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麦家 : 人生海海
《人生海海》是是茅盾文学奖得主麦家于2019年推出的全新超·越之作，莫言盛赞其为“一部迷人的小说”，高晓松、陈坤、郭京飞等倾心力荐！这是麦家在暌违八年之后、精心打磨了五年的重磅长篇小说，他在常人不敢落笔之处解密人性的荒唐与高尚，用一个离奇的故事承载令人叹息的人生况味。在谈及小说创作时，他说：“我想写的是在绝望中诞生的幸运，在艰苦中卓绝的道德。我要另立山头，回到童年，回去故乡，去破译人心和人性的密码。”“人生海海，敢死不是勇气，活着才需要勇气。你要替我记住这句话！”
Hardcover
First published April 1, 2019
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586 people want to read
About the author
Mai Jia 麦家
41 books93 followersMai Jia is arguably the most successful writer in China today. His books are constant bestsellers, with total sales over three million copies. He became the highest paid author in China last year with his new book, Wind Talk. He has achieved unprecedented success with film adaptation: all of his novels are made - or are being made - into major films or TV series, the screenplays of which are often written by Mai Jia himself. He is hailed as the forerunner of Chinese espionage fiction, and has created a unique genre that combines spycraft, code-breaking, crime, human drama, historical fiction, and metafiction. He has won almost every major award in China, including the highest literary honor - the Mao Dun Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
June 29, 2024
‘The Colonel and the Eunuch were different names for the same person.’
Twentieth century rural China provides the setting for this novel. Our protagonist, a boy, has grown up in a small village listening to stories about the Colonel, whom some call the Eunuch. As the story gradually unfolds, we learn why some consider the Colonel a hero and others consider him a traitor. The boy wonders: is the Colonel a Eunuch? Who can answer this question?
The boy grows to manhood at a time when China in undergoing rapid change. But he never forgets the Colonel and, as he himself grows into middle age, he learns the truth.
‘I didn’t know shame could weigh so much that it could break someone.’
I found this an absorbing read. Yes, it is slow paced. Yes, almost every character has at least one nickname and at times I really had to concentrate – much as I imagine the boy had to as the story began. While I think the novel is easier to understand if you have some knowledge of twentieth century Chinese history (especially of the war between China and Japan), such knowledge is not essential. Mai Jia takes the reader deep into Chinese rural life, through rumour and superstition into the life of a man who has been elevated within the village to a near mythic status.
Mai Jia shows more intimate view of twentieth century life in China, one in which the Colonel retains his mystery until near the end. Was he a hero? Was he a villain? Who can be trusted?
I intend to reread this novel. The setting is an important part of the story, but in my first read I was more focused on trying to learn the ‘truth’ about the Colonel.
‘A person has two sides, like a coin. There’s a good side and a bad side.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Twentieth century rural China provides the setting for this novel. Our protagonist, a boy, has grown up in a small village listening to stories about the Colonel, whom some call the Eunuch. As the story gradually unfolds, we learn why some consider the Colonel a hero and others consider him a traitor. The boy wonders: is the Colonel a Eunuch? Who can answer this question?
The boy grows to manhood at a time when China in undergoing rapid change. But he never forgets the Colonel and, as he himself grows into middle age, he learns the truth.
‘I didn’t know shame could weigh so much that it could break someone.’
I found this an absorbing read. Yes, it is slow paced. Yes, almost every character has at least one nickname and at times I really had to concentrate – much as I imagine the boy had to as the story began. While I think the novel is easier to understand if you have some knowledge of twentieth century Chinese history (especially of the war between China and Japan), such knowledge is not essential. Mai Jia takes the reader deep into Chinese rural life, through rumour and superstition into the life of a man who has been elevated within the village to a near mythic status.
Mai Jia shows more intimate view of twentieth century life in China, one in which the Colonel retains his mystery until near the end. Was he a hero? Was he a villain? Who can be trusted?
I intend to reread this novel. The setting is an important part of the story, but in my first read I was more focused on trying to learn the ‘truth’ about the Colonel.
‘A person has two sides, like a coin. There’s a good side and a bad side.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
July 23, 2019
世上只有一种英雄主义，就是在认清了生活真相后依然热爱生活
July 4, 2019
之前读过麦家的《风声》，那应该是麦先生早年的代表作了。不仅书本身好评如潮，改编的同名电影也是叫好又叫座。还记得读《风声》的感觉，扣人心弦，不忍释卷。不过，读过之后，记得的主要是千回百转的情节和出人意表的转折，里面的人物却有些面目模糊。于是我以为，麦先生擅长的就是设悬和解谜，对于人物的描写则不过尔尔。
而这本麦先生的新书《人生海海》则令我的观点大为改观。小说围绕主人公上校传奇的一生展开，他历经抗日战争、国共内战、抗美援朝，靠一套金光闪闪的手术工具和精湛的医术救人无数。他还曾投身敌特工作，打入日本人内部刺探情报，屡立奇功。可是，也正因为这段「潜伏」的经历，他身上被敌人留下了无法磨灭的印记。这印记成为他一生的痛苦和灾难，他为此丢掉了在部队中的大好前程，成为村民们口中的「太监」，又在政治运动中饱受摧残。小说中最大，或者甚至可以说唯一的悬念是上校身上的印记究竟是什么，但随着故事的不断推进，这个悬念变得越来越不重要，以至于到最后都没有给出真正的答案。真正推动情节，吸引读者的，是上校这个人物的魅力和对他命运的关切。也就是说，在这本书中，人物的塑造跃居首位，悬念则退居次席，甚至隐于幕后。
不知道是不是因为麦先生年纪稍长之后，对生活、对人生的看法变了，由跌宕起伏，人生如戏，变成波澜不兴，人生如海。上校的前半生枪林弹雨，九死一生，就像在海浪中拼搏的弄潮儿，到了后半生，终究在时代的巨浪前败下阵来，被命运的波涛裹挟着，不由自主。到了晚年，由于智力变成孩童水平，他反而获得了一种超脱的力量。在书的末尾，时代大潮终于归于平静，也将内心的平静交还给他。
不光是上校，卷入事件中的其他人，「我」、我的爷爷、我的父亲、小瞎子等，都曾试图与命运的波涛对抗，向时代的浪潮冲击，又全都败下阵来，或是身败名裂，或是身体残疾，或是心如死灰。无法超脱的，被时代的洪流卷走；留在世上的，只能以不同的方法获得各自的平静。与鬼达成妥协也罢，自己装神弄鬼也罢，终归要在内心寻求哪怕虚假的宁静。只有「我」，经过一番命运的搓弄，身上心中伤痕累累，却在与晚年的上校夫妇的交往中获得了真正的平静。
这份平静其实是比对抗和拼搏更强大的力量，因为愤怒容易，安宁很难，仇恨容易，原谅很难。用「我」的话说，这是悲悯。我觉得，这是宽恕。或者用更流行的说法：和解。与时代和命运和解，与仇恨和解，与自己和解。
这种力量在上校去世后，他的妻子向「我」展示他身上的印记时达到高潮。在这一刻，印记为何的悬念已经完全不重要了，悲悯的力量竟让我捧着书的手有些颤抖。上校在临终时摆脱掉了他毕生的痛苦来源，「我」在此时终于看清了人生的本来面目。所以，和解不是在时代洪流中的苟且偷生，而是在看清人生海海的现实之后，用内心的平静以不变应万变。这是看似简单消极，实则勇往直前的选择。上校的超脱或许有歪打正着的成分，「我」的和解才是真正的强者所为。
而这本麦先生的新书《人生海海》则令我的观点大为改观。小说围绕主人公上校传奇的一生展开，他历经抗日战争、国共内战、抗美援朝，靠一套金光闪闪的手术工具和精湛的医术救人无数。他还曾投身敌特工作，打入日本人内部刺探情报，屡立奇功。可是，也正因为这段「潜伏」的经历，他身上被敌人留下了无法磨灭的印记。这印记成为他一生的痛苦和灾难，他为此丢掉了在部队中的大好前程，成为村民们口中的「太监」，又在政治运动中饱受摧残。小说中最大，或者甚至可以说唯一的悬念是上校身上的印记究竟是什么，但随着故事的不断推进，这个悬念变得越来越不重要，以至于到最后都没有给出真正的答案。真正推动情节，吸引读者的，是上校这个人物的魅力和对他命运的关切。也就是说，在这本书中，人物的塑造跃居首位，悬念则退居次席，甚至隐于幕后。
不知道是不是因为麦先生年纪稍长之后，对生活、对人生的看法变了，由跌宕起伏，人生如戏，变成波澜不兴，人生如海。上校的前半生枪林弹雨，九死一生，就像在海浪中拼搏的弄潮儿，到了后半生，终究在时代的巨浪前败下阵来，被命运的波涛裹挟着，不由自主。到了晚年，由于智力变成孩童水平，他反而获得了一种超脱的力量。在书的末尾，时代大潮终于归于平静，也将内心的平静交还给他。
不光是上校，卷入事件中的其他人，「我」、我的爷爷、我的父亲、小瞎子等，都曾试图与命运的波涛对抗，向时代的浪潮冲击，又全都败下阵来，或是身败名裂，或是身体残疾，或是心如死灰。无法超脱的，被时代的洪流卷走；留在世上的，只能以不同的方法获得各自的平静。与鬼达成妥协也罢，自己装神弄鬼也罢，终归要在内心寻求哪怕虚假的宁静。只有「我」，经过一番命运的搓弄，身上心中伤痕累累，却在与晚年的上校夫妇的交往中获得了真正的平静。
这份平静其实是比对抗和拼搏更强大的力量，因为愤怒容易，安宁很难，仇恨容易，原谅很难。用「我」的话说，这是悲悯。我觉得，这是宽恕。或者用更流行的说法：和解。与时代和命运和解，与仇恨和解，与自己和解。
这种力量在上校去世后，他的妻子向「我」展示他身上的印记时达到高潮。在这一刻，印记为何的悬念已经完全不重要了，悲悯的力量竟让我捧着书的手有些颤抖。上校在临终时摆脱掉了他毕生的痛苦来源，「我」在此时终于看清了人生的本来面目。所以，和解不是在时代洪流中的苟且偷生，而是在看清人生海海的现实之后，用内心的平静以不变应万变。这是看似简单消极，实则勇往直前的选择。上校的超脱或许有歪打正着的成分，「我」的和解才是真正的强者所为。
March 17, 2024
This was a well translated and written book. It has a charm to it, filled with characters who are well developed and endearing, even the awful ones! In the midst of a very unstable and politically fraught era, the cultural revolution underpins the goings on in the village. A worthwhile read. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.
March 23, 2021
人生海海，跌宕，回溯，吐字中带着叹息，多少波澜终于平淡。
并不熟悉麦家之前的作品，读人生海海也是听到了不少的好评。不常读中文小说，这倒是本易读的故事，虽然有着不少俚语，但是纯朴，简单然有着时代的烙印和悲壮，却也有年少的、真挚的愉悦；有着封建作茧自缚的郁闷，也有着家人之间不可磨灭的爱；有着腐朽，也有着新芽。
有些执念从某个角度来看无限的大无限的深，但从另一个角度来看也许只是小小的水波，不值得一提。人的一生是我们的所有，但却又是那么的单薄，吹弹可破，轻得像大洋中的一个泡沫。
并不熟悉麦家之前的作品，读人生海海也是听到了不少的好评。不常读中文小说，这倒是本易读的故事，虽然有着不少俚语，但是纯朴，简单然有着时代的烙印和悲壮，却也有年少的、真挚的愉悦；有着封建作茧自缚的郁闷，也有着家人之间不可磨灭的爱；有着腐朽，也有着新芽。
有些执念从某个角度来看无限的大无限的深，但从另一个角度来看也许只是小小的水波，不值得一提。人的一生是我们的所有，但却又是那么的单薄，吹弹可破，轻得像大洋中的一个泡沫。
February 20, 2025
“Memories age just like the people that carry them, and they know when death is approaching. If memories don’t become stories, passed on to the next generation, there will come a time when they cease to exist.”
In “The Colonel and the Eunuch” (mild spoiler alert: it’s the same man) by Mai Jia, the novel in three parts, memories become stories passed on to the reader by an unreliable narrator. He’s a teenager in the first two parts and the older man in the last one. Through his eyes, his memories and stories of others we meet a mysterious man, a fellow resident of a village in Southern China, called the Colonel by some and the Eunuch by others. Rumours abound about his past, which is shrouded in enigma.
Little by little though puzzle pieces are put together and the persona of the Colonel becomes a quasi allegory of the tumultuous times in China’s 20th and then 21st century, encompassing the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Cultural Revolution, the economic transformation under Deng Xiaoping, moving smoothly to current times. Jia is a masterful storyteller - this novel has epic proportions and yet we never completely leave the nearly godforsaken village. Reflecting on how people’s fate can be determined by serendipity, one false move, one recklessly spoken word, it’s clear to me how the Colonel as well as many other characters are pawns in the game played by others. Our lives may be of utmost importance to us and those who care about us but in the great scheme of things they are insignificant.
I found the novel very well written and though at the beginning it took me a while to be engrossed in it, later on I became hooked. The story is structured in a very conservative way - it felt a bit like those great 19th century European novels I read for school. But that’s not a criticism, merely an observation. I believe “The Colonel and the Eunuch” could be adapted into a high-grossing, superb historical film.
In “The Colonel and the Eunuch” (mild spoiler alert: it’s the same man) by Mai Jia, the novel in three parts, memories become stories passed on to the reader by an unreliable narrator. He’s a teenager in the first two parts and the older man in the last one. Through his eyes, his memories and stories of others we meet a mysterious man, a fellow resident of a village in Southern China, called the Colonel by some and the Eunuch by others. Rumours abound about his past, which is shrouded in enigma.
Little by little though puzzle pieces are put together and the persona of the Colonel becomes a quasi allegory of the tumultuous times in China’s 20th and then 21st century, encompassing the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Cultural Revolution, the economic transformation under Deng Xiaoping, moving smoothly to current times. Jia is a masterful storyteller - this novel has epic proportions and yet we never completely leave the nearly godforsaken village. Reflecting on how people’s fate can be determined by serendipity, one false move, one recklessly spoken word, it’s clear to me how the Colonel as well as many other characters are pawns in the game played by others. Our lives may be of utmost importance to us and those who care about us but in the great scheme of things they are insignificant.
I found the novel very well written and though at the beginning it took me a while to be engrossed in it, later on I became hooked. The story is structured in a very conservative way - it felt a bit like those great 19th century European novels I read for school. But that’s not a criticism, merely an observation. I believe “The Colonel and the Eunuch” could be adapted into a high-grossing, superb historical film.
September 20, 2025
Omg, this was incredible! It's a drawn-out epic family drama set in a politically tumultuous period of Chinese history. The events are mostly narrated directly by different characters within the book, so you can never quite be sure of what is true - people's narratives frequently overlap and contradict each other. I definitely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of an unreliable narrator!
Another thing that struck me about this book is how intensely the feelings are communicated (even in translation). I didn't expect the emotional punches that started hitting one after the other from around the 250 page mark. At its crux, this book encourages its readers to reflect on how life is long, changeable and unpredictable. The Chinese title directly addresses this concept: 人生海海, which apparently means something like "Human life is an ocean". I will say that I do like the English title as well, even though I think the Chinese title is potentially more meaningful within the context of the book. In the book, the "Eunuch" and the "Colonel" are both names for the same person - so the English title speaks to the multiplicity of human identity and how we are perceived- and how both "shameful" and commendable aspects coexist in each of us.
Overall, a very cool read that I'd never have read otherwise if I hadn't stumbled across it in the library.
Another thing that struck me about this book is how intensely the feelings are communicated (even in translation). I didn't expect the emotional punches that started hitting one after the other from around the 250 page mark. At its crux, this book encourages its readers to reflect on how life is long, changeable and unpredictable. The Chinese title directly addresses this concept: 人生海海, which apparently means something like "Human life is an ocean". I will say that I do like the English title as well, even though I think the Chinese title is potentially more meaningful within the context of the book. In the book, the "Eunuch" and the "Colonel" are both names for the same person - so the English title speaks to the multiplicity of human identity and how we are perceived- and how both "shameful" and commendable aspects coexist in each of us.
Overall, a very cool read that I'd never have read otherwise if I hadn't stumbled across it in the library.
July 26, 2022
代表了中国目前思想贫乏，创作荒诞、意淫，无深度的可悲现状。
June 18, 2024
以前看了《风声》《暗算》，本来以为麦家的这本《人生海海》风格应该会很像，结果看下来却不尽然。
对于麦家，我最喜欢他写过的一句话是：“人生必须配备的几副眼镜：一是望远镜，看远；二是显微镜，看细；三是放大镜，看透；四是太阳镜，看淡；五是哈哈镜，笑看人生。”
整本小说看下来，一开始内心是很愉悦的，因为语言中带着乡村风土趣味，那时的“我”也还很小，很多事情都是模模糊糊地听说，不知全貌，叙述起来也有着孩童的童趣。
可是慢慢地就开始悲愤了，先是愤懑，一开始还在好奇为什么上校被叫做“太监”，又在慢慢地叙述以及他人的评价诉说中揭开全貌，可以说上校这个人的性格人品更多由他人诉说，可里面夹杂着太多的诽谤造谣，这些污蔑真是对他光明灵魂扎心剥骨地毁灭。过了愤懑，又变成了悲，不是伤心，而是悲怆。
明明知道这种民国故事十有九悲，也明明知道战乱年代难得完满，可是那么多人物的不得善终却真的是让人一言难尽。
为什么上校那么光明磊落的一个人会遭受命运的那么多折辱？为什么上校一心报国满腔热血却最终失心疯魔？为什么“我”的父亲与上校情同手足却半生凋零？为什么“我”和兄弟们得逃亡他乡流离失所？为什么爷爷一世在乎声名却草草了结？为什么林阿姨少女情怀却惨遭玷污啐血把悲愤下咽。。。？
这些悲��，不仅仅是一个时代性可以言说的。他们是那整个时间长河大跨度的时代里，由黑白灰交织、由善念恶意莫须有的人心揣测错杂盘根的悲剧。
在我看来这就是个悲剧，从“我”的视角看来也许也是个大悲剧。确实，黑暗终究会迎来光明，无数先人的牺牲会换来胜利，可是仅仅就个体而言，这个年代背景的一个个生命，不管是鲜活热血还是苟活偷生，哪个安能善终？难，太难了。
人性的“恶“让原本就苦难的生活雪上加霜，因是众人参与的，让你无力反抗，只剩无奈的绝望。它就这样飘荡在生活中，就像麦家对村庄的描述一样，“弄堂里有穿堂风，虽然风里裹着阵阵恶臭，但大家照样搬出桌椅，摊在弄堂里吃饭、纳凉、谈天，咫尺之外，甚至脚下就是阴沟。阴沟里烂着死老鼠、泥淖、狗屎、鸡粪、小孩子的屎尿，它们在黑暗里窃窃私语，吐出满嘴臭气。但这算什么？我们不怕臭。只有虫子才怕臭，敌敌畏（中国版Sheltox）一喷，死个精光。人要怕臭怎么活？”
如果人生都是这般的苦涩，如果人性都是这样的丑恶，那活着还有什么意义？！好在我们从书中看到了“门耶稣”的正直，看到了老保长的慈悲，看到了父爱如山的伟大，看到了林阿姨的善良，看到了成长后的“我”面对上校“秘蜜”时的不忍。
麦家在小说里提到，“人生海海”是闽南方言的一个词，指的是人的一生起起伏伏，但不管如何都得好好活着。一开始我以为麦家想留给读者的嘱咐是好好生活，但最终全篇看下来，对“人生海海”有了更加深刻的理解。最难的，并不是活着，而是生命并不善待，活着已经有了无数个理由去死，在种种推手促使着去死亡去毁灭的路上，还能咬牙活着的人，才是勇士，是人生之海起起落落里的定石。
人生海海，海海人生。
对于麦家，我最喜欢他写过的一句话是：“人生必须配备的几副眼镜：一是望远镜，看远；二是显微镜，看细；三是放大镜，看透；四是太阳镜，看淡；五是哈哈镜，笑看人生。”
整本小说看下来，一开始内心是很愉悦的，因为语言中带着乡村风土趣味，那时的“我”也还很小，很多事情都是模模糊糊地听说，不知全貌，叙述起来也有着孩童的童趣。
可是慢慢地就开始悲愤了，先是愤懑，一开始还在好奇为什么上校被叫做“太监”，又在慢慢地叙述以及他人的评价诉说中揭开全貌，可以说上校这个人的性格人品更多由他人诉说，可里面夹杂着太多的诽谤造谣，这些污蔑真是对他光明灵魂扎心剥骨地毁灭。过了愤懑，又变成了悲，不是伤心，而是悲怆。
明明知道这种民国故事十有九悲，也明明知道战乱年代难得完满，可是那么多人物的不得善终却真的是让人一言难尽。
为什么上校那么光明磊落的一个人会遭受命运的那么多折辱？为什么上校一心报国满腔热血却最终失心疯魔？为什么“我”的父亲与上校情同手足却半生凋零？为什么“我”和兄弟们得逃亡他乡流离失所？为什么爷爷一世在乎声名却草草了结？为什么林阿姨少女情怀却惨遭玷污啐血把悲愤下咽。。。？
这些悲��，不仅仅是一个时代性可以言说的。他们是那整个时间长河大跨度的时代里，由黑白灰交织、由善念恶意莫须有的人心揣测错杂盘根的悲剧。
在我看来这就是个悲剧，从“我”的视角看来也许也是个大悲剧。确实，黑暗终究会迎来光明，无数先人的牺牲会换来胜利，可是仅仅就个体而言，这个年代背景的一个个生命，不管是鲜活热血还是苟活偷生，哪个安能善终？难，太难了。
人性的“恶“让原本就苦难的生活雪上加霜，因是众人参与的，让你无力反抗，只剩无奈的绝望。它就这样飘荡在生活中，就像麦家对村庄的描述一样，“弄堂里有穿堂风，虽然风里裹着阵阵恶臭，但大家照样搬出桌椅，摊在弄堂里吃饭、纳凉、谈天，咫尺之外，甚至脚下就是阴沟。阴沟里烂着死老鼠、泥淖、狗屎、鸡粪、小孩子的屎尿，它们在黑暗里窃窃私语，吐出满嘴臭气。但这算什么？我们不怕臭。只有虫子才怕臭，敌敌畏（中国版Sheltox）一喷，死个精光。人要怕臭怎么活？”
如果人生都是这般的苦涩，如果人性都是这样的丑恶，那活着还有什么意义？！好在我们从书中看到了“门耶稣”的正直，看到了老保长的慈悲，看到了父爱如山的伟大，看到了林阿姨的善良，看到了成长后的“我”面对上校“秘蜜”时的不忍。
麦家在小说里提到，“人生海海”是闽南方言的一个词，指的是人的一生起起伏伏，但不管如何都得好好活着。一开始我以为麦家想留给读者的嘱咐是好好生活，但最终全篇看下来，对“人生海海”有了更加深刻的理解。最难的，并不是活着，而是生命并不善待，活着已经有了无数个理由去死，在种种推手促使着去死亡去毁灭的路上，还能咬牙活着的人，才是勇士，是人生之海起起落落里的定石。
人生海海，海海人生。
November 22, 2020
猥琐，不知所云。
逻辑很差。
逻辑很差。
October 1, 2022
上校身上的纹身串联全文，结尾收在了爱情。命运多舛，人生海海。
January 25, 2025
因为这是一本中文书嘛，我很难从写作手法的角度去评论（包括每页都会有大概两三个我不认识的词或字lol），可是这本书确实给了我很深的感触，也打动了我，看得好伤心好伤心，好几次差点把我看哭了哈哈哈
所以要是从这本书给我的感觉的方面去评论的话，必是五星无疑！
所以要是从这本书给我的感觉的方面去评论的话，必是五星无疑！
February 1, 2025
A story that uncovers China's history from 1920s - 2000s through a person, a family, and a village. It achieved a great balance between mystery and family saga. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in contemporary Chinese historical fiction from the lens of a Chinese author.
“人生海海，敢死不叫勇气，活着才需要勇气。... 世上只有一种英雄主义，就是在认清生活真相后依然热爱生活。”
“当一个人心怀悲悯时就不会去索取，悲悯时清空欲望的删除键”
“人生海海，敢死不叫勇气，活着才需要勇气。... 世上只有一种英雄主义，就是在认清生活真相后依然热爱生活。”
“当一个人心怀悲悯时就不会去索取，悲悯时清空欲望的删除键”
September 3, 2024
I liked The Good Earth so I gave this a read. They give off a similar vibe, but this one is far more heartbreaking.
The story is told from the point of view of the Tigress' son. At first, he's scared of the Colonel, growing up hearing and being told of what a bad company he is from the Sorcerer, his grandfather. Why? It is because he's thought to be a eunuch, and being incapable of bearing heirs back then was seen as a sign that the heavens were punishing you for a grave sin. He did not want for the bad luck to spread to his family. However, his father, the Tigress, remained steadfast as his best friend. This will stay the same throughout the novel, even until he dies. For instance, he took care of the Colonel's cats, kowtowed to his ancestors until his forehead was bruised, took action against Blindboy, and cared for him until Auntie Lin arrived.
He does warm up to him shortly because the Colonel's stories of being an officer in Beijing, Shanghai, Korea, etc., were interesting. He listened to them for years, right until the red insurgents arrived and thought to make an example of a former KMT officer who lived too leisurely (unlike the common masses). The Colonel managed to run at first, but Blindboy hurt his cats to make him come back. This is the part I was disappointed in: the son turned to the other side so abruptly, cheering for the Colonel's capture despite years of admiring him. He suddenly expressed a wish to become part of the Red Guards, which is all the more confusing given that his grandpa and father hated them. It did not stay that way though, fortunately. When the Colonel was captured, he was made to walk through the Luo village humiliatingly. He was also tortured and kept in a dirty shed with his cats. Later, he manages to escape again, this time cutting Blindboy's hand tendons and tongue to leave him mute and incapacitated (the tongue was masterfully reattached to prevent severe blood loss--yes, the Colonel was also known as the Golden Blade, a famous surgeon who worked with gold medical instruments). Legend had it that he saved an important officer and her 7-month-old baby in her womb, a surprise because the officer was very malnourished, so he was made to become a spy.
This time, the Colonel left his cats with his friend to not rouse suspicion of a collusion between them. Blindman, Blindboy's father, made stories about his son being injured like that because he saw the colonel's belly tattoo stating that he is a sodomite. Now, the Sorcerer's son was closest to the Colonel, so it was implied in the rumors that Tigress was his sodomy partner. This caused the thin-faced grandpa so much stress and shame. So much so that he soon lay on his deathbed. However, he sprang back to life because of the Old Constable's story, a secret he promised the Colonel to keep but could not to save a life (the Sorcerer's).
Many stories about the Colonel were told in his absence by the Old Constable, the village's pervert, just a little bit younger than the Sorcerer: He worked with a brothel that dealt with the Japs so he ended up with a most humiliating stomach tattoo (the Jap women wanted him for themselves; he had quite the apparatus from many fix-its). But his escape was cut short when he was found living as a fat monk in the Great Chen village with his devout mother. It is unknown how he was found given only his best friend, the Sorcerer, knew his location (and later, the Old Constable). Once captured, he was sent away for interrogation and imprisonment. His mother was sentenced to 3 years in prison, too. A poster would later be posted by the Red Guards clarifying the rumor about his stomach tattoo; not of sodomy, but of being a traitor. Grandpa celebrated, while his son sullenly spent time with the cats and kowtowed all night when everyone else was asleep.
How did the Colonel get captured? He shaved his head, paled, and gained a bit of weight, so he was very different. The biggest betrayal came from Grandpa, the Sorcerer, and it was the Old Constable who learned this by getting the officer who knew drunk. I was so hurt, angry, and disappointed. He knew how much the Colonel suffered, yet he still did so just to dispel the rumors of his son being a sodomite! He made a deal to have that poster posted. His son broke ties with him then and there, only promising to bury him when he dies. The result of this reveal led to the family's downfall. They were all ostracized in public, particularly the father, even though he kneeled every day. The grandfather was scolded by In Jesus' Name, referred by the son as Second Grandfather (He became a devout follower of Jesus because of his generous patron when he was still a rickshaw puller. He owes his life to the Colonel due to being saved by him when he drank pesticide, and buying him a statue of Jesus when his was burned by his daughter-in-law, even after he insulted the Colonel of being a eunuch). The son couldn't attend school peacefully, his desk broken and vandalized with X's. His classmates and teachers detested him, and he was even almost hit squarely by a brick out of nowhere. Ultimately, he slept in a different bed from his grandpa and was later sent to Spain by his father. One of his regrets was not saying goodbye to him. He would learn years after that his grandpa died by hanging himself with a belt in the pigsty, just a few days after him leaving.
The time skip happens here. He worked for 6 years unpaid in a sweatshop in Spain. He got married, but his pregnant first wife died with their 6-month-old son in her womb in a brake failure. His second wife was their old store customer (they sold youtiao-like churros) who found him as a garbage scavenger carrying his first wife's ashes around to earn enough to bury her. It took him 5 years to save up a ticket home, and there he met his father again after 22 years apart. From him, he learns that his second brother (leukemia) and sister-in-law (suicide from the couple's dispute) died, and his eldest took on his wife's name. The Colonel was given the death sentence, but when he became mad, he was whisked away by a woman named Auntie Lin for treatment. Auntie Lin has a complicated past with the Colonel, but marries him out of love. She took care of the Colonel's mother until she died, cried as she buried her, and earned the title of the Little Guanyin in the village. After that, she moved to her home village with the childlike, mentally-impaired Colonel and their two aged cats.
The son visited the couple many times, at least once a year. He managed to make bank from selling garbage from Spain to China. He got featured in CCTV-4 and has 3 factories with hundreds of employees. Auntie Lin told her past: all her family died in the war, became a nurse, fell for the Colonel, worked with the Colonel closely (he saved her from a building on fire even before the rescue operation started, called her Little Shanghai), falsely accused him of rape when he did not want to marry him (this, she realizes only when they were married; it wasn't the Colonel who had laid with her those nights), and had him disgraced from the army despite being an honorable model soldier. Now, she cares for the Colonel whose state breaks my heart. The Colonel passes because of falling on a set of stairs and never wakes up. Auntie Lin was an anesthesiologist, so she followed after him. Her plan was unbeknownst to the son who was staying in the Colonel's playroom as a visitor.
Before dying, she gave the Colonel's gold instruments to him, thereby disproving what the old Blindboy said about his father pawning these off to keep him as a sodomy partner. Blindboy was such a poisonous character, both him and Blindman! Even when the son paid for his food all those years and when he looked for a doctor for him upon Tigress' wishes (so that his spirit would not haunt the family), he was still talking ill of the dead. There is no redemption for him. And the story ends here, right when the Colonel passes away.
It hurts to think about how unfair everything was for the Colonel. His hardships were unwarranted. Despite saving so many from the village and on the battlefield, he was treated badly by them; accused, and spoken ill of as a eunuch and a sodomite. It was also unfair for a lot of characters, such as Tigress and Little Guanyin. I hope that they'll have better lives in their next ones.
The Colonel's name was only mentioned once or twice: Jiang Zhengnan. He's also the Eunuch, so this is a very fitting book title.
The story is told from the point of view of the Tigress' son. At first, he's scared of the Colonel, growing up hearing and being told of what a bad company he is from the Sorcerer, his grandfather. Why? It is because he's thought to be a eunuch, and being incapable of bearing heirs back then was seen as a sign that the heavens were punishing you for a grave sin. He did not want for the bad luck to spread to his family. However, his father, the Tigress, remained steadfast as his best friend. This will stay the same throughout the novel, even until he dies. For instance, he took care of the Colonel's cats, kowtowed to his ancestors until his forehead was bruised, took action against Blindboy, and cared for him until Auntie Lin arrived.
He does warm up to him shortly because the Colonel's stories of being an officer in Beijing, Shanghai, Korea, etc., were interesting. He listened to them for years, right until the red insurgents arrived and thought to make an example of a former KMT officer who lived too leisurely (unlike the common masses). The Colonel managed to run at first, but Blindboy hurt his cats to make him come back. This is the part I was disappointed in: the son turned to the other side so abruptly, cheering for the Colonel's capture despite years of admiring him. He suddenly expressed a wish to become part of the Red Guards, which is all the more confusing given that his grandpa and father hated them. It did not stay that way though, fortunately. When the Colonel was captured, he was made to walk through the Luo village humiliatingly. He was also tortured and kept in a dirty shed with his cats. Later, he manages to escape again, this time cutting Blindboy's hand tendons and tongue to leave him mute and incapacitated (the tongue was masterfully reattached to prevent severe blood loss--yes, the Colonel was also known as the Golden Blade, a famous surgeon who worked with gold medical instruments). Legend had it that he saved an important officer and her 7-month-old baby in her womb, a surprise because the officer was very malnourished, so he was made to become a spy.
This time, the Colonel left his cats with his friend to not rouse suspicion of a collusion between them. Blindman, Blindboy's father, made stories about his son being injured like that because he saw the colonel's belly tattoo stating that he is a sodomite. Now, the Sorcerer's son was closest to the Colonel, so it was implied in the rumors that Tigress was his sodomy partner. This caused the thin-faced grandpa so much stress and shame. So much so that he soon lay on his deathbed. However, he sprang back to life because of the Old Constable's story, a secret he promised the Colonel to keep but could not to save a life (the Sorcerer's).
Many stories about the Colonel were told in his absence by the Old Constable, the village's pervert, just a little bit younger than the Sorcerer: He worked with a brothel that dealt with the Japs so he ended up with a most humiliating stomach tattoo (the Jap women wanted him for themselves; he had quite the apparatus from many fix-its). But his escape was cut short when he was found living as a fat monk in the Great Chen village with his devout mother. It is unknown how he was found given only his best friend, the Sorcerer, knew his location (and later, the Old Constable). Once captured, he was sent away for interrogation and imprisonment. His mother was sentenced to 3 years in prison, too. A poster would later be posted by the Red Guards clarifying the rumor about his stomach tattoo; not of sodomy, but of being a traitor. Grandpa celebrated, while his son sullenly spent time with the cats and kowtowed all night when everyone else was asleep.
How did the Colonel get captured? He shaved his head, paled, and gained a bit of weight, so he was very different. The biggest betrayal came from Grandpa, the Sorcerer, and it was the Old Constable who learned this by getting the officer who knew drunk. I was so hurt, angry, and disappointed. He knew how much the Colonel suffered, yet he still did so just to dispel the rumors of his son being a sodomite! He made a deal to have that poster posted. His son broke ties with him then and there, only promising to bury him when he dies. The result of this reveal led to the family's downfall. They were all ostracized in public, particularly the father, even though he kneeled every day. The grandfather was scolded by In Jesus' Name, referred by the son as Second Grandfather (He became a devout follower of Jesus because of his generous patron when he was still a rickshaw puller. He owes his life to the Colonel due to being saved by him when he drank pesticide, and buying him a statue of Jesus when his was burned by his daughter-in-law, even after he insulted the Colonel of being a eunuch). The son couldn't attend school peacefully, his desk broken and vandalized with X's. His classmates and teachers detested him, and he was even almost hit squarely by a brick out of nowhere. Ultimately, he slept in a different bed from his grandpa and was later sent to Spain by his father. One of his regrets was not saying goodbye to him. He would learn years after that his grandpa died by hanging himself with a belt in the pigsty, just a few days after him leaving.
The time skip happens here. He worked for 6 years unpaid in a sweatshop in Spain. He got married, but his pregnant first wife died with their 6-month-old son in her womb in a brake failure. His second wife was their old store customer (they sold youtiao-like churros) who found him as a garbage scavenger carrying his first wife's ashes around to earn enough to bury her. It took him 5 years to save up a ticket home, and there he met his father again after 22 years apart. From him, he learns that his second brother (leukemia) and sister-in-law (suicide from the couple's dispute) died, and his eldest took on his wife's name. The Colonel was given the death sentence, but when he became mad, he was whisked away by a woman named Auntie Lin for treatment. Auntie Lin has a complicated past with the Colonel, but marries him out of love. She took care of the Colonel's mother until she died, cried as she buried her, and earned the title of the Little Guanyin in the village. After that, she moved to her home village with the childlike, mentally-impaired Colonel and their two aged cats.
The son visited the couple many times, at least once a year. He managed to make bank from selling garbage from Spain to China. He got featured in CCTV-4 and has 3 factories with hundreds of employees. Auntie Lin told her past: all her family died in the war, became a nurse, fell for the Colonel, worked with the Colonel closely (he saved her from a building on fire even before the rescue operation started, called her Little Shanghai), falsely accused him of rape when he did not want to marry him (this, she realizes only when they were married; it wasn't the Colonel who had laid with her those nights), and had him disgraced from the army despite being an honorable model soldier. Now, she cares for the Colonel whose state breaks my heart. The Colonel passes because of falling on a set of stairs and never wakes up. Auntie Lin was an anesthesiologist, so she followed after him. Her plan was unbeknownst to the son who was staying in the Colonel's playroom as a visitor.
Before dying, she gave the Colonel's gold instruments to him, thereby disproving what the old Blindboy said about his father pawning these off to keep him as a sodomy partner. Blindboy was such a poisonous character, both him and Blindman! Even when the son paid for his food all those years and when he looked for a doctor for him upon Tigress' wishes (so that his spirit would not haunt the family), he was still talking ill of the dead. There is no redemption for him. And the story ends here, right when the Colonel passes away.
It hurts to think about how unfair everything was for the Colonel. His hardships were unwarranted. Despite saving so many from the village and on the battlefield, he was treated badly by them; accused, and spoken ill of as a eunuch and a sodomite. It was also unfair for a lot of characters, such as Tigress and Little Guanyin. I hope that they'll have better lives in their next ones.
The Colonel's name was only mentioned once or twice: Jiang Zhengnan. He's also the Eunuch, so this is a very fitting book title.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2025
I picked up this book wanting to go to other side of the world. It delivered that and more. Its narrative was unlike anything I've read before and wove together so many characters, depths of Chinese history, war, and superstition and tradition.
However, it's taken me a few days before I've posted this review because it's taken that long for my opinion to settle. I didn't really know what to make of it at first so I read a few other folks' reviews and they helped me see my own thoughts through the mist.
However, it's taken me a few days before I've posted this review because it's taken that long for my opinion to settle. I didn't really know what to make of it at first so I read a few other folks' reviews and they helped me see my own thoughts through the mist.
March 13, 2021
1. 读前半部以为叙述的是“上校”的起伏人生，读到后面才发现是“我”的起伏人生，读完才知道是所有人的起伏人生。人生就如同沉浮的海浪--人生海海
2. 书中很多“金句”都出自“报纸”，其实很多是出自“我”的爷爷，“我”的前妻。。。
3. “人活一世，总要经历很多事，有些事情像空气，随风飘散，不留痕迹；有些事情像水印子，留得了一时留不久；而有些事情则像木刻，刻上去了，消不失的”。
4. “哪里埋着你亲人的尸骨，哪里就是你的故乡”
5. “生活不是你活过的样子，而是你记住的样子”
6. “人生海海，敢死不叫勇气，活着才需要勇气”
7. “世上只有一种英雄主义，就是在��清了生活真相后依然热爱生活”
8. “世上最无情的是老人，其次是有钱人。老人因为怕死或不怕死而变得无情，有钱人因为用钱可以买到无情而变的无情”
2. 书中很多“金句”都出自“报纸”，其实很多是出自“我”的爷爷，“我”的前妻。。。
3. “人活一世，总要经历很多事，有些事情像空气，随风飘散，不留痕迹；有些事情像水印子，留得了一时留不久；而有些事情则像木刻，刻上去了，消不失的”。
4. “哪里埋着你亲人的尸骨，哪里就是你的故乡”
5. “生活不是你活过的样子，而是你记住的样子”
6. “人生海海，敢死不叫勇气，活着才需要勇气”
7. “世上只有一种英雄主义，就是在��清了生活真相后依然热爱生活”
8. “世上最无情的是老人，其次是有钱人。老人因为怕死或不怕死而变得无情，有钱人因为用钱可以买到无情而变的无情”
December 17, 2019
文不对题。不够尽兴。
August 23, 2024
This Chinese bestseller by its acclaimed author is considered by many to be a literary masterpiece, but overall I found it unengaging, and although I did stick with it and got to the end, there were many times I felt like giving up. The main reason for this was that I couldn’t relate to the main characters, particularly the eponymous Colonel – or Eunuch as he is often called. He’s an enigmatic, mysterious character, about whom rumours, gossip and myths abound but who failed, for me, to come alive. We have an unreliable narrator, which doesn’t help, a young boy growing up in rural China, who seems to be obsessed by the Colonel, but who even as an adult makes no real attempt to find out the truth, being seemingly satisfied to listen to the rumours and avoid delving too deeply. The first two parts of the novel take place in China through the turbulent period of the Communist takeover, and it certainly helps to have some prior knowledge of this era, otherwise many of the attitudes and actions will be opaque. The third part takes place some 21 years later when our narrator has moved abroad and is reflecting back and still trying to make sense of the Colonel. Hero, villain, or traitor? It’s a sprawling tale and although it offers a glimpse into Chinese culture I didn’t feel that it offers much insight. There’s a lot of profanity and graphic sex, which adds nothing to the narrative, and although it probably reflects Chinese attitudes, doesn’t make for pleasant reading. There’s a central mystery about a tattoo that the Colonel has on his stomach but I couldn’t really see the point of the fuss about it, plus much about the shame of being called a sodomite, which is a theme throughout the book, but doesn’t, I felt, help the reader get a handle on the characters. It’s all quite long-winded and repetitive, too. All in all I didn’t enjoy the book and don’t see why it is considered such a masterpiece.
May 4, 2025
I started this book during my busiest time of the year—while preparing for actuarial exams—and quickly learned a lesson I won’t forget: never start a magnificent book before an exam. I simply couldn’t put it down. Despite the poor timing, I am deeply grateful for the world Mai took me to, for the intricate time he unfolded with such subtlety and power.
I was born after the culture revolution in china, but it’s impossible to not hear about it from your parents/ grandparents. One of my earliest memories is when my grandma would wave her woven hand fan on sweltering summer afternoons, bringing waves of chill air to my face, and start her story with- 文化大革命的时候啊……My grandpa bought that fan from Thailand one year, and it was indeed superior than any other hand fan. My grandma has had it since I was born, the bottom of the leaf where it attaches to the handle has separated, so she sew the leaf back on and you can see the quite obvious white strings on the neutral color leaf. I remember her stories like I remember this fan, and whenever I think of the stories, I feel that breeze.
My grandmother’s stories were not nearly as dramatic as上校, but the world that it took place was identical. When Mai writes of the narrator sneaking into places just to hear stories, I see myself in him. When 大字报 was put up in the village, I remember the ones with my family members on there. When reputation and gossip literally killed narrator’s father, I recall how my elderly relatives care about their reputation in the village. I’m struck by how simultaneously foreign and familiar the ideological rigidity of that time feels. It feels like I’ve been there, and it also feels like a century ago.
I was born after the culture revolution in china, but it’s impossible to not hear about it from your parents/ grandparents. One of my earliest memories is when my grandma would wave her woven hand fan on sweltering summer afternoons, bringing waves of chill air to my face, and start her story with- 文化大革命的时候啊……My grandpa bought that fan from Thailand one year, and it was indeed superior than any other hand fan. My grandma has had it since I was born, the bottom of the leaf where it attaches to the handle has separated, so she sew the leaf back on and you can see the quite obvious white strings on the neutral color leaf. I remember her stories like I remember this fan, and whenever I think of the stories, I feel that breeze.
My grandmother’s stories were not nearly as dramatic as上校, but the world that it took place was identical. When Mai writes of the narrator sneaking into places just to hear stories, I see myself in him. When 大字报 was put up in the village, I remember the ones with my family members on there. When reputation and gossip literally killed narrator’s father, I recall how my elderly relatives care about their reputation in the village. I’m struck by how simultaneously foreign and familiar the ideological rigidity of that time feels. It feels like I’ve been there, and it also feels like a century ago.
May 17, 2020
麦家说：“新作从2014年写到现在，是一个长时间的守望，也是一次脚踩大地翱翔天空的美妙历程。我想写的是在绝望中诞生的幸运，在艰苦中卓绝的道德。”
--以下除了《人生海海》还有作品《暗算》的剧透--
勃拉姆斯二十年创作了第一交响曲，麦家五年能打磨出什么样的作品让我非常期待。说来惭愧，认识麦家是从十五年前的电视剧《暗算》开始的。阿炳是英雄，因为他独一无二的天才听觉和记忆力，黄依依是英雄，因为她天赋异禀的数学创造力，然而真正令我敬佩的是安在天/钱之江，拥有坚定的信仰且能屈能伸，把一次次的不可能变为可能。作品的第一，第二个故事都是从侧面描写安在天如何克服重重困难，陪练千里马出成绩的，第三个故事是描写内战期间，钱之江如何与敌人周旋，最终以死送出关键情报的。这些都只是对人物在人生高潮时期的惊鸿一瞥。他们到底从何而来，经历了怎样的过往云烟和潮起后的潮落，剧中并没有具体说明。此后也一直没有机会去拜读麦家的原作。
在《人生海海》，中我弥补了这个遗憾。
“人生海海”是一句闽南方言，形容人生像海一样复杂多变，起落浮沉。
大大小小的故事拼凑出“上校”的一生，兼有侧面的陈述和正面的描写，前文铺垫后续解谜，虽然直到“上校”走完他的一生，所有的谜团也没有全部解开，毋庸置疑的是那人生的风风雨雨，大喜大悲，以德报怨，至死也无愧于自己的理想信念让人刻骨铭心。下面是一些“上校”的碎片，有亲切可人的，智力爆表的，英武潇洒的，催人泪下的。。。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2022
熬夜读完大半，哭到冒泡却也不忍心把最后一点读完。前两部作者回忆着童年的听闻，借着村里老人的口一边交代着当下发生的事情，一边拼凑着以前的故事。上校像是一个解不开的谜面，这个故事怎么也说不完，他的身世永远也揭不开。作者自己也说，他的立场很独特，同时置身事外却又是走的最近的人：置身事外因为他是小一辈的人，后来离开村里漂洋海外，而走的最近也因为他是上校最好的兄弟的儿子，也因为他的耳朵哪里都有。第三部，也是最后一部，作者一跃就是四十多年，跳过千禧往回看，把自己留洋创业的经历和上校最后的故事糅合在一起讲，好像上校的故事不是故事，而成为了，融入了作者自己的身世历程中。
读麦家的文字有一种读小学课文的感觉。刨去人物对话和叙事交代，光看他笔下的村庄季节人物样貌，就觉得很想小学语文课本里的课文。不同于小学课文的是明显的比喻句格式套着出乎意料的联系，比如———我划出来的——吧春天休整过的桑树比喻成“一列列被剃光了头，整装待发的士兵，在沉默中等着冲锋”，抒情的排比句把能想到的事物都列出来，但是总有那么一两个是点睛之笔。虽然是一页页长篇的描写细节，我依然一个字一个词地啃完，害怕错过了什么精彩地部分。可能我不常读中文吧，每次读到写的好的部分都会从心底里觉得中文好美，词句像是唱出来的歌一样好听。
刚开始读的时候这本书让我想到了《许三观卖血记》。一样都是第三者叙事，讲的都是红卫兵文化大革命的故事。当然，许三观里没有作者小时候的观察，更没有作者老之后的反省，我觉得是最后一部让人生海海一跃超过许三观。但是读到最后不禁觉得内容不得已升华而蹩在对鸡奸犯的执着，不仅在我这里丢了些格局，有些小家子气。除此之外，读这个时候的故事让我不禁觉得那个战争、纷乱、又后来生机勃勃的年代的人都是被命运左右着，有时一步就能扭转一生，像爷爷的一错百错，像林阿姨和上校的告发事件，又像作者的创业经历。同时这本书用三辈人的故事勾勒出了老几辈在时代大背景下的命运趋势。从老保长到上校到林阿姨又到作者自己，几代人的浮浮沉沉，踏着中国二十世纪的起起伏伏，真正呼吁了书名：人生海海。
读麦家的文字有一种读小学课文的感觉。刨去人物对话和叙事交代，光看他笔下的村庄季节人物样貌，就觉得很想小学语文课本里的课文。不同于小学课文的是明显的比喻句格式套着出乎意料的联系，比如———我划出来的——吧春天休整过的桑树比喻成“一列列被剃光了头，整装待发的士兵，在沉默中等着冲锋”，抒情的排比句把能想到的事物都列出来，但是总有那么一两个是点睛之笔。虽然是一页页长篇的描写细节，我依然一个字一个词地啃完，害怕错过了什么精彩地部分。可能我不常读中文吧，每次读到写的好的部分都会从心底里觉得中文好美，词句像是唱出来的歌一样好听。
刚开始读的时候这本书让我想到了《许三观卖血记》。一样都是第三者叙事，讲的都是红卫兵文化大革命的故事。当然，许三观里没有作者小时候的观察，更没有作者老之后的反省，我觉得是最后一部让人生海海一跃超过许三观。但是读到最后不禁觉得内容不得已升华而蹩在对鸡奸犯的执着，不仅在我这里丢了些格局，有些小家子气。除此之外，读这个时候的故事让我不禁觉得那个战争、纷乱、又后来生机勃勃的年代的人都是被命运左右着，有时一步就能扭转一生，像爷爷的一错百错，像林阿姨和上校的告发事件，又像作者的创业经历。同时这本书用三辈人的故事勾勒出了老几辈在时代大背景下的命运趋势。从老保长到上校到林阿姨又到作者自己，几代人的浮浮沉沉，踏着中国二十世纪的起起伏伏，真正呼吁了书名：人生海海。
October 27, 2025
on surface level you see the mystery of a man's past but as you read more you realise the colonel is less of a person you try and figure out, but instead a mirror for the narrator to question what heroism means in a world shaped by war an ideology; The man is refered to as "colonel" due to his contributions in the war as part of the military or doctor or intelligence operative and "eunuch" is the nickname given to him used as a metaphor to signify his loss of power and emasculation, overall its an extremely intimate, enigmatic and humane novel filled and the narrative voice is filled with nostalgia. It's really confusing to read and like every character has atleast 2 nicknames but deadass tho its goated
April 6, 2024
من ترجمه فارسی این کتاب رو به نام "دریا دریا زندگی" به ترجمه "دکتر حامد وفایی" خوندم، ترجمه به نظرم خیلی خوب و عالی و کامل بود
و درباره داستان، برای من چیز جدید و جذابی بود، روند داستان اصلا قابل پیش بینی نبود و از یه جایی به بعد، همراه شخصیت های داستان منم تو شوک و ناباوری فرو رفتم و هر جا اشک ریختن منم اشک ریختم
جدای از داستان، چون با زبان چینی و کمی فرهنگ چینی آشنایی دارم خوندن کتاب خیلی لذت بخش بود برام، توضیحاتی که مترجم درباره حروف چینی و مناسبت ها و از این قبیل موارد داده بود رو درک میکردم و میدونستم و این لذت خوندن کتاب رو برام چند برابر کرده بود
تجربه ای لذت بخش بود برام از ادبیات چین و البته اولین تجربم هم بود
و درباره داستان، برای من چیز جدید و جذابی بود، روند داستان اصلا قابل پیش بینی نبود و از یه جایی به بعد، همراه شخصیت های داستان منم تو شوک و ناباوری فرو رفتم و هر جا اشک ریختن منم اشک ریختم
جدای از داستان، چون با زبان چینی و کمی فرهنگ چینی آشنایی دارم خوندن کتاب خیلی لذت بخش بود برام، توضیحاتی که مترجم درباره حروف چینی و مناسبت ها و از این قبیل موارد داده بود رو درک میکردم و میدونستم و این لذت خوندن کتاب رو برام چند برابر کرده بود
تجربه ای لذت بخش بود برام از ادبیات چین و البته اولین تجربم هم بود
August 20, 2025
Espectacular. Me lo he leido en ingles pero da igual. La historia centrada en un personaje del que te enteras por la gwnte que lo conocio. Un recordatorio del refrán, pueblo chico infierno grande. Un vistazo a las diferencias culturales, el honor, la vergüenza y la forma de confrontar las dificultades de la vida. Todo en medio de eventos historicos y politicos en la China, desde principios del siglo 20 hasta exactamente el año 2014. Un libro lleno de sabiduria popular.
No hay edicion en español, pero el esfuerzo valdrá la pena, os lo prometo. Buenisimo!!!!
No hay edicion en español, pero el esfuerzo valdrá la pena, os lo prometo. Buenisimo!!!!
May 20, 2025
I have quite a lot of mixed feelings about for this book.
The books has beautiful imagery, you can really imagine how the village looks like, the picturesque backgrounds.
However the 3rd quarter of the book was horribly slow for me. The last quarter of the book did move me to tears. It gave me an insight of China, the family dynamics, the societal traditions in the 20th century and my first novel based in China.
3.5 stars out of 5.
The books has beautiful imagery, you can really imagine how the village looks like, the picturesque backgrounds.
However the 3rd quarter of the book was horribly slow for me. The last quarter of the book did move me to tears. It gave me an insight of China, the family dynamics, the societal traditions in the 20th century and my first novel based in China.
3.5 stars out of 5.
February 4, 2025
I enjoyed this very much to start with. I thought the Colonel/Eunuch was an intriguing and very interesting character and loved the way different people in the village reacted to him. I liked the writing, albeit in translation. But I found it became a little long winded and repetitive, which was a shame.
May 26, 2025
时代背景下每个人的命运都像是大海中翻滚的一粒沙，越是闪闪发光的人性越是让人痛彻心扉。
大多数人都在自身和时代的局限性下做出“最优解”，有合理之处但是万劫不复。最让人心痛的是善良底色下交织的恶，或者是因为愚昧而不慎造成的恶。像爷爷出卖上校，像小上海举报上校。只能用余生都活在内疚和痛苦中，林医生这样有机会去修正倒是能够对得起自己，爷爷承受不了这深重的外界压力和内心痛苦选择结束。
人生就是会有不公，满腔热血的英雄却得不到应有的尊严。在背信弃义的时代，自己对自己的尊重显得格外重要。值不值得为了遵守内心的秩序而完全放弃和这个厚颜无耻的世界的链接？人言可畏。
遗忘是幸福还是不幸？当记忆的痛苦大过一切，大过一生中所有经历的总和，当再也没有人值得你经历如此的痛苦，能轻松的不带任何扭曲的遗忘，是最简单的。像死亡一样，是最简单的告别。
大多数人都在自身和时代的局限性下做出“最优解”，有合理之处但是万劫不复。最让人心痛的是善良底色下交织的恶，或者是因为愚昧而不慎造成的恶。像爷爷出卖上校，像小上海举报上校。只能用余生都活在内疚和痛苦中，林医生这样有机会去修正倒是能够对得起自己，爷爷承受不了这深重的外界压力和内心痛苦选择结束。
人生就是会有不公，满腔热血的英雄却得不到应有的尊严。在背信弃义的时代，自己对自己的尊重显得格外重要。值不值得为了遵守内心的秩序而完全放弃和这个厚颜无耻的世界的链接？人言可畏。
遗忘是幸福还是不幸？当记忆的痛苦大过一切，大过一生中所有经历的总和，当再也没有人值得你经历如此的痛苦，能轻松的不带任何扭曲的遗忘，是最简单的。像死亡一样，是最简单的告别。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2026
كتاب جميل وخفيف ومليء بالدروس. قد يجعل القارئ يشعر بالحزن ولكن عند التأمل والتفكر هذه هي طبيعة الحياة…
نعم هذه هي الحياة تارة نضحك وأخرى نبكي… ولا يوجد شخص سيئ أو خير بشكل كامل فكلنا نتاج البيئة والظرف، وعلى الرغم من ذلك مازلنا نملك حرية الاختيار والإرادة أملًا في غد أفضل… لماذا؟ لأن هذه هي طبيعة الحياة…
نعم هذه هي الحياة تارة نضحك وأخرى نبكي… ولا يوجد شخص سيئ أو خير بشكل كامل فكلنا نتاج البيئة والظرف، وعلى الرغم من ذلك مازلنا نملك حرية الاختيار والإرادة أملًا في غد أفضل… لماذا؟ لأن هذه هي طبيعة الحياة…
August 2, 2023
《人生海海》不好，很失望，最多给6.5分。若论开篇，不如《白鹿原》。若论对文革时期的曝露，不如《霸王别姬》。若论情节跌宕，不如《1Q84》。若论性爱欢愉，不如《黄金时代》。若论惊叹结局，不如《无人生还》。若论感人至深，不如《追风筝的人》。令外我也知道，这本书是如此的流行，一定有朋友已经看过。如果你的阅读感受与我的不一样，请坚定地相信自己的感觉，因为阅读体验本就是一件纯粹主观的事情。如果你的看法恰巧与我相同，我们相视一笑，彼此明了尔尔。《人生海海》，18.9万字，阅读难度两颗星，推荐指数6.5。
December 9, 2023
感叹生活给了我们这么多快乐和这么多难过，痛苦时以为会永远好不了，但它们总有一天会过去，因为生命给了我们那么好的复原能力～
引用书里的一句话 “世界上只有一种英雄主义，就是在认清了生活真相后依然热爱生活”[太阳]
读完它，让我想起了余华的《活着》
不记得十来年前谁给我看的这本书，也不记得它是否安全回到它主人的手里，甚至连内容也没有很具体了，但读完的那种感觉还一直留在心底。
好比一个隐形人，默默看完别人走完他的一生。
它就是生活，不管是“活着”还是“人生海海”～
引用书里的一句话 “世界上只有一种英雄主义，就是在认清了生活真相后依然热爱生活”[太阳]
读完它，让我想起了余华的《活着》
不记得十来年前谁给我看的这本书，也不记得它是否安全回到它主人的手里，甚至连内容也没有很具体了，但读完的那种感觉还一直留在心底。
好比一个隐形人，默默看完别人走完他的一生。
它就是生活，不管是“活着”还是“人生海海”～
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