An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Short-short Stories

FAIN: RZ-50166-04

Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Ames, IA 50011-2000)
Aili Mu (Project Director: November 2003 to November 2006)

The compilation and translation of a bilingual edition of an anthology of 100 representative Chinese short-short stories with a critical introduction, and biographies of selected authors.

This project will produce An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Short-short Stories. It involves four tasks: to select 100 representative short-short stories from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; to interview selected authors for introductory narratives and copyright permission; to translate and edit the selected works; and to conduct research on the genre and write a critical introduction to the anthology. Contemporary Chinese short-short stories reflect what is happening at the most fundamental level in the daily experience of Chinese people. To introduce this new popular-cultural genre to the West represents a cutting-edge study of contemporary Chinese experiences and contributes to a critical re-thinking of China today.

Associated Products

Loud Sparrows (Book)
Title: Loud Sparrows
Editor: Bei Dao, Foreword
Editor: Aili Mu
Editor: Julie Chiu
Editor: Howard Goldblatt
Abstract: Extremely short stories-known as short-shorts-have become a global phenomenon, but nowhere are they as popular as in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The form's artistic and aesthetic freedoms allow authors to capture the tone, texture, and chaos of their rapidly changing societies. Fragments and contingencies reveal unofficial histories, undocumented memories, and the trials of everyday individuals, and the genre's lean format contrasts with a culture characterized by rampant excess. Loud Sparrows is a collection of ninety-one short-shorts written by Chinese authors over the past three decades. Presenting diverse voices and perspectives by writers both well known and new to the art, the stories are culled from newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and personal collections. Their subjects range from the mundane to the sublime and illuminate everything from humanist ideals to traditional virtues to the material benefits of a commercialized society. The anthology is organized into thematic categories such as Change, Creatures, (In)fidelities, Grooming, Governance, Nourishment, and Weirdness, and includes notes to better understand the genre. Each section is introduced by an original piece of flash fiction written by Howard Goldblatt. The short-short, to borrow a Chinese saying, is "small as a sparrow but has all the vital organs" of a good story. Loud Sparrows offers a comprehensive introduction to a unique literary genre.
Year: 2006
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/loud-sparrows-contemporary-chinese-short-shorts/oclc/836092847&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://books.google.com/books/columbia?id=0MGW2ndEjKkC&dq=loud+sparrows&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Access Model: Book
Publisher: Weatherford Books on Asia, Columbia University Press
Type: Translation
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780231138482
Translator: Howard Goldblatt
Translator: Aili Mu
Translator: Julie Chiu
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Loud Sparrows: Contemporary Chinese Short Shorts. (Book)
Title: Loud Sparrows: Contemporary Chinese Short Shorts.
Author: Mu, Aili
Year: 2006
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=9780231138499
Primary URL Description: WorldCat entry
Publisher: New York City: Columbia University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780231138499

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