversial Chinese Literature After the Cultural Revolution

by Perry Link

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 indicates fiction, drama, poetry, and such popular performing arts as comedians' dialogues and clappertales. The writers range from the prize-winning JiangZilong, to the controversial Bai Hua, to university students who wrote under pseudonymns in unofficial publications.


In addition to exposing the injustices of the Cultural Revolution, the writers touch on previously heretical topics such as homosexuality, poverty, and the corruption of the regime. Perry Link's informative introductions trace the byzantine twists and turns in contemporary China and place them in a societal context. Because of its rich reflection of Chinese realities, Stubborn Weeds will interest sociologists and political scientists as well as literary scholars and general readers, who will welcome these authentic views.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Contents
  • Perry Link Introduction: On the Mechanics of the Control of Literature in China
  • Short Stories
    • Liu Zhen The Girl Who Seemed To Understand
    • Xu Hui Nightmare—Notes from a Mother’s Hand
    • Zheng Yi Maple
    • Chen Guokai What Should I Do?
    • Jin Yanhua And Wang Jingquan Cries From Death Row
    • Bai Hua A Bundle Of Letters
    • Jiang Zilong Foundation
    • Two Stories from the Unofficial Press
      • Xiao Yi The Little Egg Girl
      • An Dong The Sea Does Not Belong to Us
  • Poetry
    • Gong Liu The Petitioner and His Dependents
    • Gu Cheng A Short Stop
    • Gu Cheng One Generation
    • Gu Cheng Curve
    • Gu Cheng Feeling
    • Gu Cheng A Walk in the Rain
    • Shu Ting “?.!”
    • Shu Ting Perhaps
    • Feng Yu Two Cents
    • Huang Yongyu The New Face of Judas
    • Wang Zhongcai Desert Scenes
    • Luo Gengye Discontent
    • He Xianquan Blossoms on a Frosted Pane
    • Qiu Xiaolong Lost Identity
    • Qiu Xiaolong Thinking of You on New Year’s Eve
    • Qiu Xiaolong Temptation
    • Qiu Xiaolong Five Sketches of Student Life
    • Qiu Xiaolong Street Scene
  • Drama
    • Sha Yexin, Li Shoucheng, and Yao Mingde What If I Really Were?
  • Popular Performing Arts
    • Comedians’ Dialogues
    • Wei Qiping Bureau Chief Bureau
    • Ma Ji The Multi-Level Hotel
    • Liu Ziyu The Tyrant Bids Farewell to His Mistress
    • Fast Clappertales
      • Liang Houmin Interview in a Moscow Kindergarten
      • Liang Houmin Who’s the Lucky One? Shandong Fast Tales
      • Li Hongji The Woolly Sheep
      • Cao Shuyun “Ear to the Wind” and “Endless Tongue”
      • Chen Jinbo and Liu Junquan Think It Over
  • Glossary and Name List
  • Contributing Translators

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-0-253-05180-6
  • publisher
    Indiana University Press
  • publisher place
    Bloomington, Indiana USA
  • restrictions
    CC-BY-NC-ND
  • rights
    Copyright © Trustees of Indiana University
  • rights holder
    Indiana University Press
  • rights territory
    World
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