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.
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.
I recently commented to another GR reader that finding oneself in the writing of others about themselves may be the only viable form of ethical philosophy and religion in the modern world. China in Ten Words makes the case better than I ever could. For me the book is a sort of case study in listening carefully to the intended rather than the presumed meaning of the language we use.
I read Yu Hua’s Brothers several years ago. In it he clearly relies on his own experience of the Cultural Revolution and the beginnings of the subsequent transformation of China in order to capture the elusive spirit of a culture as well as a country. China in Ten Words does something similar but I find the autobiographical even more powerful than the fictional.
The book is a meditative memoir on a par with Montaigne’s Essays or Pascale’s Pensees. Its power, I think, derives from its astounding descriptive matter-of-factness. Yu’s childhood was spent in the cultural desolation of profound societal upheaval, the equivalent of a ten year long war of a national community with itself. This was a war begun without apparent provocation, and waged with no idea of what victory might mean. And it was literally total in that every man, woman and child were engaged in it. The weapons of this war in the first instance were those of language, from which violence was provoked and spread.
Yet, despite his horrific experiences - from witnessing non-judicial executions, to the persistent fear of denunciation, to the absence of almost all reading material - Yu, just like his fictional brothers, simply does not complain. He doesn’t even judge. He simply recounts in a manner which suggests that no other experiences could have been his. Nor would he want, apparently, any other experiences.
This is a remarkable stance to take. But it may be even more remarkable as a literary reflection of the entire Chinese nation. China, as it appears in Yu’s writing, is not simply long-suffering, it is accepting of its past suffering as an essential part of what it is. The implication seems to be that the Western ideas of mutual forgiveness and reconciliation are not relevant in a culture mature enough to accept itself and its past completely without regret or recrimination. No apologies, no Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, no apportionment of guilt or trials for crimes against humanity are necessary in such a society.
On the other hand, acceptance of the past does not mean resignation about the future. Yu doesn’t recognise causal connections in the manner of a European historian. Rather he registers discontinuities - abrupt, often unaccountable, changes in culture, politics, and direction like the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward - as normal, or at least typical. And although these discontinuities may need correcting from time to time, they are not themselves a problem. This seems to me a common marker of Chinese literature, possibly even of Chinese historiography. Tolerance of discontinuity is the secret weapon of Chinese culture.
‘Revolution’ is the political code word for this reality of discontinuity. Yu asks and answers his own question to this effect. “What is revolution? The answers I have heard take many forms. Revolution fills life with unknowables, and one’s fate can take an entirely different course overnight; some people soar high in the blink of an eye, and others just as quickly stumble into the deepest pit. In revolution the social ties that bind one person to another are formed and broken unpredictably, and today’s brother-in-arms may become tomorrow’s class enemy.” Sometimes, according to Yu, revolution is indistinguishable from thuggery. Truly the most remarkable thing about Chinese culture is its robustness in the face of more or less continuous disruption, and its ability to recover.
Yu identifies the incidents emanating from events in Tiannamen Square in 1989 as a discontinuity brought about by state-directed thuggery. The consequences of Tiannamen are mis-directed not for the reason a European might expect - for example suppression of democratic expression - but because the events at Tiannamen ultimately signaled creation of a crassly commercial, inhumane, and essentially un-Chinese state. Political revolution simply stopped - a perverse discontinuity. “Tiananmen, you could say, marked the watershed between two different conceptions of ‘the people’; or, to put it another way, it conducted an asset reshuffle, stripping away the original content and replacing it with something new.” He never uses the word ‘betrayal’ but a European in similar circumstances might have done.
Yu perceives the situation as discontinuous today as it was during the Cultural Revolution: “China today is a completely different story. So intense is the competition and so unbearable the pressure that, for many Chinese, survival is like war itself.” The discontinuity is simply overwhelming: “In the short space of thirty years, a China ruled by politics has transformed itself into a China where money is king.” Economically speaking, China has become hyper-Western. Popular discontent is greater now than when everyone was in the same sinking boat of the 1960’s and 1970’s: “Contradictions were not as acute then as they are now, when society simmers with rage.”
As a writer, Yu recognises, in what I take to be a Chinese way, that the flaw is not individual. Not even Mao was at fault, he implies, for the excesses perpetrated in his name from 1966 until his death in 1976. The problem lies, as it were, across all of society, in every layer of government and economic status. In philosophical terms, the problem is real but transcendent. And its locus is language itself. It is in language as it is spoken that the ideals of ‘the people’ and ‘leadership’ and even ‘writing’ have been transformed into cultural dead ends. The solution to the problem is not formal redefinition of these terms but the telling of new stories which create new contextual meanings for these terms and re-establish national cohesion as an ideal.
If I am right about Yu’s intentions, they are certainly relevant for every society on the planet. But it seems to me that if they can have traction anywhere, it’s likely to be in that society which is most open to the discontinuity called for. China, perhaps uniquely, has resisted confusing national purpose with the much more challenging idea of national purposefulness. The former tends toward fixity and archaic irrelevance; the latter toward that most elusive of all ethical ideals, the continuous re-evaluation of values. This is what China does very well indeed judging by history; and perhaps Chinese writers like Yu do best of all. As Yu says about himself, these writers are “fishers of memory.” I am touched by his metaphor and also pleasantly surprised to find it resonating in myself.
A remarkable collection of personal and cultural essays, framed around 10 Chinese words: People, Leader, Reading, Writing, Lu Xun, Revolution, Disparity, Grassroots, Copycat, and Bamboozle.
Yu has a distinct voice, and his wit, satire, and humor come across in translation. He recounts stories from his own childhood during the Cultural Revolution, his career as dentist/doctor in rural regions, and his perspective on the rise of China on the world stage over the last 30 years.
Reading and Writing essays were the highlights of this collection on an emotional level, however each essay was crafted with such care that they are all very memorable, and educational.
Recommended for anyone interested in learning more about modern China, and who appreciates strong writing and skill in translation.
Ю Хуа е съставил нещо като своя биография и нещо като летопис на времето на Културната революция, сякаш заменен, но всъщност само странно допълнен от друг летопис - този на чудатия преход от началото на 21-ви век към бляскавите витрини на консуматорството. От времена на масово кърваво насилие, политика, уравниловка, мизерия и с грандиозни идеи без икономика и без елементарни удобства - скокът е във времена на бумтяща икономика, лукс и шарения, но без почти никакви идеи и без политика и със социална бездна между бедни и богати. Контрастът е само привиден, защото хората и болките са си почти същите, само декорите и силните на деня тарикати са се сменили. Лично аз съм привърженик на по-новата версия на епохата, но старият маоист Ю Хуа не винаги е съгласен с това.
Част от темите са доста близки и до нас в България, макар, разбира се, мащабът да няма нищо общо. В крайна сметка ето как един относително къс човешки живот може да побере невероятно количество противоречия и да се равнява на няколко. А единственият начин от тази дяволска каша да изскочи нещо цялостно, са хуморът, любознателността, отказът от (постоянна) самоизмама и стоицизмът.
Интересно би ми било да видя и поглед към доста различната от представената в сборника 2010 г. нова епоха на несменяемия вече другар и “кормчия” Си Дзинпин…
П.П. Чудесен превод на Стефан Русинов, както винаги.
——— ▶️ Цитати: 🧧“Мисля си, че на света няма нищо, което да свързва хората повече от болката, защото този път на общуване тръгва от човешките дълбини.”
🧧“Неравенството в живота неизменно води и до неравенство в мечтите.”
🧧“…кривото и правото често се срещат на едно и също място и обикновено си влияят взаимно.”
🧧“Толкова отчетливо черно-бяла беше тази епоха - врагът винаги е крив, ние винаги сме прави. Никой не смееше дори да предположи, че врагът може понякога да е прав, а ние да сме криви.”
🧧“…слабият се плаши от грубия, грубият се плаши от жестокия, жестокият се плаши от онзи, на когото не му е мил животът.”
🧧“…да дадеш твърде много отговори е все едно да не дадеш никакъв.”
🧧“…понякога в живота се случва така, че ако тръгнеш от добрите си страни, вървиш към все по-лошо, а ако тръгнеш от лошите си страни, вървиш към все по-добро.”
🧧“С него бяхме като двама въдичари на лов за спомени, седнали на брега на времето и метнали въдици в миналото.”
🧧“Ако в литературата наистина се съдържа някаква мистична сила, може би е точно тази - читателят да види собствените си усещания в творбите на писатели от различни епохи, държави, етноси, езици и култури.”
🧧“Такива завършеци на историите измислях, че направо се докарвах до сълзи.”
🧧“…всеки среща много думи в живота си и някои от тях разбира още от първия път, а други остават неразбрани, макар и да са го съпътствали през цялото време.”
🧧“…”народ” е просто една куха компания, чрез която различните епохи излизат на борсата с различно съдържание.”
3.5 stars. After living in rural China for a few years I lost interest in taking any look (intimate or otherwise) at the Chinese experience. I'm still not very motivated to read about the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution or anything that followed. I exhausted my interest...or at least I thought. Hua's book is really pretty great, especially for readers who aren't very familiar with recent Chinese history. Hua's lived through it all and has a great talent for essay construction. The best aspect of this book, though, is the translation. Having read quite a bit of Chinese lit in translation it often feels stale and rigid...but Hua's book flows beautifully. Kudos to Allan H. Barr.
Zaista volim kako Ju Hua piše – tečno, jasno, živo, često i duhovito. Cenim njegovu kontrolu nad tekstom gde, i povrh toga što je prisustvo pisca očigledno, delo kao da iz sebe izvire. Međutim, i tu postoji dobra mera, onoliko koliko je piscu daleko razmahivanje svojim talentom i odlazak u samosvrhovite eksperimente, toliko mu je dalek i suvi i bledunjavi realizam. U kratkim crtama – ovo je, u suštini, esejističko-memoarska knjiga, pisana kao najuzbudljiviji roman.
Nema laži, nema prevare – dobijate tačno ono što stoji u naslovu – najmnogoljudnu zemlju sveta u deset reči. Zapravo, ne U, već KROZ deset reči, budući da svaka odabrana reč predstavlja stanicu sjajne panorame kroz prostor i vreme. Hua je najbolji kad se poziva na lično iskustvo, a to, srećom, radi često. Čak i kad govori o kolektivnom iskustvu ili o važnim istorijskim događajima – od ključnih momenata Kulturne revolucije, preko krvoprolića na Tjanmenu, sve do Olimpijskih igara 2008. godine – Hua održava odličnu ravnotežu između malog čoveka i svetskoistorijske pozornice. Zanimljivo je, a svakako višestruko indikativno za Kinu kao državu, da su neretko najbizarniji momenti ove knjige vezani ne toliko za status društvenih masa (mada i o tome ima mnogo reči), koliko za priče o pojedincima iz tih masa. Nešto što se svakako odmah ureže u sećanje je opis kako je Ju Hua, kao vrlo mlad, radio kao zubar. Potpuno sumanuto deluje da se posao stomatologa tada vrednovao isto kao i bilo koji fizički posao, a iz opisa aktivnosti i uslova rada, nikome ne bih poželeo da je morao tada da popravlja zub. Tu je i (istinita, treba li istaći) povest o prodavcu krvi koji je od te svoje delatnosti postao milioner ili o roditeljima koji su se ubili zato što nisu imali ni toliko novca da kupe svom sinu jednu jedinu bananu.
Od dečjih nestašluka i škola koje su, po mnogo čemu (bile i ostale!) država u malom, preko sveprisutne paranoje u vidu jurenja kontrarevolucionarnih elemenata, sve do moći kopija i plagijata u savremenosti – Hua je uspeo da kao malo ko pokaže kako se može pisati krajnje sadržajno, a ne pregusto. Pritom, deluje da bi ova knjiga bila značajna kako za poznavaoce zbivanja u Kini, tako i za one koji, prosto, o Kini ne znaju gotovo ništa.
Prevod Zorana Skrobanovića je standardno vrhunski. Uvek se obradujem kako uspeva da u delo utka neki naš narodski duh – sigurno nije lak zadatak pronalaziti srpske ekvivalente za kineske fraze. Poglavlje koje govori o neobičnoj vezi između Lu Sjuena i Ibzena, prevela je Mirjana Pavlović, koja je čitavu jednu monografiju posvetila Ibzenu i kineskoj drami. Krajnje su neobični ti književno-kulturni susreti, kao što je bilo vrlo zanimljivo čitati o cenzuri u kineskim bibliotekama i kako su se ljudi dovijali da dođu do klasika. Možete, eto, kad vam se ukaže prilika pokušati da prepišete celu „Damu sa kamelijama”, da bi neko mogao da čita Aleksandra Dimu – kontrarevolucionara. Golem posao.
Ali i ovo što sam napisao nije ni delić onoga što se može u delu pronaći. Raskoš, eto, kao u kineskom tržnom centru – na sve strane nešto. A i raduje me kako je „Kina u deset reči” uspela da dodatno učini zanimljivim dva već sjajna Huina romana, koje svima preporučujem: „Živeti” i „Zapisi o prodavcu krvi”.
Halk, Lider, Okumak, Yazmak, Lu Xun, Farklılıklar, Devrim, Avam, Taklit ve Kandırmaca bu 10 kelime ile bir ülkenin yakın tarihini- acılarını – adımlarını anlatabilmek mümkün mü? Söz konusu o ülkenin hafızasına dayanıp; bir de Yu Hua gibi kısa cümlelerle – an’ın içinden fotoğraf kareleri sunabiliyorsanız mümkün.. . Kültür Devrimi’nden ,Büyük İleri Atılım (Dà yuè jìn)’a oradan milyonların ayaklandığı 1989 Tiananmen Meydanı’na.. Çin, nasıl Çin olabildi? Düşerken, hatta dibi gördüğünde, nasıldı? Yükselmek neydi ve nereye çıkılmalıydı? Bir devrim vardı, bir başkan.. Ve büyük bir kalabalık, milyonlarca ve ardından milyarlarca.. Açtılar, doydular ve şimdi toklar. Ama bir kısmı. Aynı ülke sınırlarının içinde birbirinden 10 yıl farkla yaşayanların olduğu gibi.. . Yu Hua okumak, boğazınızda bir yumruyla yutkunmak gibi.. Okuduğum romanlarında gün’ün içinden ama bir o kadar zamansız olan yaşananlardı beni etkileyen. Yaşananları – mekanları – kişileri süslemeden de unutulmaz kılmasıydı Yu Hua’yı güçlü kılan. Denemelerinde de bunu koruyabileceğini biliyordum. Çünkü onun hafızasına güveniyordum en çok. Gözlediklerini anlatırken okurun da görünmez bir tanık olarak tam da o olayın içinde kalabilmesini sağladığını biliyordum. On Sözcükte Çin’de hissettiğim bu oldu. Her başlıkta (her kelime bir başlık) biraz daha öğrendim, düşündüm hatta sorguladım. Okuduklarım bazen bir çocuğun anılarıydı bazen finansal değerler.. Her bir başlıkta yaşadığım ülkenin deneyimlerini de değerlendirdim – kıyasladım. Velhasıl çok doyurucu bir okuma olduğunu söylemeliyim. Düşüncelerimi de duyguları mı da.. . Bahar Kılıç’ın enfes çevirisi (ki yazarın Yaşamak adlı romanında da olduğu gibi) ,Ubey Akkaya’nın çalışması olan kapak kaligrafisi ile –
Öncelikle teşekkürler Jaguar! Böyle güzel bir kitabı bize kazandırdığı için.
Bir ülkeyi, on kelime ile tanıtmak oldukça zor, ama Yuh Hua bunu kurgu ve otobiyografik öğelerle çok şahane başarmış.
Okuması hem zevkli hem de çok bilgilendirici.
Keşke bizim ülkemiz için de benzer bir çalışma yapılsa. Açıkçası Çin 'e dair bilgisizliğim, ön yargılı olduğum düşüncelerim dağıldı ya da daha doğrusu netleşirdim diyelim.
Kitabın bir diğer sevdiğim yanı tarafsız değil ve anlatımındaki geçişler çok yerinde.
Mutlaka okuyun. Hatta hiç Çin edebiyatı okumadıysanız önce bu kitabı okuyun derim.
I have read Yu Hua's columns in the New York Times for some years and enjoy and learn from his lens on modern China. For some reason I have not read his books before this one though this book and two of his novels, To Live, and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, have been on my TBR for years. I am so glad I finally got to this smart, painful, sometimes sweet (but not saccharine) eye-opening essay collection. China in Ten Words offers something hard to come by, cultural criticism anchored with memoir from China. While I admit that sometimes this reads a little moralistic -- this is especially true in the section on love and romance -- mostly it is just good storytelling with loads of personality that walks us through the seismic shifts in China from the Cultural Revolution (the time during which Yu grew up) to the current obsessive amoral money-obsessed economic powerhouse. It is strongest when Yu shares his childhood experiences to illustrate the ways in which human impulses to do good have been subverted.
In addition to cultural criticism, there is a linguistics angle to these essays, about how we turn words describing bad things into good or neutral words and thereby erode the moral fabric of a place and a people. So much of what he discusses in early 21st century China can be applied to 2015-present America. Yu's perspective is illuminating.
Published in 2010 this book uses 10 common Chinese words to illustrate the points mentioned above. Surprisingly, though the shift seems revolutionary it turns out that many things haven't changed as much as you might think. The stated goals are 100% different, but the people's behaviors and choices? Not so much. I was particularly taken by the "Copycat" and "Bamboozle" sections which takes us down the road to post-truth China (though China has been sort of post-truth for nearly a century.)
Unsurprisingly, this book is banned in China. I am surprised and pleased Yu Hua is allowed to write and live in China (and travel abroad in support of his books.) I will be moving on to other works.
Hua'nın bu sefer Kültür Devrimi ile denemelerini okumuş olduk Jaguar sayesinde. Çin hakkında çok az şey bildiğimi farkettim. Hua'nın çocukluk, gençlik anılarını okurken bir yandan Çin'in gelişimine tanık oluyoruz.
"Ancak bir başkasının acısı kendi acına dönüştüğü zaman hayatın ve yazmanın ne demek olduğunu anlarsın."
This is a truly remarkable book for its depth of feeling, simplicity, humour and elegance. I can say without hyperbole is one of the most memorable I've ever picked up. As the title suggests, the author uses 10 words to describe China as he's experienced it in his life; and through this he paints an enthralling picture of a country travelling the path of upheaval and revolution to its present state.
Through words like "People", "Reading", "Copycat", the author provides vignettes of his own life experiences. At times they are hilarious and at times sad; and remarkably sometimes they manage to be both without cruelty. Throughout this the author drops gems of wisdom about the human condition as he's encountered it which are deeply humbling. His own life story is used to explicate the travails of his country, and the stuff of daily life describes the incredible political and social developments China has experienced over the past half century.
The depth of change China has experienced in its past few decades has few precedents in modern history. A country with an ancient, self-assured culture was completely torn asunder first by colonialism, then by political radicalism, and then finally by the freemarket fundamentalism which reigns today. This book tells that story through the life of its author, who grew up during the violent and often bizarre upheavals of the Cultural Revolution, and now surveys the capitalist China which he finds around him today.
This book is very special. Short, beautiful, deep, and rendered in exceptionally beautiful prose, its tells the story of a grand history on a micro level and does so in a way which is both moving and wise. Not only that, it also manages to convey all this while being frequently hilarious; I was laughing at loud intermittently throughout.
Recommended unreservedly whether you're interested in China, the human condition in general, or just like good writing.
Yu Hua’nın o etkileyici Yaşamak romanı sonrasında okuduğum, kurmaca olmayan On Sözcükte Çin, bir ülkeyi, toplumu anlamak için iyi bir edebiyatçının gözlemlerinin ne kadar değerli olduğunu ortaya koyuyor. Çin’e pek ilgi duymuyor olsanız da, ki ben öyleyimdir, kendisini zevkle okutan bir kitap. Sonuçta anlatılan evrensel bir hikaye, acımasızlığıyla, riyakarlığıyla, iktidar hırsıyla, ama bunlara direnebilen, umudumuzu tamamen kaybetmemizi sağlayan iyi örnekleriyle de bir insanlık hikayesi... Çeviri de (Bahar Kılıç) harika.
Kad uzmem da pročitam neke dalekoistočne pisce da bih približio i bolje razumio daleki istok, poslije čitanja shvatim da sam se samo još više udaljio. Čitanjem se samo podsjetim na jaz između naših kultura i civilizacija. Ova knjiga je izuzetak od tog pravila.
Najjači utisak su ostavila poglavlja o čitanju i pisanju. Ju Hua lično svjedoči različitim periodima u odnosu spram književnosti, od ideološke cenzure pa do 'cenzure' izazvane hiperprodukcijom.
Šezdesetih i sedamdesetih postoje samo dva dostupna pisca, jedan je Lu Sjun, drugi Mao Cedung lično. Sve ostalo je kontrarevolucionarna, kapitalistička književnost, pa čak i sovjetska. Ju Hua je srednjoškolac u potrazi za knjigama kojih gotovo da nema, a i ono što se nađe, nalazi se teže, a vjerovatno i uz veći rizik, od heroina. Jednom prilikom on i drug uspiju doći do romana (ispostaviće se da je u pitanju Dama s kamelijama, i to prepričana, rukom pisana), ali ga već sutradan moraju vratiti vlasniku, tako da čitav dan i čitavu noć provode prepisujući u smjenama roman u svoju svesku. Kad na jedvite jade uspiju sačuvati to malo blago do kog su ko zna kako došli, shvataju da uopšte nisu u stanju pročitati ono što su pisali u žurbi pa onda čitaju skupa, svako dešifrujući svoj dio napisanog. Poslije Maove smrti i okončanja Kulturne revolucije, stižu prvi naslovi u knjižare. Balzak, Tolstoj i drugi klasici. Ju Hua daje ozbiljne pare za bonove i ustaje u četiri ujutro da bi stao u red ispred knjižare, a tamo čeka petsto ljudi. Zamišljam vrijeme u kom se svu noć čekalo u redu da bi se pazario Čiča Gorio. Danas se u Kini izdaje nekoliko stotina hiljada naslova godišnje. Nema cenzure ali hiperprodukija obavlja posao cenzora. Dobro, nije ni cenzura nepostojeća, Kina u deset reči je, recimo, zabranjena u Kini. Ali nije to ona Maova cenzura. Nit Maova Kina. Samo je Komunistička partija konstanta koja se ne mijenja i opstaje uprkos svim drugim promjenama.
Bu kitabı okurken Çin hakkında aslında hiçbir şey bilmediğimi fark ettim. Lise eğitiminin sonuna dek öğrendiğimiz Orta Asya'daki komşumuz olması ve hep savaştığımız gerçeği dışında Çin ve Çin toplumu hakkında bilgim yokmuş. Yu Hua bana ülkesinin yakın tarihi ve toplumu hakkında inanılmaz bilgiler sundu. Okurken 'hadi canım bu da böyle miymiş orda?' diyip durdum. Harita alıp Çin'in sınırlarına baktım, orada hangi toplumların yaşadığını öğrendim. Kültür Devrim'i neydi, sonrasında ne oldu diye küçük araştırmalar yaptım. Sonuç olarak iyi ki Yu Hua bu kitabı yazmış ve ben de okumuşum diyorum. Bundan sonra artık Çin üzerine okuma yapacağım ve bu ilginç ülkeyi keşfedeceğim.
Yu Hua'dan şimdiye dek Yaşamak kitabını okudum. Basım olarak bu kitap daha geç çıkmış olsa da Yu Hua kitaplarının okunma sırası olarak önce buradan başlamak bence yararlı olacaktır. Çünkü hem Yu Hua bu kitapta kendi yazım sürecinden ve bu süreçteki değişimlerinden bahsetmiş hem de ülkesinin tarihi ve toplumsal değişimlerinin küçük bir özetini sunmuş. Bu kitap yazarın diğer kitapları için de sağlam bir temel olacağına ve en önemlisi kitaplarındaki karakterlerin ve yaşanan olayların daha anlamlı olmasına yardımcı olacağına inanıyorum.
Kendi kişisel deneyimim olarak bu kitaptan sonra Yaşamak kitabı benim için daha da farklı bir anlam kazandı. Kitaptaki karakterin yaşadıklarının Çin'in tarihi ve toplumsal olayları ile olan bağını keşfettim. Kitapta yazarın vermek istediği birçok farklı mesajın varlığını anladım ve daha geniş bir bakış açısı ile kitabı yorumlayabileceğimi fark ettim.
4,5* Nemam sad vremena da pišem detaljnije, valjda ću nekad imati. Omiljeni citat (u oštroj konkurenciji): "Ako književnost zaista poseduje čarobne moći, one se kriju upravo u takvim trenucima, kada čitajući delo pisca iz drugog vremenea, druge zemlje, drugog naroda, jezika i kulture, u njemu prepoznamo sopstveno osećanje." (str.80)
The book succeeds in giving a quick glimpse of contemporary China, while it's not equally satisfying in finding the cause. The Cultural Revolution is not the only root for today's chaos. And in this chaos there are still hopes and positive attitudes. Some parts of the book read like just a collection of stories, impressive yet also being used to simplify the problems. Anyway, with merely a little more than 200 pages, it could not be better than serving as an appetizer.
Nie mogę nie dać tej książce pięciu gwiazdek, tak mi się dobrze ją czytało. Choć kilka razy chciało mi się płakać, czasem łapałam się za głowę, to jednak przez większość czasu się uśmiechałam - mniej lub bardziej gorzko, bo „Chiny w dziesięciu słowach” to dla mnie powrót do dziwnego, pełnego wariatów domu. Zwłaszcza teraz, kiedy nie mogę do Chin udać się fizycznie.
"Живях срещу моргата почти десет години и може да се каже, че съм израснал сред хорски плач. Всички починали пациенти прекарваха нощта там, преди на следващия ден да ги кремират. Като странноприемница посред дълъг път моргата мълчаливо посрещаше своите забързани гости, преминаващи от живота към смъртта. Много нощи се будех от жалния плач на хората, изгубили своите близки. За десет години изслушах всички плачове на света. По-нататък през нощта вече имах чувството, че това не са плачове, защото малко преди утрото, когато гласовете ставаха провлачени и покъртващи, усещах някаква неизразима задушевност в болката. По едно време си мислех, че това са най-трогателните песни на света. Точно тогава разбрах, че повечето хора си отиват през нощта."
Смело мога да заявя, че това е една от любимите ми книги за годината. Яд ме е, че не написах нещо непосредствено след прочита, а сега ми е останало общото усещане, детайлите малко са се поизгубили. Въпреки това, от чист инат, реших, че съм длъжна да кажа каквото мога, било то далеч от идеално и изчерпателно (и пореден урок, че не трябва да отлагам :D ).
В предговора към предишната му книга - "Живи", за която съм писала също, Хуа казва, че е бил враждебен към реализма, но после е осъзнал, че истинският творец търси истината и само истината. "Китай в 10 думи" съдържа текстове, в които се показват всички нюанси както на съвременен Китай, така и на вече отминалия, за които повечето китайци предпочитат да мълчат. Не знам точно в кои истории е вложил повече въображение от факти, но майсторски е успял да ги напише така, че читателят да приеме всичко за чиста монета.
"Такива завършеци на историите измислях, че направо се докарвах до сълзи."
Ужасно може да се забавлявате и да страдате в рамките на само един разказ. Толкова колоритни са автобиографичните му случки (живеенето срещу вратата на моргата, как от зъболекар става писател, училищните години по времето на Мао, липсата на книги и четенето на пропагандни плакати, онзи местен герой, дето цяла година не мие ръката, докоснала Мао, калъфки с надпис "да не забравяме класовата борба" и т.н.). Любопитно ми бе да науча повече за Културната революция и за Големия скок, постоянно отивах в другата стая, за да разкажа на партньора ми, четях му цели страници. Някои неща са толкова абсурдни, че е още по-нелепо, че не са измислица и че дори имат отражение и в наши дни.
Дълбоко ценя автори, които пишат толкова увлекателно и дори в най-тежките и сериозни теми вплитат чувство за хумор. Още с "Живи" разбрах, че Ю Хуа е такъв писател, но сега съвсем затвърдих мнението си. Много, много ще се радвам да го прочетат повече хора.
"Аз не бързам да пиша, както другите, от страх, че мислите и преживелиците ми ще останат неизразени. Не само защото нямам съзнание за ценността на своята личност, но и защото съм убеден, че друг ще напише моите мисли и чувства, тъй както на поляната, когато дойде пролет, ще поникнат същите цветя на мястото на повехналите и изгазените."
Kitaba başlamadan önce internette “Çin’de Kültür Devrimi” konusunu araştırıp okumasını öneririm. Bir nesli yok eden, insanlıktan uzak, baskıcı, vandal bir on yılı bilmeden yazarın yazdıkları anlamakta zorluk çekilir. O yollarda ülkemizde sol kamuoyu ve gençlik de Çin’de olanları yakından takip ediyordu. Bu nedenle nostaljik bir kitapla karşılaştım. Kitaba gelince; çoğunluğu çocukluk ve gençliğinin geçtiği “Kültür Devrimi”ne ait anılarının analizini ve değerlendirmesini oluşturan, yazarın yaşamında iz bırakan olayları trajikomik bir uslupla hikayeleştiren, bunları on kelime başlığı altında toplayan bir kısa öyküler kitabı.
Daha önce okuduğum “Yaşamak” adlı novellasından çok uzakta, edebi yönden zayıf bir kitap. Yazılanların ne kadarı gerçek ne kadarı yazarın hayal gücünün ürünü pek anlaşılmıyor çünkü etkili olması için abartılı yazmış Yu Huan. Kitabı sıradan buldum, hatta hakkında yazılan yorumları okuyunca okuduğum kitabın aynısı mı olduğundan bile şüphelendim. Sanki ticari başarı için yazılmış iddiasız bir kitap gibi geldi bana. Çin hakkında bilgilenmek isteyenlere.
5 stars My first ever nonfiction book, and it was absolutely phenomenal. Yu Hua's writing is so magical, it pulls you right into the story and you truly FEEL every single emotion. The way he managed to describe his country in mere 10 words is nothing short of genius, and my favorite word was definitely "Leader" (I still haven't recovered from the chills I got while finishing that story). This is one of the books you can't forget about, I see myself thinking about it for years and years. From the get go, you can really tell why this book is banned in China. Nothing that's mentioning these tragic events in China from the past century, or even remotely criticizing the country regime is immediately banned or heavily censored. What I especially loved about this book is that if you had no idea what the Chinese people have been through in the recent history, you can literally just grab this book and I guarantee that you'd understand almost everything. Every time I hear something new about the Cultural revolution and the things that happened right before and right after, I get more and more baffled each time. Yu Hua perfectly describes just how ridiculous all of it was, and most importantly, he's telling us just how little empathy people have for each other. I expected this book to be great but oh man, Yu Hua hit me straight in my heart again. Stay tuned to see which book of his I'll read next. Ps. Shutout to my professor who translated this book to serbian, I'm truly amazed by how well he did this translation!
Radici d'erba L'autore prova a raccontare la Cina all'Occidente, è un programma ambizioso, considerando la complessità di un paese abitato da 1.4 miliardi di persone. Sembra che voglia dare un volto umano a un paese che fa un po' paura, per dimensioni, numeri, aggressività del capitalismo rampante, in paragone al quale gli Stati Uniti fanno ridere. Direi che ci riesce, il genere umano è sempre il solito, sui Cinesi si è abbattuta la Rivoluzione Culturale e poi il cosiddetto miracolo economico. Il popolo, obbediente, ha cercato di seguire le direttive centrali, le quali tuttavia da Pechino alle campagne del Sud-Ovest a volte arrivavano trasformate come dal telegrafo senza fili. Tutti erano rivoluzionari in nome del grande presidente Mao Zedong, ma talvolta sostenevano posizioni opposte, accusandosi reciprocamente di essere controrivoluzionari. Anche il piccolo Yu Hua faceva la sua parte tappezzando la scuola di dazibao. Yu Hua venne informato della morte di Mao quando era a scuola con centinaia di altri bambini; si mise a piangere, come tutti gli altri e improvvisamente venne folgorato dalla varietà di lamenti scomposti, gemiti sommessi, guaiti strozzati, gemiti strambi, come un concerto di animali, venne assalito da una risata travolgente che gli sarebbe costata la vita: quindi si buttò sullo schienale di una sedia a viso coperto, terrorizzato e incapace di fermarsi. Con questa vena tragica, comica ed esilarante l'autore racconta la Cina, suggerendo l'idea che l'unico modo per sopravvivere alle assurdità della vita sia quello di guardarla nel suo aspetto ridicolo. Dopo la Rivoluzione Culturale è seguito il miracolo economico e anche in questo caso il popolo, obbediente, si è rimboccato le maniche e si è dato da fare, alcuni in modo determinato ed estemporaneo, ignorando le leggi. Radici d'erba sono i campagnoli in marcia verso il successo: la stabilità della loro fortuna è ben rappresentata dai filini verdi del nome. Particolarmente spaventosi sono i racconti dei piani di rinnovamento edilizio, che comprendono oltre agli sfratti il trasferimento forzato e l'abbattimento di interi quartieri, quasi con la gente dentro.
Much of the book will be familiar to anyone who pays attention to China, but Yu Hua has a knack for choosing *just* the right anecdotes to illustrate his points -- and doing so with an economy and directness missing from his most recent novel, 'Brothers.' He's back on form here, and is very well served by Allan H. Barr's excellent translation. Anyone with an interest in contemporary China will want to read this -- and to recommend it to any friends or family members looking to get up to speed quickly and pleasurably.
“Zaman ve mekanın ötesine geçen anlatımımın rasyonel analiz, algısal deneyim ve sıcak hikayelerini birleştirebileceğini, çalışmanın karmaşıklığı içinde net bir anlatım yolu açabileceğini umuyorum.” Yazarın kitabı için yazdığı önsözden. Çevirinin de müthiş katkısıyla elimden bırakamadan merakla okudum. Aynı 10 sözcükle kendi yaşadığım ülkeyi tartışma imkanının olmasını, hatta bir söyleşi serisinin olmasını isterdim. Benimde içinde yer aldığım halkı tanımlamaya çalışsam hangi kelimeleri kullanırdım, düşünüyorum.
Her okuduğum kitapla hayranlık seviyem daha da artıyor. Kültür Devrimi dönemini bizzat yaşamış birinin anılarının arasında dolaşmak, Yu Hua ile uzun bir sohbete dalmak gibi bir deneyimdi. Kesinlikle çok sevdim.
"In the political context of 1989, for a government leader to be hospitalized could mean only that he had lost power or that he had gone into hiding. Everyone immediately understood the implications."
"What other political figure would make a point of waving to his people in a swimsuit? Only Mao could carry this off."
"Leadership contests even extend to geography and technology, so that now we have leaders in natural scenery and leaders among elevators."
"Many Chinese have begun to pine for the era of Mao Zedong, but I think the majority of them don't really want to go back in time and probably just feel nostalgic."
"On the bowls out of which we ate our rice was printed Mao's maxim 'Revolution is not a dinner party,'
"Mao's image was stenciled inside toilets, and sayings of his decorated our spittoons. Now I realize that these were two places where Mao clearly did not belong, but in those days, strange as it seems, this point escaped us."
"What left the deepest impression on me from the National Day newsreels was the pryrotechnics display that took place after nightfall, when Mao and his colleagues sat down at a table so groaning with fruits and pastries it made my mouth drool. Fireworks illuminated the square as brightly as day: for me as a boy this was the most exhilarating scene of all."
"If it had been just a few people weeping, I would certainly have felt sad, but a thousand people all weeping at the same time simply struck me as funny."
"The students have eaten all the leaves off the tress."
"We began to argue, an activity known at the time as 'civil struggle.'"
"We sat with our heads together--an exciting way to read--and before we were a third of the way through, we were already sighing in wonder."
"In those days, to tear big-character posters off the walls would have counted as counterrevolutionary activity, so new posters had to be stuck on top of old ones and walls became thicker and thicker, as though our town were swathed in an oversized padded jacket."
"Although I failed to find very explicit sexual details, the associations it conjured up in my mind were enough to set my heart racing, like a little boat bobbing about on the sea."
"'What?' they asked, a quaver in their voices. 'She can't sit down,' I said mysteriously. 'Why not?' they gasped. Why not? I didn't have a clue either. But that didn't stop me from telling them with airy condescension, 'Once you get married, you'll understand why not.'"
"In the summer the pond gave off a sickening stench, and flies settled on it so thickly one might think it had been covered with a black wool carpet."
"We were fishers of memory, sitting on the banks of time and waiting for the past to swallow the bait."
"And so editors were conscientiously reading unsolicited manuscripts; as soon as they stumbled on something good, they would pass it around among themselves, and the whole editorial department would get excited."
"My scheme had succeeded through bribery, we would say today--or through a sugar-coated bullet, as we would have put it then."
"On my first day of work I made a point of showing up two hours late, only to discover I was the first to arrive. I knew then this was just the place for me."
"Like the sky washed clean after a storm, this new 'Lu Xun' was fresh and radiant."
"Some supported him and some supported me, and the boys in our year were soon divided into two camps: the Earth Destruction School and the Earth Survival School."
"The Cultural Revolution had entered its final stages and life continued in its straightjacket as everyone's apathy deepened."
"it also recorded my existential predicament in the final stages of the Cultural Revolution, a life made up of equal parts stifled instincts, dreary freedom, and hollow verbiage."
"You don't know shit," they would say. "You lot need to wait till you're in middle school to know what revolution is."
"Now and again he would play the tune of a peddler hawking pear-syrup candy, which would induce us younger kids to come running in his directions, eager for a treat. Seeing our chagrin at having been duped, he would chortle with amusement, then revert to his customary silence."
"The weak fear the strong, the strong fear the violent, and the violent fear the reckless."
"We regrouped and charged after him, shouting,'we'll teach you who's boss now!' As we raced through the streets, in no time at all we were dripping with sweat, and in order to maintain speed and avoid getting winded, we soon abbreviated our battle cry to the snappier 'Who's boss?'"
"Right and wrong often coexist in a single phenomenon and interact in a dynamic of mutual displacement."
"You've all been fetching water for the old lady next door for ten years already,' he said, rapping on the pile of essays stacked on his desk. 'Why don't you change your example once in a while? How about fetching a sack of rice for the old man next door?'"
"That is the real tragedy: poverty and hunger are not as shocking as willful indifference to them."
"Among prospective blood vendors he was known simply as Blood Chief, and he exercised unquestioned authority over his empire of blood."
"This is my Blackberry," Obama tells us with a grin, "The Blockberry Whirlwind 9500!"
"This real-life-sex-entrepreneur/copycat-party-secretary has also imported the Communist Party's "advanced worker" category into his management structure, electing every month an advanced worker who has distinguished herself in terms of the number of clients serviced and adding her photograph to the array of top earners listed in the honor roll."
"In some bustling neighborhood they would unfurl and oilskin umbrella and spread out on a table their forceps, mallets, and other tools of their trade, along with a row of teeth they had extracted, as a way of attracting customers. Dentists in those days operated as one-man bands and needed no helper."
"Our patients, mostly peasants from the surrounding countryside, did not think of our clinic as a health-care facility but simply called it the "tooth shop."
I'll admit to being something of China geek. I try to keep up with whatever is being published about this fascinating country and culture. Yu Hua's book is one of my favorite recent finds. His book consists of ten essays based on ten words that he considers relevant to contemporary China. The essays are partly memoir, partly history, and partly social commentary. His childhood and teenage remembrances of China during the Cultural Revolution are especially helpful to understanding how it is that the entire country seemed to have descended into a state of brutality and chaos for a period of ten years (1966 to 1976). In the words "disparity," "copycat" and "bamboozle," Yu brings us up to contemporary times. He explains some of the contemporary thinking and behaviors in Chinese people as exemplified by these particular words. At the same time, he connects these words to the current national devotion to cut-throat capitalism (and the moral vacuum accompanying this devotion) and its origins in the Cultural Revolution.
Yu Hua is a novelist, author of "To Live" (made into an unforgettable film by director Zhang Yimou), and as such, writes with elegant simplicity and heartfelt warmth, not to mention a real sense of humor. This is a very readable work, and very helpful in understanding the past 50 years of Chinese history. If the reader already knows something about this historical period, the book will be even more meaningful. If the reader does not, the books is so well-written and so full of humanity that it's worth the time to read it. The translation is excellent as well. By the way, the Chinese naming convention is to put the family name first, then the personal name. In this case "Yu" is the family name. Someone here on Goodreads switched this to suit western naming conventions by listing the author as Hua Yu. I regret that this happened. The author's name is Yu Hua.
Истинският Китай необятен не само като площ, той е най-вече необятен като история, култура и абсурдизми. Ю Хуа отваря вратите към всичко това, пораснал по време на Културната революция той е бил прекалено малък, а да пострада с незначителен произход, за да бъде избито семейството му или пратено из лагерите, за да стане говорител на съвременен Китай и строго да го описва и иронизира. Китай отдавна не е страната на Мао сега там властват ментета(предполагам фейк на анхглийски би било) и баламосване(поне научих тези йероглифи), скечът на известния комик страшно напомня на нашият Клуб "НЛО", скоро ще забрави кървавото минало и, а и тази част ми беше най-безинтересна, тъй като има доста литература по въпроса, а и тя е идентична изобщо цялата нова история на Китай ни е толкова близка, че ние сме едно сяо(мънинко) Китайченце и можем да влезем в калъпа на всичко описано, много близки ми бяха думите на писателя, в едно променящо се време, с каквото живея и аз. Може на запад да случи екзотично, тук тези есета звучат типично. Наполеон, мисля, беше казал, да не будим Китай, защото ще завладее светът, но Драконът отдавна е будени го е завладял, само трябва да намерим нещо с което да се обогатим от него. и никога да не забравяме, че е родината на Дао, приютила будизма, управлявана на законите на Конфуций и на малоумието на масите, бойните изкуства, и да не забравяме бойни изкуства!
On Sözcükte Çin, Yaşamak kitabıyla çok sevilen Yu Hua'dan kurgudışı bir eser✨Yazar, bize ülkenin ve toplumun yakın tarihiyle birlikte kendi kişisel hatıralarını da anlatıyor. Yazarın çocukluğu Çin Kültür Devrimi yıllarında geçmiş, kendi söylemiyle 'aynı topraklarda iki farklı dünyayı yaşamış' bir nesle ait. Çocukluğunu, okul yıllarını, diş hekimliği yaptığı dönemi anlatırken arka planda yokluk yılları, kıtlık, siyasi çalkantılar, yasaklar ile değişen dönüşen Çin'in canlı bir resmini görüyoruz👌 . . Yazar, kendi anılarından yola çıkarak on anahtar sözcük ile bir tarihi anlatıyor bize. Bir ülke tarihini çocukluğundan yazarlığına uzanan hikayeleriyle sevdiğim bir yazardan okumak inanılmaz keyifliydi💫Okumak ve Yazmak üzerine düşünceleri, ülkesine eleştirel bakışı, geçmişi yorumlayışı ile yazara bir kez daha hayran kaldım☺️ En çok sevdiğim nokta ise yazarın Yaşamak ve Kanını Satan Adam kitaplarındaki bazı olayların kendi hayatıyla bağlantısını görmek oldu🙏🏼Şimdi yazarın kurguları daha anlamlı benim için✨
Çin ile ilgili kurgu dışı bir şey okumanın hem şaşkınlığı hem de zevkini yaşattı. Elbette seçilen 10 sözcük öylesine seçilmemiş. Bir arkadaşımın tavsiyesiyle okudum, bu kadar beğeneceğimi ummuyordum. Ön yargılarımı kırmak için de harika oldu.
Una din cele mai bune cărți din ultimii ani. Pentru cineva familiarizat cu viața cotidiană din China din perioada Revoluției Culturale și din prezent probabil că e o carte de 3-4*, dar pentru mine a avut multe insighturi și e scrisă minunat. Cum era de intuit, e interzisă în China.