Rudolf Wagner’s Work on the Politics of Modern Chinese Literature

Abstract

This essay discusses Rudolf Wagner’s research on the politics of modern Chinese literature. Wagner’s studies, which span several decades and multiple literary genres, are tied together by his common methodological approach of looking at the fringes of literary genres and of reconstructing the countertexts through which a work was read and understood at the time it was produced. By bridging the gaps between academic disciplines, he demonstrates how reading literary works can contribute significantly to our understanding of the politics of various periods in the history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), some of which remain partially obscure to this day. As such, his work provides a rich methodological toolkit for anyone looking to better understand the politics of the PRC in the past or the present.