Abstract

Cao Wenxuan will discuss what is meant by ‘literature’ and how his understandings of what literature can be have shaped his writing. Professor Cao’s desire to innovate is reflected in his development from writing simple pastoral stories (e.g. Bronze & Sunflower) to grander-scale fantasy series like The King’s Book. Professor Cao questions what those developments are, how they are related, and how such different works can equally be understood as ‘literature’. By focusing on the literary within literature, he draws upon fundamental aspects of story-telling such as love and grief, characters, scenery, and attention to details, in order to determine the possibilities of innovation within literature.

Cao Wenxuan (曹文轩) is one of China’s most popular and important authors of children’s literature. Winner of the 2016 International Hans Christian Andersen Prize, he is especially well-known for writing about the complex lives of children facing great challenges. He is a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University.