Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Sleeping through Catastrophe: Dreams, Cataclysmic Modernity, and the Promises of Literary Realism

2. Dreaming as Representation: Lu Xun's Wild Grass and Realism's Social Address

3. Realism's Hysterical Bodies: Narrative and Oneiric Counternarrative in Mao Dun's Fiction

4. Sleepless Nights in Fast Socialism: Dream Rhetoric and Fiction in the Mao Era

5. Dream Fugue: Jiang Qing, the End of the Cultural Revolution, and Zong Pu's Fiction

Conclusion: Lu Xun and the Dreams of Politics and Literature

Glossary of Chinese Characters

Notes

References

Index

Promotional Information

Reveals the historical impact of dream rhetoric on Chinese modernity and nation-building

About the Author

Roy Bing Chan is assistant professor of Chinese literature at the University of Oregon.

Reviews

"Chan presents us with a reckoning of Chinese realism that should be of interest to scholars of mimesis, psychoanalysis, socialism, socialist realism, and affect well outside of Asian Studies. . . . . An enjoyable and compelling read." (Modern Chinese Literature and Culture) "Contributes significantly to the discourse of the dream, which . . . is becoming increasingly relevant in the context of permeation and saturation of the slogan of the Chinese Dream in China." (Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews) "A fascinating study that makes significant contributions to how we understand the relationship between time, dreaming, and materiality in modern literature." (New Books in East Asian Studies)