ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Two chapters in this book are revised from my previously published articles. A portion of chapter 2 is adapted from “Mao Tun and the Use of Political Allegory in Fiction: A Case Study of His ‘Autumn in Kuling’ ” in Merle Goldman (ed.), Modern Chinese Literature in the May Fourth Era; and chapter 6 is a slightly revised version of “Mao Tun and The Wild Roses: A Study of the Psychology of Revolutionary Commitment,” The China Quarterly (June 1979). I wish to thank the publishers for their permissions to use the published materials here.

I am grateful to the Bunting Institute for Independent Studies for Women for a research fellowship in 1977–78. Under the fellowship, I made the trip to China to interview Mao Tun and also completed what are now chapters 6 and 7. I am equally grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a research grant in 1981–82 which enabled me to complete the writing of the chapters on Eclipse.

Many scholars and friends have helped in the research and the thinking behind the book. Professor Martin Wilbur read my first draft of the chapter on “Autumn in Kuling” as early as 1973 and offered invaluable criticism on its historical setting. Dr. Marián Gálik, in 1974, gave me the precise date of Mao Tun’s departure from Wuhan to Kuling and alerted me to the existence of his several “Letters from Kuling.” My special thanks go to Leo Ou-fan Lee, who, over ten years and more, encouraged my continuous research in the early fiction of Mao Tun with his unfailing confidence in its possible merit. His moral support has become the main momentum behind the completion of the book. Iris Pian and James R. Hightower saw me through the first years with their kind concerns, years when I was struggling with my as yet unshaped thoughts and with all the mental agony that went with it. Mary Heathcote applied her enormous patience and editorial experience to the improvement of the style and the organization of the book during the final stage of its writing. I apologize for all the remaining imperfections and flaws that defied the best of her efforts.

The Harvard-Yenching Library permitted me to use its vast collection on modern Chinese literature and history. I want to thank the library staff, especially Mr. George Potter, for making the use of the library and library loans so painless.