Renditions no. 99 is devoted to translations of modern poetry from Taiwan, as expertly collected and edited by Michelle Yeh. The poems represent a variety of authors and time periods and together serve to showcase the vital role poetry plays in contemporary writing from Taiwan. The issue also includes Michael A. Fuller’s meticulous review of 170 Chinese Quatrains: Classical Chinese Poetry of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as translated by Philip Watson.

Renditions no. 98 provides an eclectic mix of poetry, prose, and fiction from as early as the Northern Wei to the 1950s by influential politicians or acclaimed writers. Highlights include poems by the famous playwright and critic Li Yu 李漁, an early-Qing vernacular story ‘A Miser Digs New Pits and Makes a Load of Money’ 掘新坑慳鬼成財主, which traces out an unorthodox path to riches and fame of a rural family, and a collection of three stories written by the revered Liu Yichang 劉以鬯 during his sojourn in Singapore. The issue concludes with a review by David L. Rolston on one of the latest books dealing with the classic The Story of the Stone.

This general issue begins with a special section on Wilt L. Idema’s tour-de-force translation of Pu Songling’s 蒲松齡 ‘A Pleasant Song’ 快曲, a Qing-dynasty prosimetric rendition of the pursuit of Cao Cao in the aftermath of his catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Red Cliff. Other highlights include two song suites by the late-Ming patriotic prodigy Xia Wanchun 夏完淳, Wang Guowei’s 王國維 landmark essay ‘Critique of Dream of the Red Chamber’ 《紅樓夢》評論, and Fei Ming’s 廢名 enigmatic story ‘Peach Orchard’ 桃園.

The current issue contains a wide variety of stimulating pieces: it begins with a special section on Transregional Singapore Chinese Literature, which consists of short pieces by Singapore writers who have spent considerable time studying in Taiwan, namely Quah Sy Ren 柯思仁, Yin Songwei 殷宋瑋, and Chua Chim Kang 蔡深江. Following is a selection of Hou Bai’s 侯白humorous anecdotes from the sixth century and a collection of poems from various times taking Hangzhou’s West Lake as location and theme. The final three stories are from the modern period, and all revolve around important political issues.

Renditions no. 95 is a general issue that begins with a special section on Yu Dafu’s 郁達夫 ‘Boundless Night’ 茫茫夜, a story fully exhibiting the lyricism and eccentricities in Yu’s writings. This is followed by a collection of Mi Fu’s 米芾 remarks on the art of calligraphy, a selection of verse written by Yuan-dynasty courtesans, and ‘The Tale of the Peony Lantern’ 牡丹燈記 by Qu You 瞿佑, a thrilling ghost-story. Other highlights include stories by two Indonesian-born writers, Hei Ying 黑嬰 and Yuan Ni 袁霓, which offer readers a glimpse of Nanyang, and Bei Dao’s 北島 reminiscences of a Japanese friend and their youthful days in Beijing. Finally, we conclude with Jiang Fan’s 江帆 ‘An Intertextual Approach to Literary Relations’ 透過翻譯現象深化文學關係研究, an insightful award-winning scholarly essay.

This is a general issue featuring a rich collection of poetry. We begin with a special section devoted to the great Song-dynasty poet Lu You 陸游’s ci poems translated by Philip Watson, followed by selected Tang verse celebrating the talents of a woman poet, Shangguan Wan’er 上官婉兒, and two acerbic poems by Meng Jiao 孟郊. Our final poem is of recent vintage, Cai Xin’s 蔡欣 ‘If on an Island-State, an Old Man’ 如果在島國，一個老人. Other highlights include Wang Zengqi’s 汪曾祺 story ‘The Boy Who Fished for People’ 釣人的孩子 and Yu Guangzhong’s 余光中 essay ‘When Spring Comes to the Peninsula’ 春來半島.

This issue features an eclectic mix of works by important figures in Chinese literary and cultural history or by contemporary prize-winning authors. Highlights include portions of Wang Tao’s 王韜 diaries that record his journey to Hangzhou in 1858, and Ge Fei’s 格非 fiction ‘Oyster Shells’ 蚌殼, an imaginative tour de force that unfolds considerably psychological complexity.

Renditions no. 92 is a general issue with a special section dedicated to excerpts from Zhang Henshui’s 張恨水 Eighty-One Dreams 八十一夢, a series of fantasies revolving around life in China before, during, and what the author images things might be like after the War of Resistance, beautifully rendered by Simon Schuchat. Other features comprise two pieces published in the same journal in the final decade of the Qing dynasty, one being ‘A New History of Rats’ 新鼠史, an amusing allegory of Chinese weakness and potential for recovery, the other a short and lively satire titled ‘School Inspection’ 查功課 by Wu Jianren 吳趼人.

Renditions no. 91 is a general issue featuring a diversity of works originally written in the twentieth century. We begin with a special section devoted to seven relatively little-known short pieces by the extraordinary and tragically short-lived writer Xiao Hong 蕭紅, elegantly rendered by the distinguished translator Howard Goldblatt. Other features comprise Zhu Xiang’s 朱湘 long satirical poem ‘The Cat’s Admonition’ 貓誥, a compact and clever allegory of the disposition of Chinese intellectuals in the immediate post–May Fourth era; ‘The Man from Greece’ 希臘人 by Lin Cantian 林參天, one of our first ventures into publishing translations of literature written in Chinese in South-east Asia; and ‘The Photograph’ 一張照片 by Yeh Hsia-Ti 葉霞翟, the love story of the author and the brilliant Nationalist general Hu Zongnan 胡宗南.

Renditions no. 99 is devoted to translations of modern poetry from Taiwan, as expertly collected and edited by Michelle Yeh. The poems represent a variety of authors and time periods and together serve to showcase the vital role poetry plays in contemporary writing from Taiwan. The issue also includes Michael A. Fuller’s meticulous review of 170 Chinese Quatrains: Classical Chinese Poetry of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as translated by Philip Watson.

Renditions no. 98 provides an eclectic mix of poetry, prose, and fiction from as early as the Northern Wei to the 1950s by influential politicians or acclaimed writers. Highlights include poems by the famous playwright and critic Li Yu 李漁, an early-Qing vernacular story ‘A Miser Digs New Pits and Makes a Load of Money’ 掘新坑慳鬼成財主, which traces out an unorthodox path to riches and fame of a rural family, and a collection of three stories written by the revered Liu Yichang 劉以鬯 during his sojourn in Singapore. The issue concludes with a review by David L. Rolston on one of the latest books dealing with the classic The Story of the Stone.

This general issue begins with a special section on Wilt L. Idema’s tour-de-force translation of Pu Songling’s 蒲松齡 ‘A Pleasant Song’ 快曲, a Qing-dynasty prosimetric rendition of the pursuit of Cao Cao in the aftermath of his catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Red Cliff. Other highlights include two song suites by the late-Ming patriotic prodigy Xia Wanchun 夏完淳, Wang Guowei’s 王國維 landmark essay ‘Critique of Dream of the Red Chamber’ 《紅樓夢》評論, and Fei Ming’s 廢名 enigmatic story ‘Peach Orchard’ 桃園.

The current issue contains a wide variety of stimulating pieces: it begins with a special section on Transregional Singapore Chinese Literature, which consists of short pieces by Singapore writers who have spent considerable time studying in Taiwan, namely Quah Sy Ren 柯思仁, Yin Songwei 殷宋瑋, and Chua Chim Kang 蔡深江. Following is a selection of Hou Bai’s 侯白humorous anecdotes from the sixth century and a collection of poems from various times taking Hangzhou’s West Lake as location and theme. The final three stories are from the modern period, and all revolve around important political issues.

Renditions no. 95 is a general issue that begins with a special section on Yu Dafu’s 郁達夫 ‘Boundless Night’ 茫茫夜, a story fully exhibiting the lyricism and eccentricities in Yu’s writings. This is followed by a collection of Mi Fu’s 米芾 remarks on the art of calligraphy, a selection of verse written by Yuan-dynasty courtesans, and ‘The Tale of the Peony Lantern’ 牡丹燈記 by Qu You 瞿佑, a thrilling ghost-story. Other highlights include stories by two Indonesian-born writers, Hei Ying 黑嬰 and Yuan Ni 袁霓, which offer readers a glimpse of Nanyang, and Bei Dao’s 北島 reminiscences of a Japanese friend and their youthful days in Beijing. Finally, we conclude with Jiang Fan’s 江帆 ‘An Intertextual Approach to Literary Relations’ 透過翻譯現象深化文學關係研究, an insightful award-winning scholarly essay.

This is a general issue featuring a rich collection of poetry. We begin with a special section devoted to the great Song-dynasty poet Lu You 陸游’s ci poems translated by Philip Watson, followed by selected Tang verse celebrating the talents of a woman poet, Shangguan Wan’er 上官婉兒, and two acerbic poems by Meng Jiao 孟郊. Our final poem is of recent vintage, Cai Xin’s 蔡欣 ‘If on an Island-State, an Old Man’ 如果在島國，一個老人. Other highlights include Wang Zengqi’s 汪曾祺 story ‘The Boy Who Fished for People’ 釣人的孩子 and Yu Guangzhong’s 余光中 essay ‘When Spring Comes to the Peninsula’ 春來半島.

This issue features an eclectic mix of works by important figures in Chinese literary and cultural history or by contemporary prize-winning authors. Highlights include portions of Wang Tao’s 王韜 diaries that record his journey to Hangzhou in 1858, and Ge Fei’s 格非 fiction ‘Oyster Shells’ 蚌殼, an imaginative tour de force that unfolds considerably psychological complexity.

Renditions no. 92 is a general issue with a special section dedicated to excerpts from Zhang Henshui’s 張恨水 Eighty-One Dreams 八十一夢, a series of fantasies revolving around life in China before, during, and what the author images things might be like after the War of Resistance, beautifully rendered by Simon Schuchat. Other features comprise two pieces published in the same journal in the final decade of the Qing dynasty, one being ‘A New History of Rats’ 新鼠史, an amusing allegory of Chinese weakness and potential for recovery, the other a short and lively satire titled ‘School Inspection’ 查功課 by Wu Jianren 吳趼人.

Renditions no. 91 is a general issue featuring a diversity of works originally written in the twentieth century. We begin with a special section devoted to seven relatively little-known short pieces by the extraordinary and tragically short-lived writer Xiao Hong 蕭紅, elegantly rendered by the distinguished translator Howard Goldblatt. Other features comprise Zhu Xiang’s 朱湘 long satirical poem ‘The Cat’s Admonition’ 貓誥, a compact and clever allegory of the disposition of Chinese intellectuals in the immediate post–May Fourth era; ‘The Man from Greece’ 希臘人 by Lin Cantian 林參天, one of our first ventures into publishing translations of literature written in Chinese in South-east Asia; and ‘The Photograph’ 一張照片 by Yeh Hsia-Ti 葉霞翟, the love story of the author and the brilliant Nationalist general Hu Zongnan 胡宗南.

Renditions no. 90 is a general issue featuring a selection of writings from different periods of Chinese history. We begin with excerpts from Meng Jiao's 孟郊 set of poems 'Grief in the Gorges' 峽哀 and three ci poems by Li Qingzhao 李清照. Other highlights comprise Cai Yuanpei's 蔡元培 political allegory 'New Year's Dream' 新年夢, and 'Water and Clouds' 水雲, a long and rather baroque essay by Shen Congwen 沈從文 showing sides of that important author we do not often see. Finally, we offer three stories from contemporary China: Qiao Ye's 喬葉 'Golden Period' 黃金時間, with the focus on the marriage of urban middle-class, Xie Hong's 謝宏 'Who Flies in April?' 誰在四月飛翔, which captures the sad aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, and 'Belle and Grace' 沉魚落雁, a piece by Li Yanfeng 李延風 that offers an upbeat view of life in today's China.

Renditions no. 89 is a general issue with a special section devoted to Bo Shaojun’s 薄少君 One Hundred Poems Lamenting My Husband 哭夫詩百首 translated by Wilt L. Idema. Other features comprise Feng Zikai’s 豐子愷 complex meditation on the meaning and function of time, ‘The Gradual’ 漸, followed by one of Lao She’s 老舍 more significant short stories, ‘A New Hamlet’ 新韓穆烈德, together with Lin Wenyue’s 林文月 reminiscence of her childhood in the Japanese-controlled section of Shanghai, ‘Memories of Jiangwan Road’ 江灣路憶往. The issue concludes with two stories that are part of post-1979 ‘new era’ fiction, including G. K. Yuan’s ‘The Martyr’ 被遺忘的烈士 and Xie Hong’s 謝宏 ‘Drifters’ 自游人.

Renditions nos. 87 & 88 is entirely devoted to translations of and introductions to works of fiction produced in urban China in the years between 1916 and 1949. In spite of the conspicuous popularity of this work, its variety, and its innovativeness, it was denied appropriate recognition in its own time by the elites that set the tone for what was considered to be proper literature. This negligence has only become worse in the years since 1949, as the work has received very little attention in the critical discourse on modern literature that has flourished in an expanding Chinese academy, particularly in the years since 1980. We hope that by presenting a sampling of the rich variety of fiction from the Republican period, we can make a small contribution to remedying this historical injustice.

Renditions no. 86 features translations of a provocative group of Chinese works, specially featuring the striking, not to mention quite controversial, celebrated poetic prodigy Hai Zi’s 海子 long drama, Sun: Regicide 太陽：弒. Other features comprise Chun Mei and Lane J. Harris’s fine rendering of selections from the novel Illustrious Heroes, A Sequel 續英烈傳, ten poems by Xu Zhimo 徐志摩, as wonderfully translated by Mary M. Y. Fung and David Lunde, and Wang Anyi’s 王安憶 ‘Love Talk at the Hairdresser’s’ 髮廊情話, vigorously co-translated by Hui L. Glennie and John R. Glennie.

Renditions no. 85 is devoted to narratives covering a wide scope of Chinese history. We begin with chapter five from Feng Menglong’s 馮夢龍 seventeenth-century historical novel, Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms. Other features comprise the official biographies of the first six empresses of the Ming Dynasty as recorded in the Mingshi 明史 [History of the Ming dynasty], as written by the historiographers in the Qing dynasty that followed, another excerpt from Chi Pang-yuan’s 齊邦媛 The Great Flowing River, ‘In Ninety-nine Degrees of Heat’ by Lin Huiyin 林徽因, ‘The Innermost Rebellion’ by Xiu Bai 修白, and ‘Fish of the People’ by Su Tong 蘇童.

Renditions no. 84 is a general issue with a special section devoted to the first two chapters of Chi Pang-yuan’s 齊邦媛epic autobiography, The Great Flowing River, as expertly translated by John Balcom. Other features comprise one more chapter of Erik Honobe’s fine rendering of Feng Menglong’s 馮夢龍 seventeenth-century historical novel, Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, together with excellent translations of two of the finest poets now writing in Chinese, Yu Jian 于堅and Yang Mu 楊牧 (pen name of Wang Ching-hsien 王靖獻), from mainland China and Taiwan respectively.

Renditions no. 83 is a general issue with a special section on Feng Menglong’s 馮夢龍 Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms 東周列國志. Other features comprise ‘The Xishan Treatise on the Aesthetics of Qin Music’ 谿山琴況 by Xu Shangying 徐上瀛, seven poems of the Qing-dynasty poet Luo Qilan 駱綺蘭, and ‘The Biography of Zhang Tang, from The Book of Han' 漢書‧張湯傳 by Ban Gu 班固.

Renditions nos. 81 & 82 is a double issue guest-edited by Stephen H. West and Xiaoqiao Ling, devoted to Chinese fiction from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Traditional commentaries are included and presented in a format as close to the Chinese original text as possible. These commentaries contain unique critical insights into the works they treat, and enable new ways of reading premodern Chinese fiction. During much of the last century editors were reluctant to include commentaries in modern editions, but in recent years this work has become much more widely available, with only English translations lagging behind. This special edition of Renditions is meant to move toward closing that gap.

This issue is another collection of writings in various genres and from different periods of Chinese history. We are both delighted and honoured to begin it with the late Professor D. C. Lau’s translation of the ‘Advanced School of Learning’ (Daxue), that foundational Confucian text offering sage advice on self-cultivation that was a moral guide in China for many hundreds of years. Other highlights include a Song dynasty tale of elopement and the resulting court case, and seventeenth century critic Jin Shengtan’s insightful commentary on the Shuihu zhuan. Included also are ‘The History of Humanity’, an important 1907 essay by Lu Xun, a thought-provoking exploration on the differences between Chinese literature and civilization and the Western institutions by the controversial writer and critic Hu Lancheng, followed by ten contemporary poems by Chien Chengchen, and a short story from 1930s Shanghai by the ‘new sensationalist’ Mu Shiying.

The issue features a selection of work representing a variety of periods and genres of Chinese literature. Highlights include “Lament over My Poor Fate,” an extraordinary long poem of female authorship from the Song dynasty translated by Wilt Idema, a selection of Huang Zunxian’s writings on Japan, translated by Jack Chen and Yunshuang Zhang, followed by a commentary essay by Cheng Yu-yu of National Taiwan University. We will also continue our serialization of David Hull’s translation of Waverings, Mao Dun’s epic of the 1927 revolution.

Chinese Science Fiction: Late Qing and the Contemporary
This issue showcases representative work of Chinese science fiction from the late Qing and the contemporary. As a popular genre, science fiction has energized modern Chinese literature by evoking a whole array of sensations ranging from the grotesque to the sublime, from the Utopian to the apocalyptic, and from the human to the post-human. It mingles nationalism with fantasy, envelopes politics in scientific discourse, and delivers sharp social criticism with an acute awareness of probabilities and possibilities. Science fiction today both echoes and complicates the late Qing writers' vision of China's future and the transformation of our species and universe, and this special issue aims to contextualize a comparative reading of some important Sci fi writings from these two epochs and the similar expectations and anxieties they bring to Chinese readers.

Yang Jiang
In celebration of Yang Jiang's centenary year, this special issue presents a sampling of works from Yang's eight-decade-long career, including new translations of some of her best essays and short stories, as well as excerpts from her first play (Heart's Desire, 1943), her memoirs, and her most recent book, Arriving at the Margins of Life: Answering My Own Questions (2007). Born during the year of the Republican Revolution, Yang Jiang (1911– ) went on to distinguish herself as one of modern China's most accomplished and versatile scholar-writers. Best known for her understated yet often humorous prose style, Yang is also an accomplished playwright and novelist; a prodigious translator from French, Spanish, and English; and an influential memoirist and intellectual who has come to be regarded by many as a paragon of modern Chinese humanism.

Special Section: The Seventies
This issue focuses on a set of translations from the collection of reminiscences edited by Bei Dao and Li Tuo, The Seventies. A compendium of writings on their experiences of the decade that has proved so pivotal to contemporary China by a large group of writers who lived through it, the work has attracted great attention in the Chinese-speaking world. Also included is a prizewinning translation of the first three chapters of Mao Dun's Waverings, at once the second novella of the Eclipse trilogy, the author's first venture into prose fiction and a key document of the 1927 revolution.

This issue begins with a Scots translation of Du Fu's 'Autumn Meditations', accompanied by an essay that reflects on the considerations in translating poetry. A deeply felt eulogy to the late modernist poet from Taiwan, Shang Qin, is written by his friend and fellow writer Wai-lim Yip. Lu Xun's essay 'Lessons from the History of Science' sheds light on the series of events that Chinese thinkers and writers were faced with at the turn of the 20th century. Other features comprise superb translations of three contemporary poets, Han Dong, Genzi, and Wann Ai-jen, an anti-war short story by Xue Yiwei, and a short essay by Bei Dao.

Special Section: Hong Kong Classical Poetry
The fifty-page special section features the works by twenty-four local poets from the yesteryears, illustrated with historical images of Hong Kong. They portray a pastoral and historically-conscious Hong Kong before she evolved into the fast-moving cosmopolitan city known to the world today. Also included in the issue are excerpts from Yu Jian's travel writing, Liu Yichang's short story, and Li Yu's discourse on food and doctoring.

This miscellaneous issue features excerpts from Jin Yong's martial art novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, a short story about Japanese expatriates in Taiwan upon their WWII defeat, as well as Li Yu's exposition on the theatre. Also included in the issue are selections of poems by Liu Yong and the Tang-dynasty monk, Jiaoran.

Chinese Film
Extracts from Chinese film scripts and other texts from the 1930s to this century are included in this issue. They range from The New Woman (1934), starring Ruan Lingyu, to Chunmiao (1975) from the Cultural Revolution, and include a storyboard from Zhang Yimou's Hero (2001). Fei Mu's Spring in a Small Town (1948) is a highlight. The issue will explore whether the literary film script (dianying wenxue juben) is a uniquely Chinese invention, written like fiction but reflecting what we see on the screen. The more usual shooting-scripts of several titles will also be included and pages from them will help illustrate the issue.

Violence in Ming and Qing LiteratureThe 2008 Autumn issue (No. 70) has as its theme violence in Ming and Qing dynasty literature. The translated texts span a period from early Ming to late Qing and include vernacular and classical fiction, drama, memoirs, and poetry. The subject matter and mood range from the horrific to the bawdy, from the supernatural to historical documentation, and from gruesome to grotesque. Themes include justice and injustice, revenge, rape, war and a hen-pecked husband.

This is the 35th anniversary issue of Renditions with an article dedicated to our founding editor, George Kao, who passed away on 1 March 2008. This issue features several translations related to performance and theatre: a late Ming or early Qing dynasty drum ballad, which is a rare example of a fully-developed animal fable, a nineteenth century 'flower guide' appraising the qualities of boy-actors, a one-act play by Ding Xilin involving cross-dressing, and poems by Wen Yiduo about a drummer and a balladeer. For the first time Renditions presents translations into Scots, which is used for two Wen Yiduo poems originally written in vernacular Pekinese. Other items include prose sketches by Wang Anyi, a short story by Xi Xi and poetry by P. K. Leung.

Leaping to Diaster: Village Literature and the Great Leap ForwardThis collection presents opposing pictures of rural China during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960), the grand delusion that led to the worst famine of the 20th century. Stories and poems written at the time express boundless, if ill-founded, optimism for a communist utopia. Two decades later, fiction about its aftermath reveals its tragic impact on the peasantry. Set against the backdrop of inflated propaganda and immense hardships are tales of heroism, romance and disillusionment.

Modern Chinese Fiction: Examples of Its EvolutionDirected by political discourse and framed by school and university syllabi, 'Modern Chinese Literature' has always been presented as the fruit of an abrupt break with tradition. The validity of such a representation is now in question. Featuring examples of Chinese fiction written in the last nine decades, this issue reveals the diverse elements that contributed to the genre's development, particularly in terms of narrative structure and voice.

Hong Kong EssaysHong Kong is perhaps best represented by the essay, a form that has flourished and taken on a uniquely local flavour, especially in the last half-century. This special section includes some of the most notable works from the last half-century by a diverse group of writers. Renditions, itself a Hong Kong institution, provides here a glimpse into the ever-changing society of this vibrant city. A selection of classical poetry rounds out the issue.

Three cases of political dissentHu Feng, Qin Zhaoyang and Gao Ertai were three of the many intellectuals labelled Rightists during the Anti-Rightist movement of 1957. In the biographical writing, memoirs, and interview in this issue, they reflect on their experiences during these years of persecution and hard labour that lasted until the end of the Cultural Revolution.

Women of traditional ChinaLiang Qichao claimed that traditional Chinese women were no more than dependents of men who never engaged in productive labour. The writings in this issue, covering topics from education to literary accomplishments, and from service at court to widowhood, prove him soundly wrong.

Contemporary Fiction: Marginal WorldsFeaturing short stories by writers from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, this issue takes a look at life lived on the margin and at the edge.

Different genres of work by the Song-dynasty writer Lu You, excerpts from the 19th-century novel The Strange Case of Nine Murders by Wu Woyao, and classical poetry by the scholar Yeh Chia-ying.

Special Section: New Taiwan PoetryThirty-four established as well as young emerging poets representing the latest trends in New Poetry from Taiwan are included. The issue also contains a modern short story, Buddhist homilies and two classical letters.

The Faces of a Chinese Beauty: Wang ZhaojunWang Zhaojun was a Han court lady who volunteered to marry the Xiongnu Khan in 33 BC. Her plight, and her place as one of the four great beauties of China, have fascinated poets, playwrights, painters, and politicians for two thousand years. She has been portrayed by generations of writers as pitiable, courageous, wise, or patriotic, though such depictions reveal more about the authors than about Wang herself.The most representative of the poems, plays, stories and paintings celebrating this beauty are featured in this special double issue. In these pages the reader will find a broad spectrum of Chinese cultural attitudes and perceptions of women through the centuries.

A miscellaneous issue featuring Chinese lyrics, excerpts from the late 19th-century novel Shanghai Demi-monde by Han Banqing, modern fiction by Ding Ling and Zhang Kangkang, and poetry by the Taiwan poet Chen Kehua.

This issue features proverbs from H. A. Giles' Gems of Chinese Literature in bilingual format, stories from Eighty-one Dreams by Zhang Henshui and Yijian zhi by Hong Mai, Ming ditties by Feng Menglong, as well as contemporary poems by Hsi Muren, Han Dong, and Shu Ting.

Special Section: New Hong Kong PoetryA bilingual format showcases the recent poetry of three generations of Hong Kong poets.

Special Section: Singaporean Chinese PoetryTwenty-five poems by 14 poets shape a major introduction to contemporary Singaporean Chinese poets.

Features fiction by Eileen Chang; two essays by Ch'i Chun and Yu Qiuyu; classical poetry by Du Fu; contemporary poetry by Zhai Yongming; three stories by Wan Zhi, and a story by Yuan Qiongqiong.

'Chinese literature can be fun' being the motto of Renditions, this issue is an offering of humorous writings by some of the best known classical writers such as Han Yu and Li Yu, as well as Lu Xun and Guo Moruo from the May Fourth generation, and from Bai folk literature. Also featuring excerpts from Tracks in the Snow by the Manchu Bannerman Linqing.

There and Back Again
December 1998 marked the 30th anniversary of Mao Zedong's directive sending twenty million urban high-school graduates (zhiqing) “down” to the countryside to work as agricultural labourers beside their peasant-farmer hosts. Richard King, zhiqing literature expert, guest-edits this issue of selections spanning the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. These writings bring to vivid life the experiences of the first generation raised under Chinese Socialism.

Features Zhang Kangkang's 'Cruelty', a story of the Cultural Revolution; poems by Bai Juyi; takes of concubines from Li Yu and Guan Hanqing, and a fable, Supplement to Jiang Zong's Biography of a White Ape.

Hong Kong Nineties
An important collection of Hong Kong literature of the 1990s, including fiction, sanwen, zawen, and a selection of poetry devoted to new poets of the 90s. The issue presents recent works from established figures such as Xi Xi, P.K. Leung and Xin Qi Shi, and newer voices such as Dung Kai Cheung, Wong Bik Wan and Patsy Kwan Lai Shan.

Contemporary fiction by Zheng Wanlong; poetry by Yu Jian, Yang Lian; seven poems on getting drunk by Xin Qiji and memoirs by Bing Xin, Ling Shuhua and Lin Huiyin.

Eileen Chang
The work of Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing) are featured in this special issue, including essays, stories, criticism, drawings and photographs.

Essays, memoirs, poetry and fiction, including three zidishu ballads based on the classical novel Jin Ping Mei (The Golden Lotus), as well as a critical article, 'Late Twentieth Century Orientalism and Discourses of Selection'.

An excerpt from Sha Yexin's play Jesus, Confucius and John Lennon; classical fiction by Pu Songling; stories by Yang Kui and Wang Meng; poetry by Bai Juyi, Chen Ziang, Ma Zhiyuan and Gu Cheng; and three essays by Liang Yuchun.

Classical Letters
Renditions celebrates its 21st year with a special double issue of classical letters spanning Chinese history from the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Portraits of the letter writers and samples of their calligraphy highlight this issue. Chinese texts included.

Classical literature, including scenes form The Swallow Letter and excerpts from the Marshes of Mount Liang, a new translation of Shuihu zhuan.

A miscellany of contemporary fiction and poetry from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and an excerpt from Family Dysposition by Taiwan novelist Wang Wenxing.

Twentieth Century Memoirs
Reminiscences by well-known literary figures, including Bao Tianxiao, Zhu Ziqing, Ba Jin, Lao She, Yang Jiang and Wang Xiyan.

Special section on Post-Misty Poetry
A 60-page special section featuring the works of China's most notable young poets of the late 1980s, including Bai Hua, Chen Dongdong, Hai Zi, Han Dong, Lu Yimin, Ouyang Jianghe, Xi Chuan, Yu Jian, and Zheng Zao. With Chinese texts.

Contemporary Taiwan Literature
Younger writers are featured, along with a few offerings from well-known writers of the older generation, as well as critical articles. Copiously illustrated with art from Taiwan.

Classical Prose
A wealth of material rarely available in translation, from biographies of recluses to "eight-legged essays" and Taoist prescriptions. A dazzling array of major writers from the classical Chinese literary tradition. Chinese texts included.

Special section on Bing Xin
Bing Xin is the focus of a special section in this issue, which includes her fiction and prose writing, her own Autobiographical Notes, and her translation of the poems of Li Qingzhao. Other highlights of this issue are Tang dynasty stories, fiction by Mo Yan and Zhang Tianyi, and the sequel to Liu E's The Travels of Lao Can.

Essays by Lu Xun; Yunnan folk tales, poetry by Gu Cheng and Mang Ke and dissident drama, The Retrial of Wei Jingshen by Wang Keping.

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Contemporary Women Writers
A collection of fiction and poetry from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including the works of Eileen Chang, Lin Haiyin (Memories of Old Beijing), Liu Sola and Wang Anyi.

Special section on Lu Xun 1881-1936
Featuring works from Lu Xun's early and late periods. Paintings by Qiu Sha inspired by Lu Xun's sayings are included.

Liu Xinwu's 'Ruyi', the tale of a school janitor's love for a former Manchu princess told against the background of the history of modern China; articles by sinologists David Hawkes, W.J.F. Jenner and others; contemporary dramas by Wang Peigong and Tao Jun.

A substantial section on Jin Ping Mei featuring selected chapters translated by David T. Roy and scholarly studies by Zhang Zhupo, Philip Sun and Andre Levy. Other highlights include modern fiction by Bei Dao and the classical play The Golden Coins.

Bo Yang's essay 'The Ugly Chinaman'; 'Black Walls' by Liu Xinuw; classical poetry by Li Bo and Li Yu; and contemporary poetry by Bei Dao, Jiang He and Yang Lian. Lithographic illustrations with commentaries from the 19th-century pictorial Dianshizhai huabao.

Poetry and Poetics Featuring a pantheon of classical poets and their modern translators, as well as modern poetry by Mu Dan and Cheng Ch'ou-yu, and discussions of poetics by Qian Zhongshu, Wen Yiduo, Huang Kuo-pin and others.

Chinese Literature Today

Middlebrow Fiction

Classical Fiction

A Special Section on Lao Shê

Special Art Issue

Special Drama Issue

Special Fiction Issue