Chinese Reportage

"[C]areful research and imaginative reconstructions. . . . [I]lluminating. Laughlin has performed a valuable service" - Bonnie McDougall, The China Journal

"I recommend Laughlin's study to anyone interested in genres of Chinese literature and theories of subjectivity, and cultural politics in modern China." - Yingjin Zhang , Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies

"It is hard to think of any recent monograph in modern Chinese literature that contributes as much in terms of reviving new source material and generating innovative critical insight, and which does so with comparable theoretical coherence thematic focus, and revisionist vigor. One puts the book down not only convinced of Chinese reportage literature's role as a 'powerful new cultural strategy' (15) but sensing as well that Laughlin's ambitious study has itself initiated a seismic shift in the field of Chinese literary studies." - John A. Crespi , Chinese Literature

"Laughlin has done a commendable job. . . . [An] informative study. . . ." - Q. Edward Wang, American Historical Review

"Laughlin's book stands out not just with its breadth, its summation of the historical developments of a variety of reportage sub-genres, but more significantly, with its astute textual analyses of a wealth of twentieth-century Chinese reportage works and its constant attention to the genre's complex relationship with cultural leftism in China." - Shu Yunzhong, Bulletin of the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy

“Based on superior scholarship and written in a pleasant yet profound style, Charles A. Laughlin’s sensitive readings and surprising interpretations of little-known but highly intriguing texts open up important new vistas for all scholars of literature who oppose the restrictive concept of ‘univeral literary values’ and seek to replace it with methods that emphasize and bring out cultural and historical differences. By analyzing the aesthetics of reportage, Laughlin demonstrates that this unique and important genre of modern Chinese writing was much more than just a tool for political agitation but that it provided its substantial readership with a genuinely literary experience.” - Michel Hockx, SOAS, University of London

“This is the first full-length English study of Chinese reportage, following its development from the turn of the century to the founding of the People’s Republic. Charles A. Laughlin delineates the genesis and transformation of a genre that had a powerful impact on the making of Chinese literary and political modernity, and he inquires into the treacherous terms by means of which Chinese writers sought to understand reality and its representation. Theoretically provocative and historically engaged, this book will be of tremendous significance for anyone interested in modern Chinese literature, history, journalism, and politics.” - David Der-wei Wang, Columbia University