Chinese literary forms

Choose a literary form

• Chinese Short Stories

  Read modern Chinese short stories by Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, and other major writers, from social satire and psychological fiction to playful retellings of myth.

• Modern Chinese Essays

  Explore Chinese essays in the flexible modern vernacular tradition, including personal reflection, parable, memory, philosophy, and observations of everyday life.

• Chinese Memoir and Autobiographical Writing

  Read Chinese memoir and autobiographical prose about childhood, education, family, friendship, and places remembered from the distance of adulthood and exile.

• Classic and Modern Chinese Novels

  Discover Chinese novels ranging from intimate modern portraits of rural life to the expansive family drama and fantastic journeys of China's great classical fiction.

• Chinese Prose Poetry

  Read Chinese prose poetry shaped by symbolism, dream imagery, philosophical fragments, and compressed lyrical scenes in the modern vernacular tradition.