When <i>Paper Puppy</i> Meets <i>Beijing Doll</i>: Reading Adolescent Female Sexuality in Two Chinese Youth Novels

Abstract

Known for their frank portrayals of female sexuality<em>, Paper Puppy </em>(2019) by Yin Jianling<em> </em>and<em> Beijing Doll</em> (2004) by Chun Sue and are often considered among the landmark works of Chinese adolescent literature. Since their publication, both novels have inspired discussions on the question of broaching sex in fiction for young audiences. However, Yin’s novels received critical acclaim whilst Chun’s work was banned months after its initial publication. Taking the novels’ discrepant reception as a starting point, I explore the contexts of their production and trace the two different yet intersecting writing traditions they emerge from: <em>qingshaonian wenxue</em> (adolescent literature), predominantly authored by adults for an adolescent readership, and <em>qingchun wenxue</em> (youth literature), often associated with a particular group of teenage authors who write about their own lives. Although authors of <em>qingshaonian wenxue</em> and <em>qingchun wenxue</em> alike grapple with depictions of adolescent sexuality, the former is habitually regarded as “conservative” and “cautious” when it comes to matters of sex whilst the latter proves “radical” and “rule breaking”. Through further analysis of both texts, I reveal the complexities behind <em>Beijing Doll</em>’s ostensible iconoclastic bent and <em>Paper Puppy</em>’s supposed conformity. In so doing, I build on previous attempts to tease out the multifaceted sexual politics in Chinese YA, such as those by Chen Li and Lisa Chu Shen. By way of conclusion, I suggest that representing teen sexuality honestly and responsibly in the Chinese YA publishing scene remains challenging for today’s authors.