Patchwork: Seven Essays on Art and Literature

Patchwork: Seven Essays on Art and Literature presents in English translation a number of essays written by the Chinese literary scholar and novelist Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998). One of the great minds of the twentieth century, Qian, with his characteristic erudition and wit, addresses here aspects of the classical literary and artistic traditions of China. Better known, as a scholar, for his magisterial Limited Views: Essays on Ideas & Letters (Guanzhui bian) (1979-80) and, as a novelist, for his Fortress Besieged (Weicheng) (1947), these essays, first written during the period 1948-83 and much revised over the years, allow readers insight into Qian's abiding concern with "striking connections" between disparate literary, historical, and intellectual traditions, ancient and modern, Chinese and Western.