Perfect Worlds

Perfect Worlds offers an extensive historical analysis of utopian narratives in the Chinese and Euro-American traditions. This comparative study discusses finally the rise of dystopian writing – a negative expression of the utopian impulse – in Europe and America (Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury, Atwood) as well as in China (Lao She, Wang Shuo, and others). The author observes that the utopian imagination thrives in a context of secularization. It appears that in the twentieth century the distinction between utopia and dystopia is blurred as a result of the increasing autonomy of the reader. Fokkema argues that in modern times utopianism in China and in the West has developed in opposite directions, each appropriating attitudes from the other culture which originally were considered alien

Urinary sulfate excretion and risk of late graft failure in renal transplant recipients - a prospective cohort study

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), produced from metabolism of dietary sulfur-containing amino acids, is allegedly a renoprotective compound. Twenty-four-hour urinary sulfate excretion (USE) may reflect H2S bioavailability. We aimed to investigate the association of USE with graft failure in a large prospective cohort of renal transplant recipients (RTR). We included 704 stable RTR, recruited at least 1 year after transplantation. We applied log-rank testing and Cox regression analyses to study association of USE, measured from baseline 24 h urine samples, with graft failure. Median age was 55 [45–63] years (57% male, eGFR was 45 ± 19 ml/min/1.73 m2). Median USE was 17.1 [13.1–21.1] mmol/24 h. Over median follow-up of 5.3 [4.5–6.0] years, 84 RTR experienced graft failure. RTR in the lowest sex-specific tertile of USE experienced a higher rate of graft failure during follow-up than RTR in the middle and highest sex-specific tertiles (18%, 13%, and 5%, respectively, log-rank P < 0.001). In Cox regression analyses, USE was inversely associated with graft failure [HR per 10 mmol/24 h: 0.37 (0.24–0.55), P < 0.001]. The association remained independent of adjustment for potential confounders, including age, sex, eGFR, proteinuria, time between transplantation and baseline, BMI, smoking, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein [HR per 10 mmol/24 h: 0.51 (0.31–0.82), P = 0.01]. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a significant inverse association of USE with graft failure in RTR, suggesting high H2S bioavailability as a novel, potentially modifiable factor for prevention of graft failure in RTR

Spanish and Latin American women writers in the literary canon: a paratextual study of anthologies of fantastic literature (1946-2016)

While it is evident that there are outstanding women authors of the fantastic in Spain and Latin America since the nineteenth century, it is not as clear whether these writers are fairly represented in the corpus available to readers. To what extent are women authors part of the fantastic canon? Are there female reference points for new generations of women writers? To explore processes of canon formation in the literature of the fantastic from a feminist perspective, this article gathers paratexts from 110 anthologies. Employing a quantitative approach with regard to indexed authors, the first section addresses specific questions related to gender and the fantastic in the Hispanic context by analysing statistical data. The empirical study is complemented by an analysis of how the female author is presented and constructed through the discourse in introductions, forewords and other paratextual materials of these anthologies

Perfect Worlds : Utopian Fiction in China and the West

Perfect Worlds biedt een uitgebreide historische analyse van utopische verhalen in de Chinese en Euro-Amerikaanse traditie. Aan bod komen onder meer de kritiek van Thomas More op Plato, de Europese oriëntalistische speurtocht naar utopieën in China en Chinese schrijvers die hun confucianistische utopie construeren. Tot slot bespreekt deze studie de opkomst van dystopische fictie - een negatieve representatie van de utopische impuls - in Europa en Amerika (Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury, Atwood) alsook in China (Lao She, Wang Shuo en anderen)

Perfect Worlds

Perfect Worlds offers an extensive historical analysis of utopian narratives in the Chinese and Euro-American traditions. This comparative study discusses finally the rise of dystopian writing – a negative expression of the utopian impulse – in Europe and America (Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury, Atwood) as well as in China (Lao She, Wang Shuo, and others). The author observes that the utopian imagination thrives in a context of secularization. It appears that in the twentieth century the distinction between utopia and dystopia is blurred as a result of the increasing autonomy of the reader. Fokkema argues that in modern times utopianism in China and in the West has developed in opposite directions, each appropriating attitudes from the other culture which originally were considered alien.Perfect Worlds biedt een uitgebreide historische analyse van utopische verhalen in de Chinese en Euro-Amerikaanse traditie. Verschillende hoofdstukken gaan onder meer in op de kritiek van Thomas More op Plato, de Europese oriëntalistische speurtocht naar utopieën in China, Dostoevsky’s reactie op Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done, Wells’s Modern Utopia en zijn interview met Stalin, Chinese schrijvers die hun Confucianistische utopie construeren, en sporen van het Daoisme in het gedachtengoed van Mao Zedong en zijn politiek van de Grote Sprong Voorwaarts en de Culturele Revolutie. Deze vergelijkende studie bespreekt tenslotte de opkomst van dystopische fictie – een negatieve representatie van de utopische impuls – in Europa en Amerika (Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury, Atwood) alsook in China (Lao She, Wang Shuo en anderen). De auteur constateert dat de utopische verbeelding tot bloei komt in een context van secularisering. In de twintigste eeuw heeft de toenemende autonomie van de lezer tot gevolg dat het onderscheid tussen eutopie en dystopie vervaagt. Tenslotte betoogt Fokkema dat in de moderne tijd de utopie in China en in het Westen een tegengestelde ontwikkeling heeft doorgemaakt, waarbij elk van de twee culturen zich elementen van de andere cultuur heeft eigen gemaakt die oorspronkelijk als vreemd werden beschouwd

Focus: China, tradition and modernity Introduction

This Introduction was written in November 2002, when the 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was being held where more than 2000 delegates (representing 66 million Party members) decided on future policies and changes in the leadership. The way these decisions were prepared and endorsed reminds us how China differs from Western democracies. However, apart from the political structures, to what extent is China different?The following five essays, all written by Chinese scholars, allow us a glimpse into contemporary Chinese culture through informative reports on philosophy, cultural studies, fiction, gender construction and women s poetry, and traditional Chinese medicine. Of course, these articles are far from covering all aspects, or even all major aspects, of Chinese culture, yet they offer us views of specific areas by experts who, from their insiders vantage points, lead us into the heart of the intellectual debate in contemporary China.Although the authors of these essays, with few exceptions, hesitate to generalize on present conditions and possible future scenarios, their arguments have something in common and suggest, perhaps unknowingly, important clues for understanding Chinese culture. When reading these essays, I am struck by the following, recurrent aspects.