Literature allows us to experience the world through different eyes, walk through faraway lands and live a life vastly different from our own, if only for a short while. Not even teenagers are...Show moreLiterature allows us to experience the world through different eyes, walk through faraway lands and live a life vastly different from our own, if only for a short while. Not even teenagers are immune to its lure, as shown by the success of youth literature throughout the world. While sales figures of this young branch of literature are astounding, it is also worth delving into its contents. Shown by websites such as The Brown Bookshelf, the Children’s Book Council Diversity Initiative and the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign, there is an ongoing debate on the importance of diversity and representation of minority groups in youth literature, as people wonder what it means when our classrooms are more diverse than the characters in our youth literature. What happens if we bring this debate to China? While China is almost as large as the European continent, it is easy to mistake it for a homogenous country. In truth, China has a hugely diverse population, which begs the questions: is this diversity reflected in its just as hugely popular youth literature? When discussing minority groups in China, the first to spring to mind are the 55 ethnic minority groups. Though they make up less than 10% of the total population, combined they still account for more than a hundred million people. Their representation in Chinese youth literature will be the focus of this thesis. The first chapter will examine the current state of contemporary Chinese youth literature and how it has developed. In the second chapter, I will take a closer look at the problematic nature and context of ethnic minority groups and ethnic representation in China. The third chapter will introduce the five youth literature novels that will be the focus of this research, and a thorough discussion of the ethnic representation in these five novels will be featured in the fourth and last chapter. The main research question is: how are ethnic minority groups represented in contemporary Chinese youth literature?Show less
Marlon Hom demonstrates that Pu Songling’s portrayal of women can be divided into two categories: 1. mortal women and 2. mythical women. Pu's women show only one set of characteristics at a time....Show moreMarlon Hom demonstrates that Pu Songling’s portrayal of women can be divided into two categories: 1. mortal women and 2. mythical women. Pu's women show only one set of characteristics at a time. The morally good and chaste personality traits belong to the humans, while the independent and assertive women are usually mythical beings. Lady White in "The Tale of the White Snake" (bái shé zhuàn 白蛇傳) displays both the mortal and supernatural aspects: she exhibits proper human behaviour, but at the same time she retains the assertive traits attributed to her snake spirit nature. This thesis will explore why and how Lady White's portrayal in the drum ballads is shown in a much more favourable light compared to her depiction in the vernacular story "Lady White is imprisoned underneath the Thunder Peak Pagoda".Show less
