Dr. Ming Dong Gu, professor of Chinese and comparative literature and director of the Confucius Institute at UT Dallas, was asked by the general editor of Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism to choose the first Chinese theorist to be included in the publication.

The comprehensive anthology expanded in the newly published second edition to include theorists from Chinese, Indian and Arabic traditions.  That change represents a stark difference from the typical anthologies of literary theory that cover Western theorists exclusively.

Gu selected Zehou Li, who he says “was acknowledged as ‘the teacher of youth’ and enjoyed among Chinese intellectuals a national reputation comparable to that of Jean-Paul Sartre in France.”

Gu wrote the introduction and bibliography for Li’s theoretical works and edited the chosen piece, adding that the inclusion of non-Western theory is a “landmark event, making the anthology more complete and global.”

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism is a comprehensive literary theory anthology, giving readers an overview of  the development and current state of theory and criticism.