In comparison， Todd F。 Davis's evaluation of Vonnegut's philosophy was more straightforward and affirmative。He dismissed as irrelevant all contentions that treated Vonnegut as a pessimist， defeatist， or escapist and defined the writer as a“postmodern moralist”and described Vonnegut's philosophy as“postmodern humanism”，a concept Davis coined to link up the postmodern technique and the humanistic concerns of value and essence。In face of an absurd postwar world， Davis argued， Vonnegut endeavored to help his reader to maintain dignity and search for the meaning of existence。
For David Simmons， too， that Vonnegut was an adamant humanist was beyond question。 In a four-page introduction to New Critical Essays on Kurt Vonnegut（2009），he repeated the word“humanism”five times， all in the emphatic manner。He argued that the neglect Vonnegut suffered was mainly due to the author's“continuing humanism that positioned him at odds with an increasingly postmodernist and poststructuralist critical fraternity throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s”。He referred to Vonnegut's featured theme as the author's“staunch humanism and idealism”and hoped that the collection of essays he assembled would be able to demonstrate not only the author's great intelligence and writing ability， but also“his passionate humanism and belief in the socially benefcial functions of fction”（2009：xi-xiv）（emphasis added）。
Vonnegut studies in China started with translation。 The frst translation was two short stories from the collection Welcome to the Monkey House，“Unready to wear”and“The Kid Nobody Could Handle”，by Fu Weici in 1979.After that， more translation was done， although not in a steadyfow。By 2011，seven of Vonnegut's publications had Chinese versions， some more than one：Mother Night， God Bless You， Mr。Rosewater， Slaughterhouse-Five， Cat's Cradle， Jailbird， Timequake， and A Man Without a Country。However， although the interest in Vonnegut's works is growing in China， it seems much limited to the literary circle。Works such as Player Piano， The Sirens of Titan， Slapstick， Deadeye Dick， Galapogas， Bluebeard， and Hocus Pocus have no translation and remain largely unknown to the general reader。
In the critical world， although interest in Vonnegut is on the rise， it is in an uneven manner。 A research on the CNKI database in 2012 showed 57 articles bearing the keyword“Vonnegut”in the title between 1979 to 2011，but among them 52 articles were published between 2000-2011.The volume of MA theses on Vonnegut increased mainly after 2000.The database also showed a Doctoral dissertation by Chen Shidan（2002），but this is obviously incomplete， for as far as I know， there are two other dissertations on Vonnegut：one by Luo Xiaoyun（2005）and one by Shang Xiaojin（2006）。
In terms of studies on specifc works， the search with“Slaughterhouse-Five”as keyword turned up 72 published articles and 25“Best MA theses”。 The results dropped drastically with other works，13 articles and 6“Best MA theses”for“Cat's Cradle”，12 articles and 3“Best MA theses”for“Timequake”，5 articles and 4“Best MA theses”for“Breakfast of Champions”。Results for other works were even fewer， or none at all。
Although the findings from the CNKI database may be incomplete， they are useful in showing us the general contour of Vonnegut studies in China：that of the overwhelming concentration on Slaughterhouse-Five and the burst of interest since 2000. If the latter aspect is an encouraging sign， the former reveals the limitation of critical attention， which， on the other hand， promises ample space for further exploration。
In spite of the limitations， much achievement has been made in the Chinese scholarship of Vonnegut。 Of all early introductions and analyses， Zhang Ziqing's article，“A Distorting Mirror Refecting the Contemporary American Society：A Tentative Study of Vonnegut and His Works and Art”（1980）serves as a valuable inaugurator。Unlike most earlier scholars who mainly gave general introduction to Vonnegut's works， Zhang not only introduced seven of Vonnegut's early novels， but also made important critical analysis of them， covering both thematic concerns and writing techniques。Much of his insight is still sound and cogent today。He pointed out that Vonnegut was a humanitarian writer who was deeply concerned with issues such as war and peace， class oppression and exploitation， racial discrimination， destructive impact of science on human life and the environment， and family disintegration of the capitalist society。Most of the issues Zhang discerned remain essential for understanding Vonnegut。Due to the political atmosphere of the period， however， Zhang's criticism was highly class-oriented and sometimes sounded biased。In effect， class-orientation marked most the early criticism， including that of Lu Fan and Pu Long， who emphasized Vonnegut's reflection of the absurdity of the capitalist society but refused to acknowledge any depth in his critique。Besides， although scholars have noticed the unconventional writing techniques in Vonnegut’s fiction， their discussion of them remained traditional。“Postmodernism”was still too new a term for them to readily embrace。
With the surge of interest in postmodern theories in China since the late 1990s， there appeared a“postmodern turn”in the Vonnegut scholarship。 If it remained until the end of the 20th century a major issue of controversy in the American scholarship“whether Vonnegut should be viewed as modern or postmodern”（Broer vii），Chinese scholars seemed to hold little reservation in embracing him as a postmodern writer。Most studies treated Vonnegut as a representative postmodern novelist， and most of them focused on his postmodern techniques ranging from the already categorized， i。e。，black humor， absurdity， and science fction， to those newly formulated， such as meta-fction， fragmentary pastiche， nonlinear narration， authorial intrusion， and many more。In comparison， thematic studies were fewer than those of formal and stylistic， and most of the thematic studies concentrated on the anti-war sentiments， the fate of the anti-hero， and the absurdity of the postmodern world。Much of the rich complexity and multiple possibilities that Vonnegut's art implies remained unexplored。
The doctoral dissertations demonstrated much superiority in scope and perception。 Chen Shidan's Kurt Vonnegut's Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Real World and the Fictional World and His Tendency Toward New Historicism tried to integrate Vonnegut's postmodern techniques with his humanitarian themes。Using postmodern theories and new historicist perspectives， Chen concluded emphatically that Vonnegut was a“postmodernist novelist with humanist ideas”（Chen 2010：9）。Shan Xiaojin focused mainly on Vonnegut's artistic beliefs and aesthetic principles in Art and Creative Imagination：A Critical Interpretation of Kurt Vonnegut's Novels， but she also anchored the discussion on Vonnegut’s social commitment and argued that“despite all the fashionable and learned talks about the autonomy of art， Vonnegut is determined to make his own novels a vehicle for humanistic faith”（2006：19）。
What is encouraging is that in recent years some new directionsappeared in the study of Vonnegut in China。 Of particular relevance to the present study is Chen Shidan and Gao Hua's article that examined Vonnegut's humanitarianism in light of Murray Bookchin's theories of ecological society。Two MA theses conducted ecological interpretations of two major works of Vonnegut：Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle。The ecological concerns that run beneath Vonnegut's humanitarianism have begun to catch attention。
From the above review， the trajectory of the Vonnegut criticism becomes clear。 For all the contentions and controversies， discussions on the author concur more and more on his humanitarian standpoint。A general understanding can be concluded that Vonnegut is a humanist， a conscientious writer deeply committed to the search of solutions to the human predicament in a postmodern world。The burlesque science-fction devices， the puzzling postmodern narrative tricks， the hysterical laughter in face of horror and chaos， are all masks of a profoundly concerned comedian who goes out of his way to arouse his audience from the habitual numbness and resignation to the dehumanizing contemporary condition， to tickle us into a recognition of the irrationality and inhumanity of the postmodern culture。His aim is to generate change， as he says，“Writers should be agents of change”（WFG 237）。Gloomy and despairing as he sometimes is， Vonnegut holds fast to the belief in human being's capability of change for a better future。
For all the endeavors to make fair evaluations of Vonnegut's art and themes， however， very little is done in regard to the animal images in his fiction。 Few scholars have ever noticed their presence。Those who have， such as Peter Reed， Stanley Schatt， and Todd F。Davis， only mention them in passing。The complex implications of the rich gallery of animals remain largely ignored。It is the urge to“fll in the gap”that leads to the conception of this book。