Abstract
Literature used to be classified into “refined literature” and “popular literature.” Today this earlier classification of literature has evolved into that of “elite literature”, “popular literature” and “folk literature.” The prosperity of popular literature is one of the important cultural phenomena during China’s social transformation in the 20th century. Following the laws of cultural market and adapting to the mechanism of market operation, popular literature in China has now seized a large share of cultural market and has attracted a great number of readers, thus forming one of the most influential and dynamic cultural phenomena. In this chapter, we will make a discussion about the differences, connections and interactions between popular fiction, elite fiction and folktales.
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Notes
- 1.
Qiong Yao is a popular contemporary Chinese woman writer of romantic love stories.—Translator’s note.
- 2.
Ci: a type of classical Chinese poetry, originating in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) and fully developed in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD).—Translator’s note.
- 3.
Qu: a type of verse popular in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).—Translator’s note.
- 4.
Bianwen: a popular form of narrative literature flourishing in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), with alternate prose and rhymed parts for recitation and singing (often on Buddhistic themes).—Translator’s note.
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Huang, Y. (2018). Popular Literature, Elite Literature and Folk Literature. In: Narrative of Chinese and Western Popular Fiction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-57575-8_2
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