The Three Leaps of Wang Lun

The Three Leaps of Wang Lun
Cover of the first edition
Author	Alfred Döblin
Original title	Die drei Sprünge des Wang-lun
Translator	C.D. Godwin
Country	Germany
Language	German
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	S. Fischer
Publication date	1915/1916
Media type	Print (Hardcover and paperback)

The Three Leaps of Wang Lun (Die drei Sprünge des Wang-lun) is a historical novel by the German author Alfred Döblin that narrates upheaval and revolution in 18th-century China. Published in 1916 (although back-dated to 1915), this epic historical novel was Döblin's third novel (although it was the first to be published as a book). It earned him the Fontane Prize.^[1] Favorably received by critics, who praised its detailed and exotic depictions of China, it was a literary breakthrough for Döblin.^[2] Wang Lun also had an influence on younger German writers, including Lion Feuchtwanger, Anna Seghers and Bertolt Brecht; for the latter, it provided an impulse for the development of the theory of epic theatre.^[3] In commercial sales, it is Döblin's most successful novel after Berlin Alexanderplatz.^[4] The title of the novel refers to the rebel leader Wang Lun.

Notes

^ Sander 2001, pp. 29, 133
^ Sander 2001, p. 137; Schoeller 2011, pp. 159–160
^ Schoeller 2011, p. 160
^ Schoeller 2011, p. 159

References

Sander, Gabriele (2001). Alfred Döblin (in German). Stuttgart: Reclam. ISBN 3-15-017632-8.
Schoeller, Wilfried F. (2011). Alfred Döblin: Eine Biographie (in German). Munich: Carl Hanser. ISBN 978-3-446-23769-8.