The Family - Softcover

Chin, Professor Pa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898752132 ISBN 13: 9780898752137

Publisher: University Press of the Pacific, 2001

Synopsis

An essential work for anyone interested in the society and history of modern China! The first half of the twentieth century was a period of great turmoil in China. Family, one of the most popular Chinese novels of that time, vividly reflects that turmoil and serves as a basis for understanding what followed. Written in 1931, Family has been compared to Dream of the Red Chamber for its superb portrayal of the family life and society of its time. Drawn largely from Pa Chin's own experience, Family is the story of the Kao family compound, consisting of four generations plus servants. It is essentially a picture of the conflict between old China and the new tide rising to destroy it, as manifested in the daily lives of the Kao family, and particularly the three young Kao brothers. Here we see situations that, unique as they are to the time and place of this novel, recall many circumstances of today's world: the conflict between generations and classes, ill-fated love affairs, students' political activities, and the struggle for the liberation of women. The complex passions aroused in Family and in the reader are an indication of the universality of human experience. This novel illustrates the effectiveness of fiction as a vehicle for translating the experience of one culture to another very different one.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Titles of related interest from Waveland Press: Fingarette, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred (ISBN 9781577660101); and Heinz, Asian Cultural Traditions (ISBN 9781577660439).

About the Author:

Pa Chin (Li Fei-kan) is one of the most outstanding figures of modern Chinese literature. He was very popular in China during the 1930s and 1940s, especially among the youth who were increasingly influential in Chinese political life in the twentieth century. Pa Chin wrote fiction, literary essays, and political articles, but his best works, and those that made him famous, were his novels describing the life of educated Chinese youth. The most successful of these has been Family, which forms the first part of his autobiographical trilogy, Turbulent Stream.

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of the Pacific
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0898752132
• ISBN 13: 9780898752137
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304