Originally published 1906 | ||
Similar Officialdom Unmasked, Xiandai Hanyu Cidian, The Scholars, The Travels of Lao Can, Stories Old and New | ||
Wenming Xiaoshi (Chinese: 文明小史; pinyin: Wénmíng Xiǎoshǐ; Wade–Giles: Wen-ming Hsiao-shih; "Short History of Civilization" or "A Brief History of Modern Times" or "A Brief History of Enlightenment") is a novel by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan). The novel is a satire of pseudo-reformers in the Qing Dynasty period who found difficulty adjusting to modernization, including its complexities and problems. The work has 60 chapters but it is a shorter work than Officialdom Unmasked.
Contents
From 1903 to 1905 the work was serialized in Fiction Illustrated. The first edition of the entire work was published in 1906. Douglas Lancashire published an English translation of the first five chapters, titled "Modern Times," in Renditions, 2 (Spring 1974), p. 126-164.
Plot
In Chapter 16 Master Yao takes his son and three disciplines and Shanghai in order to show what Western civilization looks like to them. Master Yao has them explore Shanghai and familiarize themselves with the academic programs at schools in the area.