Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties

Mary Shuk-han WONG

doi:10.5117/9789463720793_ch02

Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties

Mary Shuk-han WONG^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Chinese

Research output: Book Chapters | Papers in Conference Proceedings › Book Chapter › Research › peer-review

Abstract

The stories compiled in the Hong Kong short story collection Young Writers’ Fictions (新人小說選, 1967) were selected from the magazine Chinese Student Weekly and published in book form by the Union Press, an organization funded by the USA during the Cold War. This chapter argues that the collection exemplifies how ideological control does not necessarily wholly sublimate creative freedom. Hong Kong’s social instability at that time was the all-important backdrop against which the writers pondered colonialism and nationalism with a critical eye. By borrowing the concept of the Bildungsroman, this article will contemplate Bildung from two aspects: the Bildung of the characters and that of the young city of Hong Kong.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman
Editors	Andrea RIEMENSCHNITTER, Kiu-wai CHU, Mung Ting CHUNG
Publisher	Amsterdam University Press
Chapter	2
Pages	57-77
Number of pages	21
ISBN (Electronic)	9789048557134, 9789048571505, 9781040781432, 9781003692874
ISBN (Print)	9789463720793
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5117/9789463720793_ch02 https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.29214628.7
Publication status	Published - 17 Jun 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Authors / Taylor & Francis Group 2025.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4 Quality Education
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

1960s Riots
Chinese Student Weekly
Cold War
Hong Kong literature
National-historical time
Young Writers’ Fictions

Access to Document

10.5117/9789463720793_ch02Licence: CC BY-NC-ND
10.2307/jj.29214628.7Licence: CC BY-ND

Cite this

WONG, M. S. (2025). Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties. In A. RIEMENSCHNITTER, K. CHU, & M. T. CHUNG (Eds.), Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman (pp. 57-77). Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789463720793_ch02, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.29214628.7

@inbook{4566abdddc494f2c9a424fb900e49c8f,

title = "Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties",

abstract = "The stories compiled in the Hong Kong short story collection Young Writers{\textquoteright} Fictions (新人小說選, 1967) were selected from the magazine Chinese Student Weekly and published in book form by the Union Press, an organization funded by the USA during the Cold War. This chapter argues that the collection exemplifies how ideological control does not necessarily wholly sublimate creative freedom. Hong Kong{\textquoteright}s social instability at that time was the all-important backdrop against which the writers pondered colonialism and nationalism with a critical eye. By borrowing the concept of the Bildungsroman, this article will contemplate Bildung from two aspects: the Bildung of the characters and that of the young city of Hong Kong.",

keywords = "1960s Riots, Chinese Student Weekly, Cold War, Hong Kong literature, National-historical time, Young Writers{\textquoteright} Fictions",

author = "WONG, \{Mary Shuk-han\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Authors / Taylor \& Francis Group 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "17",

doi = "10.5117/9789463720793\_ch02",

language = "English",

isbn = "9789463720793",

pages = "57--77",

editor = "Andrea RIEMENSCHNITTER and Kiu-wai CHU and CHUNG, \{Mung Ting\}",

booktitle = "Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman",

publisher = "Amsterdam University Press",

address = "Netherlands",

}

WONG, MS 2025, Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties. in A RIEMENSCHNITTER, K CHU & MT CHUNG (eds), Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman. Amsterdam University Press, pp. 57-77. https://doi.org/10.5117/9789463720793_ch02, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.29214628.7

Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties. / WONG, Mary Shuk-han.
Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman. ed. / Andrea RIEMENSCHNITTER; Kiu-wai CHU; Mung Ting CHUNG. Amsterdam University Press, 2025. p. 57-77.

Research output: Book Chapters | Papers in Conference Proceedings › Book Chapter › Research › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties

AU - WONG, Mary Shuk-han

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Authors / Taylor & Francis Group 2025.

PY - 2025/6/17

Y1 - 2025/6/17

N2 - The stories compiled in the Hong Kong short story collection Young Writers’ Fictions (新人小說選, 1967) were selected from the magazine Chinese Student Weekly and published in book form by the Union Press, an organization funded by the USA during the Cold War. This chapter argues that the collection exemplifies how ideological control does not necessarily wholly sublimate creative freedom. Hong Kong’s social instability at that time was the all-important backdrop against which the writers pondered colonialism and nationalism with a critical eye. By borrowing the concept of the Bildungsroman, this article will contemplate Bildung from two aspects: the Bildung of the characters and that of the young city of Hong Kong.

AB - The stories compiled in the Hong Kong short story collection Young Writers’ Fictions (新人小說選, 1967) were selected from the magazine Chinese Student Weekly and published in book form by the Union Press, an organization funded by the USA during the Cold War. This chapter argues that the collection exemplifies how ideological control does not necessarily wholly sublimate creative freedom. Hong Kong’s social instability at that time was the all-important backdrop against which the writers pondered colonialism and nationalism with a critical eye. By borrowing the concept of the Bildungsroman, this article will contemplate Bildung from two aspects: the Bildung of the characters and that of the young city of Hong Kong.

KW - 1960s Riots

KW - Chinese Student Weekly

KW - Cold War

KW - Hong Kong literature

KW - National-historical time

KW - Young Writers’ Fictions

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024370001

U2 - 10.5117/9789463720793_ch02

DO - 10.5117/9789463720793_ch02

M3 - Book Chapter

SN - 9789463720793

SP - 57

EP - 77

BT - Coming of Age in Chinese Literature and Cinema : Sinophone Variations of the Bildungsroman

A2 - RIEMENSCHNITTER, Andrea

A2 - CHU, Kiu-wai

A2 - CHUNG, Mung Ting

PB - Amsterdam University Press

ER -

Growing Up in an Age of Turbulence : The Bildungsromane of Young Hong Kong Writers in the Sixties

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this