L’infanzia in Cina negli anni Venti del Novecento. Riflessioni a partire da “Fuori dal giardino” 花园 di Ye Shengtao

Abstract

 This article offers a cultural analysis of “Huayuan wai” 花园外 (1922, Outside the Garden) by Ye Shengtao, exploring how childhood is discursively constructed in early 20th-century China. Drawing on Childhood Studies and Sinophone Studies, it examines the relational agency of the child protagonist within a context of social exclusion. Through Chang’er’s imagination and failed attempts to access a symbolic space of happiness, the story reveals both continuity and rupture in the construction of childhood. The article situates Ye’s narrative in relation to his biography as an educator and reformer, and to broader debates on education, children’s literature, and cultural change in China.