I'm an undergraduate, and I just finished studying China's contemporary literature this semester. I studied China's modern literature in the first semester. The textbooks I use are Qian Liqun's Thirty Years of Modern Literature in China and Hong Zicheng's History of Contemporary Literature in China. These two books are very accurate, especially the first one, and the development context is quite clear. Recommended reading.
Now let me talk about these two parts separately.
First, modern literature in China.
The first decade (19 17- 1927) was a decade of literary revolution. The two most important writers in this period are Lu Xun and Guo Moruo, and the most important literary societies are literary research society and creative society.
Revolutionary literature in the second decade (1928-1June 937). Left-wing writers and liberal writers were active in this period. Mao Dun's Midnight has created a new literary paradigm, and Mao Dun's creation represents authentic left-wing literature. Lao She, Ba Jin and Cao Yu were also important writers in this period.
The third decade (July1937-September 1949) is War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Zhao Shuli represents the highest achievement of literature in the liberated areas in the 1940s. The most outstanding writers in Kuomintang-controlled areas are Zhang Ailing and Qian Zhongshu (Xia Zhiqing's viewpoint).
Well, now we have entered the period of contemporary literature in China.
The history of contemporary literature in China can also be simply divided into three periods:
1. Seventeen-year literature (1949- 1966), that is, the period from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the Cultural Revolution. The novels of this period pay attention to epic and legend. There are many masterpieces. Here are a few simple words, such as Red Flag Spectrum, Song of Youth, Entrepreneurship History and so on. In terms of poetry, political lyrics are the mainstream. Guo Xiaochuan and He Jingzhi are representative poets.
Second, the literature of the Cultural Revolution. The main literary form in this period is revolutionary model operas. The creative methods are mostly collective creation. In the independent creation of public offering, Haoran's "Cotai Strip" is worth mentioning. In this decade, underground literature has made higher achievements. There are "handwritten novels" and "underground poems".
Third, the literature of the new period is the literature of this period since the Cultural Revolution. In the 1980s, the inner line was "scar literature-reflection literature-reform literature-root-seeking literature/modernism (these two literary trends of thought were about the same time, both were 1985)-pioneer-new realism". In the 1990s, literary styles became more diversified, and teachers disdained to talk about it, but I really haven't sorted it out. However, for the time being, the literature in the new period focuses on the literature in the 1980s, and you don't have to worry too much about this part in the 1990s.
That's my answer.