Unfilled Graves

by Ah Cheng, Chen Haiyan

Born in Beijing in 1949, Ah Cheng has written several highly acclaimed works including The Chess King, which won the National Prize For the Best Novelette. In recent years he has produced a number of popular screenplays. In this new collection of ten short stories it is obvious why his style is so highly regarded. These imaginative stories, set in Northeastern China, offer particularly interesting portraits of Chinese women.

Genres: Chinese Literature, Short Stories

170 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 1995

About the author

Ah Cheng, born in Beijing in 1949, is the pen name of Zhong Acheng (simplified Chinese: 钟阿城; traditional Chinese: 鍾阿城; pinyin: Zhōng Āchéng). An accomplished fiction writer, painter, and screenwriter (for internationally renowned Taiwanese director, Hou Xiaoxian), Ah Cheng spent the Cultural Revolution years in a small village in Inner Mongolia where he painted the sheep and grasslands, and on a State Farm bordering Yunnan province and Laos. During the 1980s he came to prominence as a member of the “primitive” or “seeking roots” literary movement. He has lived in several countries including the US, often not writing for long periods and working various jobs such as fixing bicycles and house painting. In 1992 he received the Italian Nonino International Prize for his literary achievements, which includes a travel journal, Venetian Diary. He lives in the outskirts of Beijing.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this from SOAS initially as I thought it was a modern Chinese women writer writing about other women. Turns out it was a man but that really didn't make much difference. The stories here were all mostly character sketches of the people who lived in North Eastern China. (In particular Heilongjiang province). A lot of the stories while quite short spanned decades so you didn't get much of a sense of personality for the characters more an overall theme. That said it did create quite a vivid picture of what life was like. The stories were mostly tragic, death and seperated lovers were common themes. There was a nice blending of traditional and modern culture. It was sometimes hard to tell exactly when the stories were set as the mixture of old ways (like foot binding) got mixed in with the modern (like tower blocks). I must admit I prefer older Chinese stories but I did end up enjoying these more than I thought I would.

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories in Unfilled Graves were surprising, and at times challenging for someone who has no knowledge of Chinese literature, and almost no idea of Chinese culture. However I feel that the rare confusion inspired by some of these stories came from within myself, and in no way reflects on the quality of the excellent story-telling or the translations. Full review here.