Edited by Wu Yiqin

The Contemporary Chinese Literature Anthology: 2019 presents eight major novellas by leading Chinese writers, brought together in authoritative English translations by Emily Tang. Each work—Wang Meng’s Love Beyond Life and Death, Tian Er’s The Art of Display, Sun Pin’s The Merman in Midwater, Cai Dong’s The Visitor, Zhang Xuedong’s Going His Own Way, Liu Ting’s Everybody Loves Yin Xuemei, Li Siping’s The Pig Squeals, Lü Yi’s Affairs in Mafu Village—offers a distinct lens on contemporary Chinese life. From memory and desire to work, family and the changing countryside, these stories reveal the depth and breadth of experience, while showcasing formal experimentation and narrative innovation.

Together, these works trace the evolving concerns of Chinese literature in the reform era and beyond, highlighting the interplay between tradition and modernity, individual and collective experience, and local and global perspectives. This anthology provides a vital resource for scholars, students, and readers seeking to engage with the richness, diversity, and transformative power of contemporary Chinese storytelling, and underscores the vitality of China’s literary landscape today.

ISBN: 978-1-913891-54-1
Publication date: 28 September  2026
Format: Paperback 234mm x 156mm
Pages: 566 pp