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Abstract

This doctoral thesis closes a gap in a so far insufficiently cultivated field in the sinological as well as in the global research of the specific genre of the adolescent novel (also known as coming of age novel, novel of initiation, or Adoleszenzroman). The analysis concentrates on specific aspects of adolescence, namely the identity-finding processes of the young characters as they are presented within selected works by Cao Wenxuan, Yang Hongying and Guo Jingming which were published in China between 1997 and 2008. The study reveals a blatant asymmetry in the global research of the genre: Whereas Chinese experts of children’s literature draw on representative adolescent novels from the US, England and Germany in order to compile the core features of the genre, Chinese adolescent novels and the research thereof are but ignored in global literary discussions, mainly due to a lack of translations of primary and secondary source material, but also due to a lack of cross- regional and cross-cultural interaction. The adolescence novel or chengzhang xiaoshuo, however, as designed by the Chinese authors Cao Wenxuan, Yang Hongying and Guo Jingming, presents itself as an important literary medium for children and adolescents as it is able to capture experiences of adolescence in a variety of ways. It complements global theories and discussions about the genre, it serves as a frame for diverse representations of gender performances and queerness, and it also questions common assumptions about children's and youth literature as an authority in China.