酒徒

by Liu Yichang, 劉以鬯

The Drunkard is one of the first full-length stream-of-consciousness novels written in Chinese. It has been called the Hong Kong Novel, and was first published in 1962 as a serial in a Hong Kong evening paper. As the unnamed Narrator, a writer at odds with a philistine world, sinks to his drunken nadir, his plight can be seen to represent that of a whole intelligentsia, a whole culture, degraded by the brutal forces of history: the Second Sino-Japanese War and the rampant capitalism of post-war Hong Kong.

The often surrealistic description of the Narrator's inexorable descent through the seedy bars and night-clubs of Hong Kong, of his numerous encounters with dance-girls and his ever more desperate bouts of drinking, is counterpointed by a series of wide-ranging literary essays, analysing the Chinese classical tradition, the popular culture of China and the West, and the modernist movement in Western and Chinese literature.

The ambiance of Hong Kong in the early 1960s is graphically evoked in this powerful and poignant novel, which takes the reader to the very heart of Hong Kong. Hong Kong director Freddie Wong made a fine film version of the novel in 2004.

Genres: China, Fiction, Chinese Literature, Literature, Contemporary, Novels

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Liu Tongyi was a Chinese novelist, essayist, poet and literary critic who writes under the pseudonym Liu Yichang (劉以鬯). He did not grow up in Hong Kong but spent the first thirty years of his life either there or in the wartime capital Chungking, where he went upon graduating from the English-speaking St John's University in 1941. It was in Chungking that he took up the profession of newspaper editing which he practised more or less continuously until his retirement in 1991. Liu came to Hong Kong in 1948, and apart from a spell in Singapore and Malaya (1952-1957), has made it his home.

[Español]
Liu Tongyi (chino mandarín) o Lau Tung-yik (chino cantonés), nacido en Shanghai el 7 de diciembre de 1918, es un escritor chino, autor de novelas, cuentos, poesía y crítica literaria, firma con el seudónimo Liu Yichang (chino mandarín) o Lau Yee-cheung (chino cantonés). Una de sus más notables novelas de monólogo interior: Intersección (對倒) inspiró Deseando amar de Wong Kar-wai.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the encryption key for Chinese vs. Western literature. And inspiration for Wong Kar-wai to boot.

[Matt Iong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storyline of this book and the author's technique would both be considered fresh even today, in my humble opinion. And the depth of his knowledge in both Chinese and Western literature and writing techniques is likewise impressive. This book definitely made many contemporary Chinese literary works boring

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the ebook in Haodoo.

In reading 村上春樹, one can smell his tasty pasta, hear the jazz and opera, experience the tranquility and self-sufficiency of living. In reading the book , I smell alcohol, hear the people yelling, experience the desperateness of life of a scholar in 50s in Hong Kong.

I wonder if their life has changed since 50s. The shift is from writing Kung Fu fiction to making Kung Fu films, from writing erotic stories to making pornography, from writing for newspaper to making for different new media and film. It is so sad to read about the falling of angels. I think he does a good job in telling about the fall of an angel.

The book shall be read like a poem. The prose are beautiful.

[Vanonearth · Rating 4 out of 5]

本書一開始是一大推語無倫次不着邊際的醉話，看得我一頭霧水不知所云。但讀下去亦不難理解為何主角要不斷以酒精麻醉自己。

在極度商業化的香港，文人總是壯志未酬。主角跟朋友麥荷門辦文學雜誌，二人本來滿腔熱血，但主角意識到理想和現實的鴻溝，雖一度想堅持但很快便抵不過生計壓力轉寫黃色小說；然而麥仍然堅守初衷，即使可能把母親的積蓄蝕光亦不放棄，二人形成強烈對比。

主角雖不再支持麥荷門，但內心其實每分每秒都在爭扎，他並沒有對現實徹底絕望，不然亦不需依賴酒精。似乎活在這個社會，除了自殺以外，酒精是唯一選擇。

「我必須痛下決心，與文藝一刀兩斷。 將寫作視為一種職業，將自己看成一架寫稿機。 ......我變成一條寄生蟲。」

[yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

非常精彩！把酒醉的世界寫得淋漓盡致。此外，作者將20世紀香港功利主義對藝文的排擠寫得絲絲入扣。

[Yung Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

難以置信劉以鬯滴酒不沾

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

“我常常对自己说：有一天我会重获失去的源泉。好几次，我企图重建一座城。大雨倾盆时，力量投入酒杯。猎者的枪弹未能命中，那野鸭仍在空中振翅而飞……那些都是过去了的事，想寻找它的细节，竟会如此困难。往事如街边的行人，刚遇见，瞬即离去。只有太阳会去了再来；人的道路绝对不是一个圆圈。开始与终结，只是一条线上两个点。我是颇有几分胆量的，一度在这条线在舞蹈过；受过几次惊吓后，也怯弱似老鼠了。”

作家整本书都是穷困潦倒的酸楚文人喋喋的抱怨。对香港文化氛围的控诉，文学批判，新诗和旧诗，电影的商业化。流连舞女妓女，嗜酒如命的我。对于这本。豆瓣有多评论都概论剖析解读的很好。

说下个人，作家竟然说我喜欢的萨冈的小说写来写去就那么一回事！呃，我一定是他归纳为喜欢四毫小说的那类人了，我就喜欢看看情情爱爱之类的吧。另外里面外国译名翻译成中文怪怪的，白兰地，尤利西斯，还有点我都认不出来。书中及其推崇尤利西斯、普鲁斯特、海明威之流，反正这种大家我是看不进去的，也不太费脑子看严肃文学。吾等庸常为生存温饱碌碌奔波的人，审美情趣也摆脱不了低级趣味的偏好。哪有那么高觉悟欣赏大家之作，自身的文化水平也只有这样的高度。

里面有很搞笑的地方是，作者讲他因生计所迫写武侠小说和黄色小说，如何构思的hhhhhh


9.23
看得心很凉，泪目！有几个场景意境真是，把人吸进去了，虽然看的文字好像卖弄文字故显文采一样，但是整个写作很真诚，虚虚实实情真意切深刻。凭什么书中女人都对男主有意，白送肉体。

[宅女阿reen · Rating 4 out of 5]

这是一个知识分子在“文化沙漠”里苦苦求生的故事。通过这部作品，我跟“意识流”的写作手法近距离接触了一趟。故事围绕着“酒徒”的显意识和潜意识打转，主角内心独白占了大部分篇幅。读者看到的全都通过主角的双眼。他喝醉了，我们跟着天旋地转，他清醒时，我们看到了他被现实吞没的痛苦。对我而言，这本书算是挺烧脑的。对主角身处的时代不熟悉，也没有他的文化素养。最大的收获，就是看到结合了新诗和散文的写作手法，是个有趣的阅读体验。

[二六 侯 · Rating 4 out of 5]

作為後設小說前幾頁讀來普普，後面愈看愈對味，有笑有推。

[Cherries LIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

超級文學作品
很少讀這麼深刻的作品
文字美得很 這是它吸引人的地方
但很難讀 讀得痛苦
一直堅持著 堅持到完成 如釋負重。
實在佩服作者劉以鬯
是什麼的平凡巨人可以寫這樣的作品？
又是怎樣的人會拜讀？

[Charing Szeto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sad story, yet beautifully written.
It's a total immersion into the world of an alcoholic pathetic writer life.
It's a book that leaves u feelings that is hard to shake off

[Sylvia Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend recommended this book to me, saying it was a great example of “stream of consciousness.” I have to confess, I didn’t quite understand what the author was talking about in the first two or three chapters. At times I felt like I had stepped into the mind of someone with ADHD — the topics seemed to jump and fly around. It wasn’t that it was hard to follow, but rather that I was amazed by the whimsical flow of words and ideas.

What struck me most was the tragedy of seeing someone so passionate about serious literature unable to find a place in Hong Kong, during a time when the general public couldn’t appreciate true art, and instead preferred more superficial works meant only to entertain.

The novel’s length also gave the author space to portray a wide range of people and situations, offering a holistic view of society through the eyes of those trapped in difficult circumstances. For me, this made The Drunkard a deeply thought-provoking work — one that made me reflect on the relationship between society and the individual, and on how people are forced to adapt, sometimes in ways far from ideal.

[Hazel P · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s an immaculate capture of Hong Kong society and its materialism, partially in sacrifice of pursuit of high arts and literature. But I personally feel the story is too manipulative, maybe bound by narrator’s class (and irresponsibility), I cannot find any beauty of decaying in narrator’s debauchery. And sentiment of the novel is different from “Notes from Underground” too. I surely don’t want to condemn a fictional character’s life choices as I’ve been feeling a good reader should exhibit an open-attitude when reading fictional works. However, if I briefly summarise the story, it should be how an immature man keeps creating burdens for others while using literature and aesthetics as an excuse. And now you can see why I don’t like this work. Earlier this year, I also read Tanizaki’s “Sorrows of a Heretics”, and I’ll be shocked if found anyone feeling relatable to the character. I believe for some works we are unable to see our reflections but through the character and the text, we may find a world that we haven’t entered before or a social problem we’ve never carefully considered.

[Bel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A self-destructive drunkard dreams; lamenting the descent of society’s artistic values, akin to watching a chrysanthemum slowly drowning in a teacup of perfume at a noir jazz bar, where red neon lights flicker through a haze of cigarette smoke.

“Another day goes by. I’m drunk. Hungry eyes searching for lost joy. Deep night. The boy’s fast asleep somewhere in the dark. Wanderers enter the pitch-black jungle. The air solidifies. Thoughts a mere straw. Suddenly yesterday’s storms, fading cicada songs, are all forgotten. Nothing but a witch climbing a ladder to heaven, desire planning a moon landing. Two lonely travellers, on a rainy night, meet in a roadside pavilion, end up playing chess. A shadow stretches across a stone with no name. The stone sweats. Springtime hides in a corner of the wall, listening to feet tapping on the clouds … I’m drunk.”

[April May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a dreamlike reading experience! It’s hard to believe that such an innovative style of expression comes from a work written over sixty years ago! The descriptions of drunkenness are both tragic and beautiful, and I feel a deep sense of pity for the protagonist’s circumstances. It's sad to think that the story is still relevant in today’s Hong Kong.

[Idy Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole novel is interwoven in the drunkard’s reality, dreams, daily thought, fantasy thought and his sub-consciousness. Therefore, even though the story line is simple, the narration is not easy to follow. Because the state of mind of the drunkard changes in almost every chapter. But this is the fun part of reading this novel!

[lustforlife · Rating 5 out of 5]

覺得前半本寫得好生動，劉以鬯的筆下常常使用擬人筆法，例如「生鏽的感情又逢落雨天」，「我的感情被肢解了」，「理智不良於行，迷失於深山的濃霧中，莫知所從」，「三十個鐵絲架也無法將它（感情）圈在中間」，「雨傘也會拒絕陽光的侵略」，「盛開的玫瑰不怕驟雨」。這種修辭手法讓我閱得引人入勝，書不釋手，一頁，兩頁，三頁地好快過去。

本書提及到作家求生之艱難，亦是好多藝術家面臨在追逐夢想與為現實跪低的掙扎。最歡書裡面的何門願為嚴肅的文學作嫁的執著，不出賣靈魂，為謀生而淪落寫武俠或黃色小說（我個人並不認為有什麼錯）。這種純粹與傻氣，讓我想借這次書評的機會勉勵世界上所有的傻瓜，勇於探索自己的熱氣與至愛！

[Alex Xu · Rating 4 out of 5]

bitching and whining不如电影

[Nhi Doãn]

Not a drunkard myself, and I actually loved this so much.

[Jimmie LU · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruptures

[Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maudlin novelist in seedy mid-century Hong Kong longs to write literary fiction but churns out kung-fu stories and smut for cash. One drink. Another. Three.

[Nolmë · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Sean János]

對於酒醉之言的理解與不理解真的不再重要了，重要的是要如何理解劉以鬯？

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

我好爱

[Zhang Chenxi · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best experimental and 'chinese' stream-of-consciousness works i've ever read, a philosophical discussion etched in the despondent man's battle with reality and isolation, see his cognitive abilities literally deteriorate as he sinks deeper into alcoholism...

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

been in a reading slump(english language books) for too long. think that i should include Chinese books i've read as well. so HERE we go. This one i read it on my way to Korea, a fantastic read for alcoholic, aka me.

[Sleeping Waiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book , great use of the stream of controusness
liked the drunk part

[Wayne Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

為了麵包，拋棄了慕思。