The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories

“Modern Chinese fiction . . . looks to have made a great leap towards the bookshelves of [Western] readers.”—*Guardian*

Hugely popular in China, flash fiction is poised to be the most exciting new development in contemporary Chinese literature in a decade. Integrating both vernacular and contemporary styles while embracing new technologies such as text messaging (SMS) and blogging, contemporary Chinese flash fiction represents the voice of a civilization at the brink of a startling and unprecedented transformation. This collection features 120 short-short stories (from 100 to 300 words each), written by some of China’s most dynamic and versatile authors. Dong Rui’s *The Pearl Jacket* offers a glimpse of the real and surreal in human evolution, Chen Qiyou’s *Butterfly Forever* brings an ancient Chinese literary motif into a startling modern context, while Liu Jianchao’s *Concerned Departments* mocks the staggering complexity of life in the new urban China. Traditional, experimental, and avant-garde, *The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories* will reinvigorate the position of young Chinese writers as a major presence in contemporary literature. Their voices breathe new energy into modern Chinese literature, leaving the literary and societal stagnation of the Cultural Revolution behind as a distant memory.

**Shouhua Qi** is an associate professor of English at Western Connecticut State University. He is the author of *Red Guard Fantasies and Other Stories* and *When the Purple Mountain Burns*. He is one of the foremost experts (and translators) of the novels of Thomas Hardy.