Based on the method of dividing stages of Chinese literary history by dynasties and times, the book reflects and renames literary history and puts forward the transient features of the expression of “Modern Chinese Literature” and “Contemporary Chinese Literature”. Since either “Modern” or “Contemporary” refers to the present. While according to the naming tradition of Chinese literary history, the book then suggests “Modern Literature” and “Contemporary Literature” to be corrected as “Literature of the Republic of China (Min Guo) ” and “Literature of the People's Republic of China (Gong He Guo)”respectively and changes the method of naming and staging thereafter accordingly. In terms of the distinction of concept, the book emphasizes the historical concept of time not established concept of meaning. Thereby, the book proposes to include classical Chinese novels, prose and old style poetry into the literary history.

The book adheres to the politics of the times as the driving force of the development of the history of modern Chinese literature and views literature history under the concept of time. It proposes the new democratic view of literature history is still the main body of the literature history and grasps the essential characteristics of Chinese literature history in the 20th century. On this standpoint, the book, based on the concept of time of the literature history, expands the writing and interpretation of the literature history.

The book is not only a pure study of literary history, but also a combination of literary history with cultural history, ideological history as well as writers’ spiritual history. Through essential case studies and with the study of literary history as a manifestation of the exploration of the ideological and cultural changes in Chinese society, the book with its great readability puts forward unique insightful views.