When the Yellow River Floods explores the relationship between environmental degradation, hydraulic engineering, and nation-building in the context of Liu E’s The Travels of Lao Can. This book contributes to the field by providing a unique perspective on modern Chinese literary history that goes beyond conventional narratives that focus solely on political and cultural factors. The main areas covered include the role of water management in literary nation-building and the connections between the novel’s various themes, such as river engineering, medical and political discourses, national sentiment, and landscape description. The book is targeted toward scholars and students of Chinese literature, history, and environmental studies, as well as those interested in the intersections between literature, nation-building, and environmental challenges. By offering a comprehensive and material-based analysis of The Travels of Lao Can, this book broadens the understanding of nation-building in early twentieth-century China, highlighting the impact of environmental crises and hydraulics on the formation of national literature and consciousness. The book provides a new perspective on the environmental roots of modern Chinese literature, making it an essential read for those seeking to understand the complex interplay between literature, the environment, and national identity in China.
Price: £30.00
Pages: 176
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
Imprint: Hong Kong University Press
Publication Date:
01 May 2024
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9789888842773
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / Asian / Chinese, HISTORY / Asia / China, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General
“With The Travels of Lao Can as case study, Dr. Hui-Lin Hsu has offered a most inspiring and comprehensive research on the Yellow River vis-à-vis the rise of Chinese modernity. From environmental mutations to hydraulic engineering, from nation-building to the history of technicity, from literary symbolism to ecological deliberation, he tells the story of a river deeply bound to Chinese civilization, yet treacherous in its rapids as it flows toward the modern age. As the first of its kind, When the Yellow River Floods is a must-read for anyone interested in early modern Chinese fiction, the history of cultural politics, environmental studies, and disaster studies.”
—David Der-wei Wang, Harvard University
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
A Note on the Text
Introduction
1. Hydraulics and Medicine: Remedying Body and Nation
2. Governance, Hydraulics, and the Vice of the Incorruptible
3. From Sediment to Sentiment: Transforming Flood Trauma into National Identity
4. Water, Landscape, and the Appearance of a New National Literature
5. Toward China’s Rejuvenation: The Taigu School and Yellow River Regulation
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
