In assessing Chekhov’s influence on East Asian literatures, Heekyoung Cho focuses on the first few decades of the twentieth century, when East Asian intellectuals were discovering Russian literature as a resource and guide to their own confrontation with European modernity. In this context, Cho uncovers the strikingly optimistic, life-affirming, and hopeful-though-cautious vision of Chekhov that was filtered into Japan and Korea through the influential exegesis of the anarchocommunist Pyotr Kropotkin.

This chapter argues that the proliferation of magical realist fiction in East Asia since the 1980s is a testament to both the narrative mode’s adaptability in cultures beyond the West and different authors’ ability to refashion magical realist elements into distinctive styles of writing that draw on local literary traditions and influences. Magical realism in East Asia reflects a shared approach to addressing contemporary issues that result from modernity, rapid economic development and increasing integration between East and West, the erosion of traditional cultures and values, authoritarian political regimes and environmental degradation. This chapter focuses primarily on writers from China (Mo Yan, Yu Hua and Yan Lianke), but also covers authors from Taiwan (Wu Ming-yi), Japan (Banana Yoshimoto) and South Korea (Hwang Sok-yong) in order to illustrate the wide variety and innovative nature of magical realist fiction in this region.