This course offers a critical study of contemporary narrative fiction from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Sinophone regions, including Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, and Europe. Key writers to be discussed include Lu Xun (魯迅), Shen Congwen (沈從文), Yu Dafu (郁達夫), Shi Zhecun (施蟄存), Zhang Henshui (張恨水), Can Xue (殘雪), Chang Kuei Hsing (張貴興), Zhu Xining (朱西甯), Xi Xi (西西), Liu Cixin (劉慈欣), among others. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s insight that the human condition is defined by the symbiosis of action and narrativity—what she calls the incipient sign of “natality”—this course explores how fiction creates an open space where the public and personal, as well as the past and future of a community, intersect. Through storytelling, the passions and shared historical visions of a community are contested, negotiated, and reimagined, reflecting the power of narrative to inspire new beginnings. A vibrant society depends on this narrative energy, as storytelling becomes an act of renewal for the human condition. Accordingly, this course examines not only the literary aesthetics of fiction but also the “dialogues” between storytelling and key historical moments.