The Subtle Revolution

Conventional approaches to Chinese literature have presented the late nineteenth century as an era in which the traditional literary forms, particularly classical-style poetry, ground to a halt, having petered out like the political fortunes of the "moribund" Qing dynasty. Only the infusion of new images from abroad and ultimately the language and ideas of the West, it has been held, served to propel Chinese poetry in the direction of the "modern." In this study, Kowallis questions the objectivity of that view, arguing that poetry in the classical language could and did serve its writers and their intended readership as a vehicle to articulate a complex and sophisticated understanding of, as well reaction to, the entry of modernity. The book focuses on representative figures from three schools of poetry prominent in the years 1871-1914, who produced a body of poetry that articulated both the individual and the cultural dilemmas they faced as citizens of a nation in a life-and-death struggle, not only against outide forces, but also against itself, and did so in a language capable of drawing on a remarkable literary tradition poised on the brink of annihilation.