Modern Times: A Brief History of Enlightenment
Modern Times: A Brief History of Enlightenment
By Li Boyuan
Translated by Douglas Lancashire
1996
522 pages
ISBN 962-7255-16-5
Li Boyuan's (1867-1906) observations on late Nineteenth Century China strike late Twentieth Century readers with remarkable freshness. The second half of the Nineteenth Century saw the emergence of a new consciousness in Chinese society. Questions concerning China's position in the world and her relationship with Western powers were the subject of nationwide discussion. Underlying every aspect of the debate was the collective realization that change would be crucial to China's future.
This debate was the inspiration behind Modern Times. The novel weaves a rich fabric of contrasting hues, reflecting the many remedies peddled, which ran from the arch-conservative to the revolutionary. A diversity of characters, many based on notable figures of the day, articulates the dilemmas facing both the official classes and the man on the street.
Li combines the structure of the traditional novel with the new thinking which characterized China's transformation.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Translator’s Introduction — 1
Acknowledgement — 9
Author’s Preface — 10
Chapter One — 12
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TRANSLATOR(s)
Douglas Lancashire, the translator, was born in Tianjin in 1926, and lived in northern China until 1938. He later studied Chinese formally, and went on to teach at tertiary institutions in Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States. From 1966 until his retirement, he held the foundation chair of Chinese at Auckland University.