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To Live 生存
From the author of Brothers and China in Ten Words this celebrated contemporary classic of Chinese literature was also adapted for film by Zhang Yimou. This searing novel, originally banned in China but later named one of that nation's most influential books, portrays one man's transformation from the spoiled son of a landlord to a kindhearted peasant. After squandering his family's fortune in gambling dens and brothels, the young, deeply penitent Fugui settles down to do the honest work of a farmer. Forced by the Nationalist Army to leave behind his family, he witnesses the horrors and privations of the Civil War, only to return years later to face a string of hardships brought on by the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. Left with an ox as the companion of his final years, Fugui stands as a model of gritty authenticity, buoyed by his appreciation for life in this narrative of humbling power.
这部出自 《兄弟》 和 《十个字的中国》 作者之手的中国当代文学经典也被张艺谋改编成电影。这部感人至深的小说最初在中国被禁，但后来被誉为中国最具影响力的书籍之一，讲述了一个人从地主的宠爱儿子到善良农民的转变。在赌场和妓院挥霍殆尽家产后，年轻、深深悔悟的福贵安顿下来，做一名诚实的农民。国民党军队迫使他离开家人，目睹了内战的恐怖和贫困，多年后他才回来面对文化大革命带来的一连串艰辛。福贵晚年与一头牛为伴，在这个充满谦卑力量的叙事中，他成为了坚韧真实的典范，对生命的感激鼓舞着他。
这部出自 《兄弟》 和 《十个字的中国》 作者之手的中国当代文学经典也被张艺谋改编成电影。这部感人至深的小说最初在中国被禁，但后来被誉为中国最具影响力的书籍之一，讲述了一个人从地主的宠爱儿子到善良农民的转变。在赌场和妓院挥霍殆尽家产后，年轻、深深悔悟的福贵安顿下来，做一名诚实的农民。国民党军队迫使他离开家人，目睹了内战的恐怖和贫困，多年后他才回来面对文化大革命带来的一连串艰辛。福贵晚年与一头牛为伴，在这个充满谦卑力量的叙事中，他成为了坚韧真实的典范，对生命的感激鼓舞着他。
250 pages, Paperback 250页，平装
First published January 1, 1992
首次出版于 1992 年 1 月 1 日
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About the author 关于作者
Yu Hua 余华
115 books1,180 followers115 本书 1,180 位关注者
Yu Hua (simplified Chinese: 余华; traditional Chinese: 余華; pinyin: Yú Huá) is a Chinese author, born April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. He practiced dentistry for five years and later turned to fiction writing in 1983 because he didn't like "looking into people’s mouths the whole day." Writing allowed him to be more creative and flexible.[citation needed] He grew up during the Cultural Revolution and many of his stories and novels are marked by this experience. One of the distinctive characteristics of his work is his penchant for detailed descriptions of brutal violence.
余华（简体： 余华 ；繁体： 余華 ；拼音：Yú Huá）是一位中国作家，1960 年 4 月 3 日出生于浙江省杭州市。他曾从事牙医行业五年，后于 1983 年转向小说写作，因为他不喜欢“整天盯着人的嘴巴”。写作让他更具创造力，也更加灵活。[需要引文] 余华在文化大革命时期长大，他的许多短篇小说和长篇小说都带有这段经历的痕迹。他作品的一大显著特点是，他热衷于对残酷暴力进行细致的描写。
Yu Hua has written four novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His most important novels are Chronicle of a Blood Merchant and To Live. The latter novel was adapted for film by Zhang Yimou. Because the film was banned in China, it instantly made the novel a bestseller and Yu Hua a worldwide celebrity. His novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam and Turkish.
余华著有四部长篇小说、六本短篇小说集和三本散文集。他最重要的小说是《许三观卖血记》和《活着》。《活着》被张艺谋改编成电影。由于该电影在中国被禁，这部小说迅速成为畅销书，余华也因此成为世界名人。他的小说已被翻译成英语、法语、德语、意大利语、荷兰语、波斯语、波兰语、西班牙语、瑞典语、匈牙利语、塞尔维亚语、希伯来语、日语、韩语、马拉雅拉姆语和土耳其语。
(from Wikipedia) （摘自维基百科）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua_...
余华（简体： 余华 ；繁体： 余華 ；拼音：Yú Huá）是一位中国作家，1960 年 4 月 3 日出生于浙江省杭州市。他曾从事牙医行业五年，后于 1983 年转向小说写作，因为他不喜欢“整天盯着人的嘴巴”。写作让他更具创造力，也更加灵活。[需要引文] 余华在文化大革命时期长大，他的许多短篇小说和长篇小说都带有这段经历的痕迹。他作品的一大显著特点是，他热衷于对残酷暴力进行细致的描写。
Yu Hua has written four novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His most important novels are Chronicle of a Blood Merchant and To Live. The latter novel was adapted for film by Zhang Yimou. Because the film was banned in China, it instantly made the novel a bestseller and Yu Hua a worldwide celebrity. His novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam and Turkish.
余华著有四部长篇小说、六本短篇小说集和三本散文集。他最重要的小说是《许三观卖血记》和《活着》。《活着》被张艺谋改编成电影。由于该电影在中国被禁，这部小说迅速成为畅销书，余华也因此成为世界名人。他的小说已被翻译成英语、法语、德语、意大利语、荷兰语、波斯语、波兰语、西班牙语、瑞典语、匈牙利语、塞尔维亚语、希伯来语、日语、韩语、马拉雅拉姆语和土耳其语。
(from Wikipedia) （摘自维基百科）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua_...
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October 26, 2017
أصبحت اعشق أدب الشرق الأقصى 😉😉
"إرادة الحياة"
كنت أفضل هذا العنوان على عنوان "على قيد الحياة.
فوت قوي يجسد إرادة الشعب الصيني في الحياة رغم جميع الظروف الصعبة سواءنا مادية او معنوية.
خسر جميع املاك اجداده ومات ابيه بسببه، واستمر في الحياة.
اهان كرامته وطلب العيش من زراعة ارض كانت ملكه، واستمر في الحياة.
يخطف من قبل الجيش للحرب، وفِي ظروف الحصار لفرقته ويستمر في الحياة.
يبدأ العهد الشيوعي والمزارع الجماعية والعمل فقط للاكل والشرب ويستمر بالحياة.
يفقد عائلته فردا فردا ويستمر بالحياة.
بأسلوب رائع يقوم المؤلف بوصف حياة بطل الرواية بشكل يجعلك تفقد أعصابك لشدة تحمل هذا الرجل الذي يجسد معانات الشعب الصيني في مطلع القرن التاسع عشر.
الشخصيات في الرواية مميزة وواضحة جدا. تدعوك للتعاطف معها ومتابعتها بكل تشويق وتفاعل .
حياة صعبة ومميتة لم يتحملها البعض واقدم على الانتحار، تتعاطف مع أشخاص الرواية وتشعر بحب كبير لهم وتتفاعل مع ما يحدث لهم. وتحملهم للمسؤولية في هذه الحياة التي يعيشونها تثير الإعجاب والغيرة من الطفولة الى الشباب الى الكهولة.
انصح الجميع بقرائتها....
"إرادة الحياة"
كنت أفضل هذا العنوان على عنوان "على قيد الحياة.
فوت قوي يجسد إرادة الشعب الصيني في الحياة رغم جميع الظروف الصعبة سواءنا مادية او معنوية.
خسر جميع املاك اجداده ومات ابيه بسببه، واستمر في الحياة.
اهان كرامته وطلب العيش من زراعة ارض كانت ملكه، واستمر في الحياة.
يخطف من قبل الجيش للحرب، وفِي ظروف الحصار لفرقته ويستمر في الحياة.
يبدأ العهد الشيوعي والمزارع الجماعية والعمل فقط للاكل والشرب ويستمر بالحياة.
يفقد عائلته فردا فردا ويستمر بالحياة.
بأسلوب رائع يقوم المؤلف بوصف حياة بطل الرواية بشكل يجعلك تفقد أعصابك لشدة تحمل هذا الرجل الذي يجسد معانات الشعب الصيني في مطلع القرن التاسع عشر.
الشخصيات في الرواية مميزة وواضحة جدا. تدعوك للتعاطف معها ومتابعتها بكل تشويق وتفاعل .
حياة صعبة ومميتة لم يتحملها البعض واقدم على الانتحار، تتعاطف مع أشخاص الرواية وتشعر بحب كبير لهم وتتفاعل مع ما يحدث لهم. وتحملهم للمسؤولية في هذه الحياة التي يعيشونها تثير الإعجاب والغيرة من الطفولة الى الشباب الى الكهولة.
انصح الجميع بقرائتها....
June 2, 2016
Yu Hua, Çin çağdaş romancılığında önemli bir yere sahip yazar. Daha önce Çin Edebiyatından ilk döneme istinaden Lu Sin, sonraki kuşağa örnek olarak Gao Xingjian gibi yazarları okuma fırsatımız olmuşken çağdaş dönemin Mo Yan ile birlikte en önemli yazarı olarak gösterilen Yu Hua'nı ancak okuyabilmek geç ama güzel bir tecrübe oldu. 2000 senesinde Gao Xingjian'ın, 2012 senesinde de Mo Yan'ın 'Nobel Edebiyat Ödülü'nü almaları; dünyanın gözünü buraya çevirmesi açısından önemli oldu. Uzak doğu ülkeleri bu konuda büyük bir talihsizlik yaşıyorlar. Japon Edebiyatı, Çin Edebiyatı ve Güney Kore Edebiyatı aslında küçümsenemeyecek sayıda iyi eser çıkartıyor ancak dünya okurunun kütüphanesinde kendine hakkınca yer edinemiyor. Bunun en büyük sebeplerinden bir tanesi her şeyde olduğu gibi edebiyatta da Batı'nın tekelleşmesinin olması. Elbette bu tarihi bir çok olayla alakalı ama artık bunun aşılması gerektiğini düşünüyorum. Diğer bir etken de kültürel olarak alışılagelmişin dışında olmaları. Bu sebeple ülkemizde de yayınevleri, yayın politikalarına çok sık almıyorlar.
İşte bu noktada Jaguar Yayınlarını kutlamak gerekiyor. Gerçekten ülkemizin son yıllarda gördüğü en başarılı yayınevlerinden bir tanesi kendileri. Basımlarını ve çevirilerini kitapların almış olduğu ya da alabilecek olduğu tirajlar üzerinden belirleyen yayınevlerinin başarısını kastetmiyorum, yanlış anlaşılmasın. İyi edebiyat kotasında sokmuş oldukları güzel kitaplar açısından belirttim. Olağanüstü güzel eserler yayınladılar. Daha önce Jun'ichiro Tanizaki'nin 'Naomi'sini yayınlayarak Uzakdoğu açısından bir tatmin yaratmışlardı. Şimdi de 'Yaşamak' ile benzer bir tatmin yarattılar. Kitabın daha ilk sayfasında Mo Yan çevirilerinden tanıdığımız Erdem Kurtuldu tarafından, Yu Hua'nın diğer önemli bir kitabı olan 'Kanını Satan Adam'ı yayınlayacaklarını söyleyerek okuru mutlu etme konusunda sürekli olacaklarını gösteriyorlar. Aynı zamanda eylül ayı civarlarında Japon Edebiyatından yayımlamayı düşündükleri kitaplar olduğunu da biliyorum. Bunun için uzakdoğu edebiyatı severler adına tekrar yayınevine teşekkür ediyorum. Ayrıca not düşmeden edemeyeceğim yayınevinin aynı özenle Güney Amerika Edebiyatı, Mısır Edebiyatı, Avrupa Edebiyatı eserleri bastığını da takip etmekteyiz.
Jaguar'ın 'Yaşamak' için uygun görmüş oldukları tasarım ve baskı kalitesi muazzam. İnsanı okurken, kitabı elinde tutmuş olmaktan dolayı memnun kılıyor.
Bunları bir kenara koyup esere gelecek olursak, bir oturuşta okuduğum, yer yer gözlerimin dolmasına sebep olan bir kitap bu. Mo Yan'ı okurken acı olaylarla birlikte sürreal eklemelerin birbirine karıştırıldığına tanık olursunuz. Bu Mo Yan'ın sihri. Ancak Yu Hua'nda böyle bir yumuşatma yok. Tamamen gerçekçi bir dille, Çin Kültür Devrimi yıllarının, sivillerin hayatlarında açtığı tahribatı aktarıyor. 1960 yılı doğumlu olan Yu Hua çocukluk ve gençlik yıllarını Çin Kültür Devrimi içerisinde geçirmiş. İlk yetişkinlik yıllarında ise Devrim Sonrası ortamdaymış. Haliyle Çin'in bu dönemde içinden geçtiği zorluklarla birebir muhatap olmuş. Duygular anlamında çok güçlü ve istediğini geçirebilen bir dili var. Ben çok etkilendim.
Bir trajedi aslında bu. Ancak Antik Yunan'da kurmaca olarak, belli normlara göre tasarlanan trajedyalar fazla grotesklerdir. Teknik bakmak durumunda olan biri değilseniz, bizim Yeşilçam filmlerimizin melodramik yoğunluğu gibi bir süre sonra sizi olaydan uzaklaşma durumunda bırakabilir. Ancak 'Yaşamak'da ki trajedinin gerçekten yaşanmış olabileceğini bilmek, biraz tarih bilgisi ile, gerçekten birçoklarının yaşandığından emin olmak insanı derinden etkiliyor. Yazar bunu yaparken de sizi yormuyor. Andrei Platonov Rus toplumunun fakirlikle, imkansızlıkla, ölümle olan dansını anlattığını eserlerinde nasıl başarılı ve gerçek olabiliyorsa; Yu Hua'nda Çin için aynı derecede başarılı olabiliyor. En iyi eleştiri yine eleştirilen sistemin içinden, onu yaşayandan çıkıyor.
Daha çok şey var yazılabilecek ama gerek yok. 'Yaşamak' iyi edebiyat işte. Okuyun ve görün.
8.5/10
İşte bu noktada Jaguar Yayınlarını kutlamak gerekiyor. Gerçekten ülkemizin son yıllarda gördüğü en başarılı yayınevlerinden bir tanesi kendileri. Basımlarını ve çevirilerini kitapların almış olduğu ya da alabilecek olduğu tirajlar üzerinden belirleyen yayınevlerinin başarısını kastetmiyorum, yanlış anlaşılmasın. İyi edebiyat kotasında sokmuş oldukları güzel kitaplar açısından belirttim. Olağanüstü güzel eserler yayınladılar. Daha önce Jun'ichiro Tanizaki'nin 'Naomi'sini yayınlayarak Uzakdoğu açısından bir tatmin yaratmışlardı. Şimdi de 'Yaşamak' ile benzer bir tatmin yarattılar. Kitabın daha ilk sayfasında Mo Yan çevirilerinden tanıdığımız Erdem Kurtuldu tarafından, Yu Hua'nın diğer önemli bir kitabı olan 'Kanını Satan Adam'ı yayınlayacaklarını söyleyerek okuru mutlu etme konusunda sürekli olacaklarını gösteriyorlar. Aynı zamanda eylül ayı civarlarında Japon Edebiyatından yayımlamayı düşündükleri kitaplar olduğunu da biliyorum. Bunun için uzakdoğu edebiyatı severler adına tekrar yayınevine teşekkür ediyorum. Ayrıca not düşmeden edemeyeceğim yayınevinin aynı özenle Güney Amerika Edebiyatı, Mısır Edebiyatı, Avrupa Edebiyatı eserleri bastığını da takip etmekteyiz.
Jaguar'ın 'Yaşamak' için uygun görmüş oldukları tasarım ve baskı kalitesi muazzam. İnsanı okurken, kitabı elinde tutmuş olmaktan dolayı memnun kılıyor.
Bunları bir kenara koyup esere gelecek olursak, bir oturuşta okuduğum, yer yer gözlerimin dolmasına sebep olan bir kitap bu. Mo Yan'ı okurken acı olaylarla birlikte sürreal eklemelerin birbirine karıştırıldığına tanık olursunuz. Bu Mo Yan'ın sihri. Ancak Yu Hua'nda böyle bir yumuşatma yok. Tamamen gerçekçi bir dille, Çin Kültür Devrimi yıllarının, sivillerin hayatlarında açtığı tahribatı aktarıyor. 1960 yılı doğumlu olan Yu Hua çocukluk ve gençlik yıllarını Çin Kültür Devrimi içerisinde geçirmiş. İlk yetişkinlik yıllarında ise Devrim Sonrası ortamdaymış. Haliyle Çin'in bu dönemde içinden geçtiği zorluklarla birebir muhatap olmuş. Duygular anlamında çok güçlü ve istediğini geçirebilen bir dili var. Ben çok etkilendim.
Bir trajedi aslında bu. Ancak Antik Yunan'da kurmaca olarak, belli normlara göre tasarlanan trajedyalar fazla grotesklerdir. Teknik bakmak durumunda olan biri değilseniz, bizim Yeşilçam filmlerimizin melodramik yoğunluğu gibi bir süre sonra sizi olaydan uzaklaşma durumunda bırakabilir. Ancak 'Yaşamak'da ki trajedinin gerçekten yaşanmış olabileceğini bilmek, biraz tarih bilgisi ile, gerçekten birçoklarının yaşandığından emin olmak insanı derinden etkiliyor. Yazar bunu yaparken de sizi yormuyor. Andrei Platonov Rus toplumunun fakirlikle, imkansızlıkla, ölümle olan dansını anlattığını eserlerinde nasıl başarılı ve gerçek olabiliyorsa; Yu Hua'nda Çin için aynı derecede başarılı olabiliyor. En iyi eleştiri yine eleştirilen sistemin içinden, onu yaşayandan çıkıyor.
Daha çok şey var yazılabilecek ama gerek yok. 'Yaşamak' iyi edebiyat işte. Okuyun ve görün.
8.5/10
August 14, 2016
It had been slightly more than 14 hours since my stomach had its last morsel of food. Compared to those numerous stomachs that for months become a perfect stranger to the concept of food, a mere 14 hours seems negligible. Yet, my stomach was growling in agony. Call me silly or juvenile! It was then that I had decided to confirm my skepticism over Youqing’s words. The cup of rice that lay in a comatose position couple minutes ago, was now ferociously gulping the simmering salted water. The rice appeared to be hungrier than me. The sweetness of the cooked rice audaciously prevailed in its steamy saltiness and its celebratory gongs resounded in my mouth. Youqing’s divine happiness found a way into my kitchen as the steamy rice porridge swirled into the cooking pot. Never had I thought that simple rice porridge could be blissful; never had I tasted such sweetness in a bowl of cooked rice gruel. As I savoured the warm porridge with a couple of pickled lemons and cucumbers, I gazed at the crawling red ant that was frantically finding its way out of from the starchy rice circle that I had drawn on the granite counter. Surrounded by the glutinous fluid the ant was searching for a way out to live. A stream of memories of Fugui flooded my mind and I wondered how humans find the gist of survival through their darkest despair and how my belly did became alive again through the fragrance of a simple fare. What is it that makes a person jammed in a hell hole redefine the laws of death? What is it that gives enormous courage to the hands that releases the stubborn knot fasten around the neck gifting joy to the crushed facial veins? Where does destiny and retribution stand in the assessment of life that exhales through the power of simplicity? What is the true gift of life?
“When the chicken grew up it turned into a goose, the goose in turn grew into a lamb and the lamb became an ox.......”
With every clandestine sound of the dice rolled in the clutch of the palms, with every card slapped on the table and with every moan of a whore being fucked, the ox became a lamb and the lamb a goose and then all that was left was a scrawny chicken pecking the remnants of the once glorious Xu family ancestry. As Changgen’s sturdy back became a daily travelling chesterfield for Fugui, the merciless elements of the House of Qing gulped the lustrous 100 mu of fertile land. The flourishing ox had given way to an impoverished chicken. The chronicle of livelihood that spans from the 1940s to the late 1970s and beyond, illustrates a man’s poignant journey from the zenith of affluent arrogance to the lowly plains of impecunious humility. For the prodigal son of the Xu family, one of the most crucial life lessons saw its roots grow deep into poverty and China’s political mayhem. Fugui trekked an unseemly rock-strewn path that was carved by Fugui’s gluttony, recklessness and later by his humility and admiration for life. The flight from an ox to a chicken was far easier than from a chicken to an ox. The treacherous path on which the chicken walked had its moments of a cheerfully smooth road where the goose had turned into the lamb, but as fate would have it the lambs were slaughtered to feed the ravenous life. Nonetheless, it was the lowly chicken that bestowed Fugui with the factual essence of life and gratification. If it is the subsistence along with the chicken that makes a person realize his hollow superciliousness and value life even more , only to be grateful for an ox later in life, then it is worth every cluck. Fugui’s affectionate mother would always say, “As long as you are happy in work, there is nothing to be ashamed of poverty.” Jiazhen gladly agrees too. But, in a world where the chicken is trampled without even a cackling sound by the gigantic ox, where does happiness thrive. Even though happiness blooms in the five fen candies Fugui gifted his only son, it vanishes the moment the lambs adorn the cooking pots of the communal dining hall. If poverty is nothing to be ashamed about, why does it then bring ignominy to the one that holds it? Why does the melodic resonance of money become a burden on one’s back and remain long-lasting yearning of the trembling ears who once adored it heartily? Why only the moneyed do legitimatize ambitious dreams? Why is the virtuousness of poverty snatched by the pitiless rich? Why did the colossal Chinese political oxen trample the lowly rural folks? Why is it that ordinary folks were afraid to be ambitious? What made Fugui think that he could honour his ancestors when he was nobody but a big-headed buffoon, taking his privileges for granted? What made Fugui a decent man who righteously honoured his ancestors?
“This time”, I said to myself, “I’ve got to keep on living.”
Fugui knew he had to keep on living. Jiazhen told him so too and so did the disappearing lives that encircled Fugui. Fengxia’s beautiful smile and Youquin’s naivety gave Fugui the potency to keep on living. To live when bounded by the unfathomable torrents of death is a dreadful irony. Yu Hua’s socialist realism novel which draws some of its inspiration ( Yu Hua’s own words) from the American folk song “Old Black Joe , is filled with sardonic incongruities. The rural folk of China; the poor peasants who faithfully marched alongside, initially with Chiang Kai-shek and then later with Chairman Mao were betrayed by the very own in whom they their well being was dependable. When the Nationalists commanded to bring the cannon, the poor walked onto the war front, when the Liberation Army walked into class warfare, farming lands were snatched, when the political leaders said smelting iron was profitable, pots from every kitchen seized and when officials asked for blood, every ounce was drained from the frail body. The Cultural Revolution became a playground of vengeance, hatred laced with bloodshed that played on the boundaries of human frailty. When the government asked the people to snatch, they snatched and when asked to donate, they gave till the final breath of their lives. The government officials and leaders were allowed to harbour sky soaring aspirations, whereas the ones for whom these political ambitions were employed were chastised for having dreams. In the dreams of Communism the common folk found credence and letting common folk to dream is what the Communist feared the most. Isn't it paradoxical in the most cold-blooded manner? The Chinese government in their quest to redeem the lost glory of their country had become vindictive master puppeteers pulling the strings of the poor rural folk as per as their egoistic fancy. Yu Hua narrows his swelling satire to ironies brimming through lives surviving in the Xu family household, wheeling the fundamental nature of the novel. Jiazhen’s new found happiness in her impoverished life that was lost in her elite survival. Fugui cherishing a peaceful sleep at the end of his exhaustive and assiduous days is a far cry from his insomniac gambling and whoring days. Long-Er whose insatiability for a landowner class escalated in the House of Qing, dug its own grave. The whistle that the ‘team leader’ blew so fervently assigning the governmental tasks to the villagers became the frightful messenger of death. A fare of steamy hot buns was more formidable to the vacant belly than two violent bullets. The simple, coarse grain of rice became prized crystals shinning in the pot of boiling water. The brazen skin that had once taken pleasure in the softness of silk was repelled by the “snot-like” fabric. Fate had become the biggest irony of all and Fugui its foremost angst-ridden victim.
Analogous to his other novelChronicle of a Blood Merchant, Yu Hua exemplifies the significance of a strong familial infrastructure. In the course of Fugui’s lifetime, family became his prime custody and most valued wealth. It was in the continuation of the modest family of four that both Fugui and Jiazhen found elation. Fugui’s metamorphism from a callous patriarch to being a respectable, loving and conscientious father is noteworthy. Jiazhen is the quintessential enduring and sympathetic woman who is not only a devoted mother but an honourable wife who stayed with Fugui through the thick and thin. Yu Hua deeply focuses on the vulnerability of a father-son relationship that prospers through the chaotic tides of time. A family is forever traced through its ancestral roots and the subsequent kismet or calamity finds a way to trickle down in the residual future generations. This is the very reason due to which I find great fondness in Yu Hua’s brilliant works. Every county, every street, every home is crammed with incalculable stories. Every personal version chronicled through powerfully diversified voices. Yu Hua releases these claustrophobic narratives of ordinary folk who are never able to find a worthy listening ear. Although average folks do not comprehend the nitty-gritty of egocentric political games yet they regrettably are the sole debt bearers of the pandemonium. Even so, these very people strongly establish their diligence and dignity in the midst of a thunderous societal revolution and virtuously wrestle the adversities while bleeding through the shards of their fate. Yu Hua lets the characters speak for themselves as they disentangle the psychological insights from their compactly meshed run of the mill personages.
“Fugui is a good ox. Of course he gets lazy sometimes, but even people drag their feet from time to time--- how can you expect an animal not to?..... I know when to make him work and when to let him rest. If I’m tires then I know he must be tired too......”
Yu Hua creates a surreal bridge between man and beast. It is amusing to comprehend the heart of a man who once had meted animalistic treatment towards humans, now identifies with the suffering and anguish of an animal. The life of an ox becomes an imprinted metaphor for the human conditions prevailing during the era of China’s political evolution. The oxen that strived throughout their tedious lives to the point of extreme exhaustion only to be slaughtered in their twilight years resembles the quandary of numerous lives that were slaughtered throughout the Chinese socio-political landscapes. The beloved lambs found no other compassionate owner than the young Youqing. In this “coming-of- age” tale, where ripeness of life does not come through the numerical gradations of age, but through convoluted experiences and endeavours of survival; Yu Hua illustrates how vacillating providence and indecorous state of affairs bestow animalistic treatment on the living exposing the core of human shortcomings.
It is said that Yu Hua spent most of his childhood roaming in the hospital corridors (his father was a doctor and Yu Hua himself is a trained dentist), thus once again (similar to Chronicle of Blood Merchant) the hospital becomes a symbol of death and anguish, where the difference between animal and human is scrubbed away by shoddy and narcissistic medical conduct.
“The dead all want to keep on living. Here you are alive and kicking, you can’t die........... Your life is given to you by your parents. If you don’t want to live, you have to ask them first.”
The anonymous young traveller who patiently listened to Fugui among the breezy green fields recognized the zeal Fugui had for his life. Fugui could remember his past as clear as the water that ran through the fields. Never once did his aging memory falter as he recounted the excruciating steps of his living. Fugui loved his life, come what may. Like the crops he faithfully cultivated on his five mu field; he cultivated an undying love for life, even from its treacherous terrains. Living is the true gift of life. Even the dead desire to keep on living. The love for one’s life, the love for one’s family is what loosens the knot suffocating the neck. Staying alive and go on living isn't easy. Because, no matter how lucky a person is, the moment he decided he wants to die, there is nothing that can keep him alive. When a child is born with its very first cry, when the first rice sapling is born from its muddy womb; life is celebrated. The parents who hold the child, the farmer who takes pride in the first rice sapling; both of them seek life and not death. Then, Fugui is accurate when he says that when one wants to end life, one should ask for the parents’ permission. For they have gifted the essence of life. And, when one’s parents have been long dead, it is more the reason to be alive; to keep on living. To live is heroic. To love life is the true gift of living. Fugui was heroic and so were the members of the Xu family and the citizens of China who went on living with solemnity and vehemence throughout the tormented course of their country’s historical labyrinth and, the numerous people who keep on living through dastardly circumstances. It is here that I paused with the spoon clanking on to the now empty bowl exhibiting the dried traces of relished rice porridge. The ant is tired now and looking at that industrious insect I mocked at my pettiness. When numerous Fuguis of the world could have the courage to find love for life, why do I sometimes deter from finding that bravery. All my empty stomach needed was a mere spoonful of the warm porridge to keep it from falling into gloomy sickness. All Fugui needed was to view splashes of death escaping his fate to gain the audacity to live. All Jiazhen needed was to be with her family every day to keep on living. All that was needed was the eternal love for life. I knew the ant would come back to bite me one day, but at that moment I was glad to see it run into the sunlight as I wiped away its starchy grave.
**[ The Xu family - actors playing the said roles in the namesake movie]
“When the chicken grew up it turned into a goose, the goose in turn grew into a lamb and the lamb became an ox.......”
With every clandestine sound of the dice rolled in the clutch of the palms, with every card slapped on the table and with every moan of a whore being fucked, the ox became a lamb and the lamb a goose and then all that was left was a scrawny chicken pecking the remnants of the once glorious Xu family ancestry. As Changgen’s sturdy back became a daily travelling chesterfield for Fugui, the merciless elements of the House of Qing gulped the lustrous 100 mu of fertile land. The flourishing ox had given way to an impoverished chicken. The chronicle of livelihood that spans from the 1940s to the late 1970s and beyond, illustrates a man’s poignant journey from the zenith of affluent arrogance to the lowly plains of impecunious humility. For the prodigal son of the Xu family, one of the most crucial life lessons saw its roots grow deep into poverty and China’s political mayhem. Fugui trekked an unseemly rock-strewn path that was carved by Fugui’s gluttony, recklessness and later by his humility and admiration for life. The flight from an ox to a chicken was far easier than from a chicken to an ox. The treacherous path on which the chicken walked had its moments of a cheerfully smooth road where the goose had turned into the lamb, but as fate would have it the lambs were slaughtered to feed the ravenous life. Nonetheless, it was the lowly chicken that bestowed Fugui with the factual essence of life and gratification. If it is the subsistence along with the chicken that makes a person realize his hollow superciliousness and value life even more , only to be grateful for an ox later in life, then it is worth every cluck. Fugui’s affectionate mother would always say, “As long as you are happy in work, there is nothing to be ashamed of poverty.” Jiazhen gladly agrees too. But, in a world where the chicken is trampled without even a cackling sound by the gigantic ox, where does happiness thrive. Even though happiness blooms in the five fen candies Fugui gifted his only son, it vanishes the moment the lambs adorn the cooking pots of the communal dining hall. If poverty is nothing to be ashamed about, why does it then bring ignominy to the one that holds it? Why does the melodic resonance of money become a burden on one’s back and remain long-lasting yearning of the trembling ears who once adored it heartily? Why only the moneyed do legitimatize ambitious dreams? Why is the virtuousness of poverty snatched by the pitiless rich? Why did the colossal Chinese political oxen trample the lowly rural folks? Why is it that ordinary folks were afraid to be ambitious? What made Fugui think that he could honour his ancestors when he was nobody but a big-headed buffoon, taking his privileges for granted? What made Fugui a decent man who righteously honoured his ancestors?
“This time”, I said to myself, “I’ve got to keep on living.”
Fugui knew he had to keep on living. Jiazhen told him so too and so did the disappearing lives that encircled Fugui. Fengxia’s beautiful smile and Youquin’s naivety gave Fugui the potency to keep on living. To live when bounded by the unfathomable torrents of death is a dreadful irony. Yu Hua’s socialist realism novel which draws some of its inspiration ( Yu Hua’s own words) from the American folk song “Old Black Joe , is filled with sardonic incongruities. The rural folk of China; the poor peasants who faithfully marched alongside, initially with Chiang Kai-shek and then later with Chairman Mao were betrayed by the very own in whom they their well being was dependable. When the Nationalists commanded to bring the cannon, the poor walked onto the war front, when the Liberation Army walked into class warfare, farming lands were snatched, when the political leaders said smelting iron was profitable, pots from every kitchen seized and when officials asked for blood, every ounce was drained from the frail body. The Cultural Revolution became a playground of vengeance, hatred laced with bloodshed that played on the boundaries of human frailty. When the government asked the people to snatch, they snatched and when asked to donate, they gave till the final breath of their lives. The government officials and leaders were allowed to harbour sky soaring aspirations, whereas the ones for whom these political ambitions were employed were chastised for having dreams. In the dreams of Communism the common folk found credence and letting common folk to dream is what the Communist feared the most. Isn't it paradoxical in the most cold-blooded manner? The Chinese government in their quest to redeem the lost glory of their country had become vindictive master puppeteers pulling the strings of the poor rural folk as per as their egoistic fancy. Yu Hua narrows his swelling satire to ironies brimming through lives surviving in the Xu family household, wheeling the fundamental nature of the novel. Jiazhen’s new found happiness in her impoverished life that was lost in her elite survival. Fugui cherishing a peaceful sleep at the end of his exhaustive and assiduous days is a far cry from his insomniac gambling and whoring days. Long-Er whose insatiability for a landowner class escalated in the House of Qing, dug its own grave. The whistle that the ‘team leader’ blew so fervently assigning the governmental tasks to the villagers became the frightful messenger of death. A fare of steamy hot buns was more formidable to the vacant belly than two violent bullets. The simple, coarse grain of rice became prized crystals shinning in the pot of boiling water. The brazen skin that had once taken pleasure in the softness of silk was repelled by the “snot-like” fabric. Fate had become the biggest irony of all and Fugui its foremost angst-ridden victim.
Analogous to his other novelChronicle of a Blood Merchant, Yu Hua exemplifies the significance of a strong familial infrastructure. In the course of Fugui’s lifetime, family became his prime custody and most valued wealth. It was in the continuation of the modest family of four that both Fugui and Jiazhen found elation. Fugui’s metamorphism from a callous patriarch to being a respectable, loving and conscientious father is noteworthy. Jiazhen is the quintessential enduring and sympathetic woman who is not only a devoted mother but an honourable wife who stayed with Fugui through the thick and thin. Yu Hua deeply focuses on the vulnerability of a father-son relationship that prospers through the chaotic tides of time. A family is forever traced through its ancestral roots and the subsequent kismet or calamity finds a way to trickle down in the residual future generations. This is the very reason due to which I find great fondness in Yu Hua’s brilliant works. Every county, every street, every home is crammed with incalculable stories. Every personal version chronicled through powerfully diversified voices. Yu Hua releases these claustrophobic narratives of ordinary folk who are never able to find a worthy listening ear. Although average folks do not comprehend the nitty-gritty of egocentric political games yet they regrettably are the sole debt bearers of the pandemonium. Even so, these very people strongly establish their diligence and dignity in the midst of a thunderous societal revolution and virtuously wrestle the adversities while bleeding through the shards of their fate. Yu Hua lets the characters speak for themselves as they disentangle the psychological insights from their compactly meshed run of the mill personages.
“Fugui is a good ox. Of course he gets lazy sometimes, but even people drag their feet from time to time--- how can you expect an animal not to?..... I know when to make him work and when to let him rest. If I’m tires then I know he must be tired too......”
Yu Hua creates a surreal bridge between man and beast. It is amusing to comprehend the heart of a man who once had meted animalistic treatment towards humans, now identifies with the suffering and anguish of an animal. The life of an ox becomes an imprinted metaphor for the human conditions prevailing during the era of China’s political evolution. The oxen that strived throughout their tedious lives to the point of extreme exhaustion only to be slaughtered in their twilight years resembles the quandary of numerous lives that were slaughtered throughout the Chinese socio-political landscapes. The beloved lambs found no other compassionate owner than the young Youqing. In this “coming-of- age” tale, where ripeness of life does not come through the numerical gradations of age, but through convoluted experiences and endeavours of survival; Yu Hua illustrates how vacillating providence and indecorous state of affairs bestow animalistic treatment on the living exposing the core of human shortcomings.
It is said that Yu Hua spent most of his childhood roaming in the hospital corridors (his father was a doctor and Yu Hua himself is a trained dentist), thus once again (similar to Chronicle of Blood Merchant) the hospital becomes a symbol of death and anguish, where the difference between animal and human is scrubbed away by shoddy and narcissistic medical conduct.
“The dead all want to keep on living. Here you are alive and kicking, you can’t die........... Your life is given to you by your parents. If you don’t want to live, you have to ask them first.”
The anonymous young traveller who patiently listened to Fugui among the breezy green fields recognized the zeal Fugui had for his life. Fugui could remember his past as clear as the water that ran through the fields. Never once did his aging memory falter as he recounted the excruciating steps of his living. Fugui loved his life, come what may. Like the crops he faithfully cultivated on his five mu field; he cultivated an undying love for life, even from its treacherous terrains. Living is the true gift of life. Even the dead desire to keep on living. The love for one’s life, the love for one’s family is what loosens the knot suffocating the neck. Staying alive and go on living isn't easy. Because, no matter how lucky a person is, the moment he decided he wants to die, there is nothing that can keep him alive. When a child is born with its very first cry, when the first rice sapling is born from its muddy womb; life is celebrated. The parents who hold the child, the farmer who takes pride in the first rice sapling; both of them seek life and not death. Then, Fugui is accurate when he says that when one wants to end life, one should ask for the parents’ permission. For they have gifted the essence of life. And, when one’s parents have been long dead, it is more the reason to be alive; to keep on living. To live is heroic. To love life is the true gift of living. Fugui was heroic and so were the members of the Xu family and the citizens of China who went on living with solemnity and vehemence throughout the tormented course of their country’s historical labyrinth and, the numerous people who keep on living through dastardly circumstances. It is here that I paused with the spoon clanking on to the now empty bowl exhibiting the dried traces of relished rice porridge. The ant is tired now and looking at that industrious insect I mocked at my pettiness. When numerous Fuguis of the world could have the courage to find love for life, why do I sometimes deter from finding that bravery. All my empty stomach needed was a mere spoonful of the warm porridge to keep it from falling into gloomy sickness. All Fugui needed was to view splashes of death escaping his fate to gain the audacity to live. All Jiazhen needed was to be with her family every day to keep on living. All that was needed was the eternal love for life. I knew the ant would come back to bite me one day, but at that moment I was glad to see it run into the sunlight as I wiped away its starchy grave.
**[ The Xu family - actors playing the said roles in the namesake movie]
March 24, 2025
Десетилетия "живот" в комунистически Китай са сбити в този кратък роман от Ю Хуа.
От привидно жизнерадостния разказ на престарелия Фу-гуей струи много безнадежност, ужас и мъка... Сграбчва те историята неусетно, стиска без жалост, докато усетиш как си се задавил от неизплакани сълзи!
Безупречен превод от китайски на Стефан Русинов, благодаря!
P.S. Дни след като съм завършил "Живи", продължавам мислено да се връщам към детайли и случки от нея. Голяма книга е, без никакво съмнение!!!
Единствено нещо корицата не ми се връзва някак със съдържанието.
От привидно жизнерадостния разказ на престарелия Фу-гуей струи много безнадежност, ужас и мъка... Сграбчва те историята неусетно, стиска без жалост, докато усетиш как си се задавил от неизплакани сълзи!
Безупречен превод от китайски на Стефан Русинов, благодаря!
P.S. Дни след като съм завършил "Живи", продължавам мислено да се връщам към детайли и случки от нея. Голяма книга е, без никакво съмнение!!!
Единствено нещо корицата не ми се връзва някак със съдържанието.
September 29, 2018
Çok etkileyiciydi. Sade anlatımıyla büyülüyor, öylece kalakalıyorsun. Defalarca boğazım düğümlendi, hele o kan alma bölümünde kitabı bir yerlere çarpasım geldi ama pek çok yerde de o naiflikten, güçlü yaşama inancından, sıradan bir hayatın basit ihtiyaçlarının sağlanmasının getirdiği mutluluktan gülümsedim, kalbim titredi.
Yaşama bağlılık ve en kötü zamanlarda bile umutlu olma halini Platonov’un Can’ına çok benzettim. Orda da benzer bir duygudan beslenen çok güçlü bir hikaye vardı.
İlk Yu Hua okumamdı. Yedinci Gün’ü Jaguar’ın çevirmiş olmamasına gerçekten üzüldüm. Jaguar Kitap yeterince övmediğimizi düşündüğüm bir yayınevi. Gerçekten Türkçe’ye, hem de orjinal dilinden şahane romanlar kazandırıyor, inanılmaz temiz iş çıkarıyorlar.
Yaşama bağlılık ve en kötü zamanlarda bile umutlu olma halini Platonov’un Can’ına çok benzettim. Orda da benzer bir duygudan beslenen çok güçlü bir hikaye vardı.
İlk Yu Hua okumamdı. Yedinci Gün’ü Jaguar’ın çevirmiş olmamasına gerçekten üzüldüm. Jaguar Kitap yeterince övmediğimizi düşündüğüm bir yayınevi. Gerçekten Türkçe’ye, hem de orjinal dilinden şahane romanlar kazandırıyor, inanılmaz temiz iş çıkarıyorlar.
December 26, 2018
Çok ilginç bir kitap. "Hiçbir şey anlatmayarak çok şey anlatan kitaplardan" demek istiyor içim ama durum öyle hiç de değil. "Çok şey anlatıp hiçbir şey anlatmaması", zaten söz konusu değil. Çok şey anlatıyor; ama sanırım, içinde de dediği gibi, son derece "sıradan" şekilde anlatıyor.
Hayatı roman olacak bir adamın hayatını romanlaştırırken bu sıradanlığı korumak, bence iş. Tarihin gözünden bakılınca en çok toz zerresi kadar önemli yaşamlarımıza bu kadar büyük değer atfetmek de bir tuhaf, evet. Ve yine de her yaşam, köküne dek değerli. Garip çelişkiler bunlar.
Bir de, koca bir yaşam düşünülünce, mesela çok iyi bir evliliğin ilk yıllarındaki büyük sorunlar, evliliğin ellinci yılına gelindiğinde ne kadar önemli olabilir hâlâ? Uzun ölçekten bakmayı öğrenebilsek, belki yaşamlarımız çok daha değerli olur galiba. Zira aslında hepimiz 36 pozluk analog bir fotoğraf makinesiyiz, pozlar bitince yenisi gelmeyecek ve o yüzden o kareyi çekerken on kez düşünmemiz gerekir ama... biz yine de pervasızca basıp duruyoruz deklanşöre, 64 gigabyte yerimiz varmışçasına.
Dedim ya, ilginç bir kitap. Duru üslubu sayesinde, insana düşünme fırsatı veriyor.
Hayatı roman olacak bir adamın hayatını romanlaştırırken bu sıradanlığı korumak, bence iş. Tarihin gözünden bakılınca en çok toz zerresi kadar önemli yaşamlarımıza bu kadar büyük değer atfetmek de bir tuhaf, evet. Ve yine de her yaşam, köküne dek değerli. Garip çelişkiler bunlar.
Bir de, koca bir yaşam düşünülünce, mesela çok iyi bir evliliğin ilk yıllarındaki büyük sorunlar, evliliğin ellinci yılına gelindiğinde ne kadar önemli olabilir hâlâ? Uzun ölçekten bakmayı öğrenebilsek, belki yaşamlarımız çok daha değerli olur galiba. Zira aslında hepimiz 36 pozluk analog bir fotoğraf makinesiyiz, pozlar bitince yenisi gelmeyecek ve o yüzden o kareyi çekerken on kez düşünmemiz gerekir ama... biz yine de pervasızca basıp duruyoruz deklanşöre, 64 gigabyte yerimiz varmışçasına.
Dedim ya, ilginç bir kitap. Duru üslubu sayesinde, insana düşünme fırsatı veriyor.
May 18, 2022
Çin'de yasaklanan bu roman oldukça sade bir dille yazılmış. hem şanslı hem şanssız bir hayat anlatılan. toprak ağalığından işçiliğe, toprak devriminden açlığa... devlet politikalarının Çin'deki sıradan bir insanı ne hâle soktuğunu gördükçe aslında dünyadaki tüm politikaların insan yaşamını değersizleştirmekten başka bir işe yaramadığını anlıyoruz.
yoksulluk ve açlıkla sınanıyor insanlık.
anlatılan açlığı yaşamayız umarım demekten başka bir şey gelmiyor insanın içinden :/
yoksulluk ve açlıkla sınanıyor insanlık.
anlatılan açlığı yaşamayız umarım demekten başka bir şey gelmiyor insanın içinden :/
September 16, 2018
A spare and wrenching tale of rural life in China and the tragedies of one family’s survival of the social and economic hardships associated with the Nationalist Revolution and later the Communist Cultural Revolution. There is a lot of similarity to “The Good Earth”, but I liked it better for not feeling so much like a didactic morality tale. Written much later (1993) by a resident of modern China, it slips an almost absurdist, comic view of the mistakes and excesses of former regimes past the censors (although the movie based on the book was banned).
Fugui is the first-born son of a landowning family who makes a favorable marriage into a wealthy merchant family. But he pursues a dissolute life at the local town brothels and opium dens and loses all the family wealth and land at gambling. He turns to tenant farming and slowly wins back the love of his wife, and together they gain some self-respect raising a son and daughter in a hard-scrabble existence. But tragedies befall them, including Fugui’s conscription into the Nationalist army fighting Mao. When he returns years later. Fugui picks up the pieces of his family and embraces the advent of collective farms. Ironically, their poverty saves them from the slaughter of the wealthy and educated during the Cultural Revolution. They comply with giving up their cooking pot in favor of use of a communal kitchen, but the attempt of smelt the metal for the government suffers from practical know-how, and the stupidity of state agricultural policies lead to a famine.
We know Fugui survives because the opening scene has him an old man, happily plowing his field with an old ox, stopping to tell his tale to an urban youth scouring the rural areas for a sociological harvest of stories and songs. His wisdom in the care of his ox and knowing its needs and limits makes for a lingering metaphor for the strength of the nation lying with the resilience and core human values of its rural people.
Fugui is the first-born son of a landowning family who makes a favorable marriage into a wealthy merchant family. But he pursues a dissolute life at the local town brothels and opium dens and loses all the family wealth and land at gambling. He turns to tenant farming and slowly wins back the love of his wife, and together they gain some self-respect raising a son and daughter in a hard-scrabble existence. But tragedies befall them, including Fugui’s conscription into the Nationalist army fighting Mao. When he returns years later. Fugui picks up the pieces of his family and embraces the advent of collective farms. Ironically, their poverty saves them from the slaughter of the wealthy and educated during the Cultural Revolution. They comply with giving up their cooking pot in favor of use of a communal kitchen, but the attempt of smelt the metal for the government suffers from practical know-how, and the stupidity of state agricultural policies lead to a famine.
We know Fugui survives because the opening scene has him an old man, happily plowing his field with an old ox, stopping to tell his tale to an urban youth scouring the rural areas for a sociological harvest of stories and songs. His wisdom in the care of his ox and knowing its needs and limits makes for a lingering metaphor for the strength of the nation lying with the resilience and core human values of its rural people.
March 24, 2017
Çin’de o dönemde gerçekten yaşanmış olabileceğini düşünebilmeme rağmen kitabın içeriğindeki acı beni üzmek yerine öfkelendirdi. Tek derdi yaşamak olan insanların bu kadar acı çekmesi insanı kızdırmayacak gibi değil.
Nasıl yapıyor bilmiyorum ama kitap inanılmaz bir şekilde içine çekiyor sizi. Dilinin sade, cümlelerin kısa ve doğrudan anlatımının etkisi olduğunu düşünüyorum. Sadece bir yerdeki çeviri hatası -anneanne yerine babaanne denilmiş- benim gözüme battı biraz ama onun dışanda oldukça başarılı.
Nasıl yapıyor bilmiyorum ama kitap inanılmaz bir şekilde içine çekiyor sizi. Dilinin sade, cümlelerin kısa ve doğrudan anlatımının etkisi olduğunu düşünüyorum. Sadece bir yerdeki çeviri hatası -anneanne yerine babaanne denilmiş- benim gözüme battı biraz ama onun dışanda oldukça başarılı.
February 26, 2021
“Колкото и мъчен да е животът обаче, все някак трябва да се крета напред.”
Научавайки че благодарение на преводача от китайски език Стефан Русинов ще имаме възможност да са прочетем един от най-добрите китайскоезични романи въобще – романът “Живи” от Ю Хуа, бях сигурна, че ще “разчистя място” за тази книга. Мобже би е необичайно отзив за книга да започва с информация за преводача, но у нас преводачите от този древен и красив език не са много, а преводите на Стефан Русинов (и въобще добрите ни преводачи) заслужават отделно споменаване.
Скромният обем на романа побира историята на Фу-гуей и неговото семейство през мъчителните за китайския народ години на Гражданската война, завършила с победа на маоистите, последвани от Големият скок и Културната революция, общо-взето три десетилетия. “Живи” има семпла, линеарна структура - събитията следват едно след друго без странични отклонения, без паралелни истории. Езикът е обикновен, диалозите – изчистени, роман без нищо излишно, който спокойно може да прочетете през почивните дни. И върху който да размишлявате дълго след това.
Фу-гуей има всичко и губи всичко. Трагедиите в живота му следват една след друга, и доколкото в романа са загатнати историческите събития, то читателят не може да свърже смъртите в него с някое от тях. Сякаш загубите се случват по силата на самия живот, идват и се приемат като факт от действителността. Трагедия, от която отсъства бруталното.
Беше ми много мъчително да преживея всяка от загубите на бедния Фу-гуей – било то очаквани, нелепи, жестоки, несправедливи, внезапни. Всеки момент си мислех как този измъчен човек просто ще се предаде и ще легне в очакване на милостивата смърт, защото не му беше останало нищо друго. А той с някаква неизтребима жилавина ореше нивичката си с изкаляни крака и с песен на уста, с вола-адаш, и той едвам оцелял.
“Живи” е роман, в който липсват цветове. Обичам мислено да “оцветявам” действителността в книгите, а тук историята ми се представи като през филтър “сепия” и това не е упрек към книгата, напротив. Визуално, историята нямаше нужда от нищо – всяко разкрасяване би било обида към нейния суров реализъм.
След всичко казано дотук, сигурно виждането ми за “Живи” като за ведра книга звучи нелепо. Но заглавието не лъже – живи сме, каквото и да се случва, животът като просто живеене, дори най-трудният от всички животи, животът, напълно лишен от смисъла си, животът като единствено поредица от събуждания, просто трябва да се живее. Друго няма.
Научавайки че благодарение на преводача от китайски език Стефан Русинов ще имаме възможност да са прочетем един от най-добрите китайскоезични романи въобще – романът “Живи” от Ю Хуа, бях сигурна, че ще “разчистя място” за тази книга. Мобже би е необичайно отзив за книга да започва с информация за преводача, но у нас преводачите от този древен и красив език не са много, а преводите на Стефан Русинов (и въобще добрите ни преводачи) заслужават отделно споменаване.
Скромният обем на романа побира историята на Фу-гуей и неговото семейство през мъчителните за китайския народ години на Гражданската война, завършила с победа на маоистите, последвани от Големият скок и Културната революция, общо-взето три десетилетия. “Живи” има семпла, линеарна структура - събитията следват едно след друго без странични отклонения, без паралелни истории. Езикът е обикновен, диалозите – изчистени, роман без нищо излишно, който спокойно може да прочетете през почивните дни. И върху който да размишлявате дълго след това.
Фу-гуей има всичко и губи всичко. Трагедиите в живота му следват една след друга, и доколкото в романа са загатнати историческите събития, то читателят не може да свърже смъртите в него с някое от тях. Сякаш загубите се случват по силата на самия живот, идват и се приемат като факт от действителността. Трагедия, от която отсъства бруталното.
Беше ми много мъчително да преживея всяка от загубите на бедния Фу-гуей – било то очаквани, нелепи, жестоки, несправедливи, внезапни. Всеки момент си мислех как този измъчен човек просто ще се предаде и ще легне в очакване на милостивата смърт, защото не му беше останало нищо друго. А той с някаква неизтребима жилавина ореше нивичката си с изкаляни крака и с песен на уста, с вола-адаш, и той едвам оцелял.
“Живи” е роман, в който липсват цветове. Обичам мислено да “оцветявам” действителността в книгите, а тук историята ми се представи като през филтър “сепия” и това не е упрек към книгата, напротив. Визуално, историята нямаше нужда от нищо – всяко разкрасяване би било обида към нейния суров реализъм.
След всичко казано дотук, сигурно виждането ми за “Живи” като за ведра книга звучи нелепо. Но заглавието не лъже – живи сме, каквото и да се случва, животът като просто живеене, дори най-трудният от всички животи, животът, напълно лишен от смисъла си, животът като единствено поредица от събуждания, просто трябва да се живее. Друго няма.
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