Research Project on “Thirty Cents Novels” Comes to Fruition
“A Study of the Thirty Cents Novels in 1950-1960s”, a research project which has been undertaken by the Research Centre for Chinese Literature and Literary Culture for three years, presented its significant outputs in the second half of 2022: “Academic Conference on Thirty Cents Novels” held on 12 August, in which 20 invited experts and scholars on the subject delivered talks, was followed by a book launch of When the Leaves Fall and the Blossoms Blow: A Study of Thirty Cents Novels in Hong Kong cum seminars at the Wan Chai bookstore of Book Cosmos on 15 October. Striving to accord thirty cents novels their well-deserved attention in view of their glaring absence in literary history, the newly released book is the very first monograph dedicated to the subject, aiming to offer an accurate portrait of the novels, chart their dissemination and circulation, document their publication details, and recount the first-hand experience of the people concerned. The two seminars were respectively delivered by Prof Wong Chung Ming from the Department of Journalism and Communication of Hong Kong Shue Yan University with the titles “How Countless Heroes Were Tempted to Submit: The Group of Authors of Thirty Cents Novels” and by the Director of our Centre, Dr Yip Cheuk Wai, with the title “How to Pick up the Scattered Leaves and Blossoms: Preservation and Revitalisation of Thirty Cents Novels”. Furthermore, two exhibitions held respectively from 19 November to 4 December 2022 at the Wan Chai bookstore of Book Cosmos and from 1 to 31 January 2023 at the Tsim Sha Tsui bookstore of the Commercial Press showcased many valuable original publications of thirty cents novels collected by the Centre, providing an opportunity for visitors to get acquainted with their history.
Research Centre for Chinese Literature and Literary Culture
