PUBLIC MARKS with tags chine & livre

The destruction of what remained of the Hanlin library in 1900 through fire and pillage is more than just an interesting story. It has symbolic significance. First, it portrays the fragile nature of a civilization's written heritage. Vast compilations seem to devalue the originals on which they were based; that is, what was not chosen to be copied and passed on was most often lost.

Millions of Chinese have heard of Shanghai Baby, the shockingly frank grunge novel by Wei Hui, who prides herself on being "China's first banned pornographic female novelist." But how many have heard of Yu Xiu's Flower Season, Rainy Season or Han Han's The Three Gates?

Literary infighting is rarely as gripping as it has been in China this year. The battle royale between Mian Mian, 29, and Wei Hui, 27—both apparently vying for recognition as China's "bad girl of letters"—has captivated even those who have not read their remarkably similar and steamy novels about sex, drugs and dropout chic. In April, Beijing banned both books. Soon U.S. readers will have a chance to see why, when both are published in the States. Here is an advance look, in the first English-language excerpts from the novels.