The Revealed and the Hidden: a Reading of The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature

Abstract

In many respects, The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature consciously avoids traditional approaches to the compilation of literary history in order to emphasize its unique understanding of Chinese literature. The innovative approaches described by the editors have yielded practical results, particularly in the attempt to “avoid the division of the field into genres and to move toward a more integrated historical approach.” They chose a new approach to historical periodization, and the book “pays greater attention to the ways in which all received Chinese literary texts are filtered and reconstructed by later generations.” However, there are still some shortcomings, such as the neglect of certain literary genres, the perfunctory choice of the dividing moment between the two volumes, and the subjective nature of the historical reconstruction. Furthermore, two fundamental problems characterize the book’s discussion of literary history: the limitations of the editors’ and authors’ specialized research experience, and the work’s use of recent academic research. The editors also fail to adequately respect academic norms. Therefore, The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature is an innovative and unique work of literary history that nonetheless contains major shortcomings, leaving much room for improvement.