Crescent Moon and Other Stories

by Lao She

Twelve short stories written between 1933 and 1937. Featuring personalities and characters to be found in the China of those times, and told with Lao She's usual wit, satire, insight and sympathy. They create a panorama of Chinese society.

Genres: Short Stories, China

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Lao She (Chinese: 老舍; pinyin: Lǎo Shě; Wade–Giles: Lao She; February 3, 1899 – August 24, 1966) was the pen name of Shu Qingchun (simplified Chinese: 舒庆春; traditional Chinese: 舒慶春; pinyin: Shū Qìngchūn; Manchu surname: Sumuru), a noted Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was one of the most significant figures of 20th-century Chinese literature, and best known for his novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse (茶館). He was of Manchu ethnicity. His works are known especially for their vivid use of the Beijing dialect.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Michael Haase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lao She is a brilliant mind and a master-class writer; this selection of shorts by him is evidence to the fact. Not many authors can write such moving and captivating stories with such little pretense or fanciful language. Lao She's writing is characterized by its simplicity. It uses a casual, colloquial diction that gives it greater realism and relatability. These stories, as shocking as they sometimes are, seem plausible because their characters seem so real. The characters are complex, feeling, thinking beings. Their language, their thoughts and actions are so genuine, you can't help but feel a sense of kinship with them. Although the stories are firmly fixed in a specific time and place in China's history, Lao She does such an amazing job capturing his characters' inner feelings that the stories take on a universal quality.

The tragic absurdity of "Filling a Prescription" seems like a page taken straight out of our own lives. "A Vision" recalls all the sad, unfulfilled hopes and dreams we ourselves possess. "Eyeglasses" reminds us of how desperate and precarious our lives are. "This Life of Mine" makes us laugh and cry over our own absurd existences. "Crescent Moon" revives the real, human emotions we've long ago buried within us.

Crescent Moon and Other Stories reminds us of what it means to be human. It teaches us about ourselves while giving us profound insight into the lives of others. This is a must-read for lovers of literature, especially Chinese literature.

Finally, here's a list of my top 5 favorites from the collection:

5. Eyeglasses
4. Filling a Prescription
3. A Vision
2. Crescent Moon
1. This Life of Mine

[Starcatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, moving, beautiful prose.

A story about a girl's life. Her poverty and hopeless situation push her to the same corner her mother was pushed into. The same corner she has seen and detested. Very sad and moving. I read the edition translated to Thai, but the author's prose describes impressively beautiful story. Thanks to the translator.

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lot of the poor is never that enviable no matter where you look, but life for the urban poor in pre-revolutionary China was particularly dire. In an atmosphere of severe corruption and oppression, poor men and women resorted to desperate means in order to survive. Bandits, policemen, whores, rickshaw pullers, petty officials, teachers, martial arts masters, craftsmen and street vendors tried to keep the wolf from the door any way they could. Lao She's stories are full of life, colorful but heart-rending, humorous but tough. He captures the chaos and poverty of those times: his earthy language seems to be well-translated into English. Though his favorites in this collection are listed in a short introduction, I tended to like his choices the least, because he preferred the romantic and flowery to the down-to-earth and realistic. My own favorites came from among the stories that portray Chinese life of those times (1905-1925) in vivid fashion. Stories like "Black Li and White Li" (student revolutionaries), "Brother Yu Takes Office" (an ex-bandit becomes a policeman and has to deal with his ex- "colleagues"), "The Soul-Slaying Spear" (martial arts masters), "The Eyeglasses" (rickshaw pullers and gamblers) and "The Fire Chariot" (characters aboard a train plus an amazingly vivid picture of a disaster) struck me as real gems. Though the author does not go in for deep psychological portraits as is more common in Western or Japanese literature and uses the traditional Chinese storytelling style, I liked CRESCENT MOON very much. His perspective is always humane. The author obviously sympathizes with and admires the resilient characters that fill his pages. If poverty had the Chinese of those times in a headlock, they never gave up, but laughed and lived right to the end.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a skillful but pretty grim look at parts of Chinese society in the 30s. Some stories were better than others, with some just leaving me feeling like "what was the point of THAT?". Some really just felt pointless, even though I know this feeling of futility was part of Lao She's aim.

The titular story "The Crescent Moon" was definitely among the best in this collection, with its story following a poor woman struggling to find a way to put food on the table without becoming a prostitute. Lao She criticizes society and the limited options given to women at the time to make a living, how men use women, and how easily women are judged for "not trying hard enough" to succeed in the right way when desperation pushes them towards things society disapproves of.

[Borka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a painful realisation. It made me feel the dirt in the world. Beautifully written stories. They felt as if I have been stabbed by a dagger. The Crescent moon clutched my heart and left it wretched and cold.

[Eline D’Hoore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mehhhh I found this ALrigHT. Several short stories, accessible and light-headed tales, a bit simplistic perhaps? At least it provided an interesting insight into Chinese society and culture as well as some words for thought =D

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El primer amor es como la primera flor de la juventud; no se puede abandonar fácilmente".

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give five whole stars for the actual Crescent Moon story. But all in all, a fairly fine collection of short stories.