For the next in the London-based series of Arts Council England funded events, Tagore Salon will discuss the following aspects of modern Chinese literature:

China is often portrayed in the West as an economic powerhouse a site of industrial monotony. How has contemporary Chinese literature complicated these images?

What are some of the most interesting trends in China’s literary scene today? Which subjects, forms or groups of writers deserve more attention outside China?

Phenomena like ‘lying flat’ and ‘involution’ express the exhaustion of many young Chinese people. How has literature responded to these anxieties surrounding work, social mobility and the future?

To what extent has China’s politics influenced its literature? How are Chinese authors affected?

The speakers are rocket factory-worker-turned writer, Lijia Zhang, and Chinese-to-English translator, Jack Hargreaves.