"Tsu's findings are compelling. She argues that in the wake of repeated military humiliations and the Western discourse on Chinese racial deficiency or inferiority, the formation of modern Chinese national identity was fueled by a self-perception as humiliated and deficient in a way the typically assumed patriotic pride and desire for sovereignty could never have done."—Nations and Nationalism

"Failure, Nationalism, and Literature achieves two important features of excellent scholarship—it helps makes sense of the past in new and challenging ways and in so doing provides numerous new points of departure for future scholarly work. Moreover, it stands as an excellent example of the unique contribution first-rate literary analysis can make to enhancing our understanding of the complexity of China's path through the twentieth century. This is a seriously good read."—The China Journal

"...a bold and useful book."—Etudes Chinoises