Questioning the Chinese Model: Oppositional Political Novels in Early Twenty-First Century China

“Yu’s directness in bridging hard-hitting Chinese intellectual poignancy and the country’s increasingly opaque political development is a welcome effort in the mapping of politically engaged intellectual expression in late reform-era China.” Peng Hai, University of Pittsburgh, The China Quarterly

"Questioning the Chinese Model analyzes influential and provocative novels from early twenty-first century China that strip the political meaning of that nation’s developmental model down to its core. The art and ingenuity on display in these works is proof that the traditional mission of the Chinese intellectual to remonstrate with sovereign power lives on, undiminished and unafraid.​"

Jeffrey C. Kinkley, Courtesy Professor of History and of World Languages and Literatures, Portland State University

"Questioning the Chinese Model is a very absorbing and thought-provoking account of Chinese ‘oppositional political novels’ in the early twenty-first century. Zhansui Yu has succeeded in demonstrating how powerful storytelling can impact the sociopolitical discourse and the dynamics of the contemporary Chinese intellectual realm. Insightfully written, the book proves that fiction can act as a potent spear penetrating the darkness."

Liu Jianmei, Professor of Chinese Literature, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

"Building on previous studies of Chinese political fiction, this well-written and well-researched book offers a detailed and insightful study of five ‘oppositional political novels’ published from 2004 to 2012. The author shows how these very popular works of fiction employ many literary devices to undermine the official Party line and present a devastating factual critique of the so-called ‘Chinese model.’ Anyone who wants to understand what the Chinese life feels like for the vast majority of Chinese people should read Questioning the Chinese Model."

Michael S. Duke, Emeritus Professor of Chinese Literature, University of British Columbia