An Overview of China’s Linglei Literature

Abstract

Works of an alternative type different from China’s mainstream literature are known as ‘linglei wenxue’ (literature of the unconventional) which only blossoms and is considered a literary phenomenon following the emergence of novels by writers born in the 1970s of the twentieth century such as Wei Hui, Mian Mian, Jiu Dan, Chun Shu, etc. However, there exist several linglei works that are controversial in the scholarly community both inside and outside China. The paper outlines its formation and development and traces it in ancient and modern literature, as well as learns about the novels of some prominent linglei novelists in Chinese contemporary literature.