When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels
Known for their frank portrayals of female sexuality, Paper Puppy (2019) by Yin Jianling and Beijing Doll (2004) by Chun Sue and are often considered among the landmark works of Chinese adolescent literature. Since their publication, both novels have inspired discussions on the question of broaching...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fincham Press
2022-11-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Young Adult Literature |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijyal.ac.uk/articles/10.24877/IJYAL.78 |
| _version_ | 1797425149698375680 |
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| author | Yan Du |
| author_facet | Yan Du |
| author_sort | Yan Du |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Known for their frank portrayals of female sexuality, Paper Puppy (2019) by Yin Jianling and Beijing Doll (2004) by Chun Sue and are often considered among the landmark works of Chinese adolescent literature. Since their publication, both novels have inspired discussions on the question of broaching sex in fiction for young audiences. However, Yin’s novels received critical acclaim whilst Chun’s work was banned months after its initial publication. Taking the novels’ discrepant reception as a starting point, I explore the contexts of their production and trace the two different yet intersecting writing traditions they emerge from: qingshaonian wenxue (adolescent literature), predominantly authored by adults for an adolescent readership, and qingchun wenxue (youth literature), often associated with a particular group of teenage authors who write about their own lives. Although authors of qingshaonian wenxue and qingchun wenxue alike grapple with depictions of adolescent sexuality, the former is habitually regarded as “conservative” and “cautious” when it comes to matters of sex whilst the latter proves “radical” and “rule breaking”. Through further analysis of both texts, I reveal the complexities behind Beijing Doll’s ostensible iconoclastic bent and Paper Puppy’s supposed conformity. In so doing, I build on previous attempts to tease out the multifaceted sexual politics in Chinese YA, such as those by Chen Li and Lisa Chu Shen. By way of conclusion, I suggest that representing teen sexuality honestly and responsibly in the Chinese YA publishing scene remains challenging for today’s authors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:11:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b4bc5e7f66f04a9b8e81334765973f99 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2634-5277 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:11:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Fincham Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Young Adult Literature |
| spelling | doaj.art-b4bc5e7f66f04a9b8e81334765973f992023-12-02T23:18:56ZengFincham PressInternational Journal of Young Adult Literature2634-52772022-11-013111910.24877/IJYAL.78When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth NovelsYan DuKnown for their frank portrayals of female sexuality, Paper Puppy (2019) by Yin Jianling and Beijing Doll (2004) by Chun Sue and are often considered among the landmark works of Chinese adolescent literature. Since their publication, both novels have inspired discussions on the question of broaching sex in fiction for young audiences. However, Yin’s novels received critical acclaim whilst Chun’s work was banned months after its initial publication. Taking the novels’ discrepant reception as a starting point, I explore the contexts of their production and trace the two different yet intersecting writing traditions they emerge from: qingshaonian wenxue (adolescent literature), predominantly authored by adults for an adolescent readership, and qingchun wenxue (youth literature), often associated with a particular group of teenage authors who write about their own lives. Although authors of qingshaonian wenxue and qingchun wenxue alike grapple with depictions of adolescent sexuality, the former is habitually regarded as “conservative” and “cautious” when it comes to matters of sex whilst the latter proves “radical” and “rule breaking”. Through further analysis of both texts, I reveal the complexities behind Beijing Doll’s ostensible iconoclastic bent and Paper Puppy’s supposed conformity. In so doing, I build on previous attempts to tease out the multifaceted sexual politics in Chinese YA, such as those by Chen Li and Lisa Chu Shen. By way of conclusion, I suggest that representing teen sexuality honestly and responsibly in the Chinese YA publishing scene remains challenging for today’s authors. https://ijyal.ac.uk/articles/10.24877/IJYAL.78chinese ya literaturechinese youth literatureadolescent female sexuality |
| spellingShingle | Yan Du When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels International Journal of Young Adult Literature chinese ya literature chinese youth literature adolescent female sexuality |
| title | When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels |
| title_full | When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels |
| title_fullStr | When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels |
| title_full_unstemmed | When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels |
| title_short | When Paper Puppy Meets Beijing Doll: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels |
| title_sort | when paper puppy meets beijing doll reading adolescent female sexuality in two chinese youth novels |
| topic | chinese ya literature chinese youth literature adolescent female sexuality |
| url | https://ijyal.ac.uk/articles/10.24877/IJYAL.78 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yandu whenpaperpuppymeetsbeijingdollreadingadolescentfemalesexualityintwochineseyouthnovels |