莫斯科回來的女人

by Ha Jin, 哈金

哈金：小說的獨特力量，能創造文化中的現實，從文學的意義來說，越是個人的故事也就越普世。

特別收入臺灣繁中版序！顏擇雅專文導讀！

美國國家圖書獎／美國筆會／福克納小說獎得主──哈金最新長篇小說
繼《戰廢品》、《南京安魂曲》後，書寫共產政治互鬥的最大犧牲品；
傑出中國話劇女導演孫維世的悲慘一生

藝術與革命、戀愛與政治的衝突
在國家暴力蹂躪下，揭露黑暗人性的殘酷真相！

孫維世──第一位話劇女導演，將中國話劇表演藝術帶進新境界，為何慘死於文化大革命？中國女性意識的先驅，提倡表演藝術改革、自由，卻為何躲避不了政治權力鬥爭，被兩位女性所害？

《莫斯科回來的女人》是哈金繼《等待》、《自由生活》後又一部深具文學厚度與歷史洞察力的長篇小說，取材自中國話劇導演先鋒孫維世的真實經歷。這不僅是一個女性在革命與藝術夾縫中掙扎的生命敘事，更是一部穿越蘇聯與中國兩地的情感與信仰交織的時代畫像。作者本身是東北人，生於文革時代。他用犀利而獨到的眼光，講述了孫維世的非凡卻又悲慘的人生，故事敘述富有洞見與力量，震撼人心。透過這位傳奇女性，更了解中國共產黨歷史的壯闊與多元面貌。

這部小說以孫維世的留蘇經歷為起點，追蹤她從延安到北京，從舞臺到牢獄，從理想主義的信仰者到體制背後的犧牲者的一生。

哈金在本書中再次展現以小說揭示歷史真相的非凡能力。他巧妙融合真實與虛構，借助細膩的人物刻畫和豐富的歷史語境，描繪出一個被理想點燃、又被政治風暴摧毀的知識女性形象。本書不僅展現了一個特殊時代的文化與政治張力，也深刻拷問了忠誠、背叛、愛與犧牲的多重意義。

　　本書女主角孫維世作為一名未來可期的年輕演員，在養父周恩來和毛澤東的祝福支持下，做出了前往莫斯科留學的人生決定，前往異國深造。在二次大戰戰火洗禮中，她在蘇聯學到了寶貴的現代戲劇觀，獲得深刻而珍貴的洞見，尤其重視戲中人物的內心表現，回國後脫穎而出，將契訶夫、果戈里帶上中國舞臺，甚至改編導演其他一些表現社會進步的戲，例如《湯姆叔叔的小屋》。

可惜命運多舛，1966年文化大革命爆發，她因與毛澤東第四任妻子江青的舊怨，成為被清算的對象，再次被江青視為眼中釘──兩人在延安時就曾成為舞臺和愛情上的對手。後來江青處心積慮從一名演員一躍而成毛澤東的第四任也是最後一任妻子。從此，孫維世作為中國話劇第一位女導演的輝煌職業生涯戛然而止。

20世紀，伴隨著一系列重大歷史事件，孫維世在友誼、愛情、藝術與政治中探索前行，她的個人奮鬥和成功經歷讓讀者深深著迷。同時，她與另一位同樣複雜的女性之間發生了長達數十年的敵意與較量，她們接近那些手握重權的男性的方式也有所不同。

哈金以這兩個女人數十年的恩怨為軸，細膩刻畫她們對待權力的方式，巧妙地探索了共產主義的理想與中國共產黨的現實。

這是一部寫給中國現代知識分子命運的輓歌，也是一部反思政治與個人關係的悲憫史詩。它既是獻給孫維世的紀念之作，也為所有在烏雲密布中堅持光明的人留下一份文學的見證。

Genres: Historical Fiction, China, Fiction, Literature, Literary Fiction, Asia, 20th Century

608 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2023

About the author

Ha Jin is the pen name of Jin Xuefei, a novelist, poet, short story writer, and Professor of English at Boston University.Ha Jin writes in English about China, a political decision post-Tiananmen Square.

Ha Jin grew up in mainland China and served in the People’s Liberation Army in his teens for five years. After leaving the army, he worked for three years at a railroad company in a remote northeastern city, Jiamusi, and then went to college in Harbin, majoring in English. He has published in English ten novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, a book of essays, and a biography of Li Bai. His novel Waiting won the National Book Award for Fiction, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Ha Jin is William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor in English and Creative Writing at Boston University, and he has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His writing has been translated into more than thirty languages. Ha Jin’s novel The Woman Back from Moscow was published by Other Press in 2023.

Reviews

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating read. The audiobook was absorbing. I loved the choice made by the narrator to read the characters' names with proper Chinese inflections. The book made historic figures come alive and put 20th century China history into a vivid human framework, where I felt enlightened in a different way from straight history/nonfiction, which is committed to being accurate and doesn't allow for speculation. The novel also felt different from fictional representations I've read about this swath of history, too, in that it rendered familiar historic figures with plausible humanity and believable quirks. I'd never imagined, for example, Mao being a 'skirt-chaser,' or Zhou Enlai being a dapper ballroom dancer--but now have no trouble imagining these things. Ha Jin is such a careful writer and his approach was exactly what was needed to breathe life into human beings who have long since become static iconographic statues of themselves in our idea of their place in history.

[Michael Asen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me first say this book is not for everyone. I think I've used that opening before. Ha Jin is one of my handful of writers where I read everything he does. Some I love, some I do not, but all are worth reading.While many of his books, and his most recent few, fall into the category of historical fiction, "The Woman Back from Moscow" is in fact a history lesson of the years leading to WW2 , the war years and then the lead of to the 60s and the cultural revolution. There is a small section at the end, a postscript of sorts, that tidy up China leading to the fall of the Gang of Four. At the center of this is the protagonist, Sun Weishi also known as Sun Yomei. The story explores her rise in the world of Chinese acting and directing , and as part of that her 7 years studying in Russia. But throughout it is a history lesson as well as a book with a splendid cadence, something I find true in most Ha Jin books.
It's long at 700 plus pages, but frankly I couldn't put it down and known of the print seem wasted. There are details that Ha Jin probably ddin't need in the book, perhaps they were supurflous to the story, but that over inclusiveness is part of what makes this a great historical novel. It just works.
Ha Jin is one of the hidden gems of this country and in many ways still of China where he is no longer welcome because of the truthfulness of his writing. I noticed I was the first to review this book on Goodreads.. I am hopeful it will find it's legs and readership. It deserves attention.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seemed written for me since I’m long been obsessed with modern Russian history, and have recently become obsessed with Chinese history as well Ha Jin. This long novel about the real life of a politically connected but brilliant Chinese actress and director did not disappoint. One of the things I love about Ha Jin is that many of novels and non fiction works examine one of the many aesthetic traditions in China. This book examines the importation and adaption of Russian theatrical traditions to post revolutionary China. His excellent biography of Li Bai looks at Tang Dynasty poetry. And though a satire of local Communist politics and factory life, Ha Jin’s first novel, In the Pond, makes his protagonist an accomplished calligrapher. Even characters in a short story collection, Under the Red Flag, maintain some connection to the arts, including photography. I guess the thing I love about this running theme of aesthetics is that Ha Jin is able to use the almost inevitable tension between artistic expression and political power to illuminate the struggles of men and women to maintain some form of individuality in any and all situations, including the brutal Cultural Revolution.

[Hans Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Tragedy That Gives Deep Insights In China Under Mao
It's a terribly sad story about a young woman who was adopted and betrayed by Premiere Zhou Enlai, raped by Chairman Mao and brutally murdered by his wife Jiang Qing. The author Ha Jin paints a grim, but true picture of China from the 1940s to the decade after Mao's death. We also get a deep dive into the Stanislavski method as practiced in Moscow and its introduction in China by the tragic heroine of the book, Sun Weishi. My main question is whether the book is a novel or a docudrama. Reading it as a novel, I found it veering into sentimentality, sometimes sounding like a Hallmark movie. Either way, it gives the reader a unique insight into Chinese life and theater during the 20th century.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a captivating and absorbing book! It is a unique look at Communist China and the life of Sun Weishi ( Yomei), China's first female stage director, a talented and caring woman.
Ha Jin does not tell the reader how to feel about the circumstances in the story. Instead he reports with clear, almost dry language. But the detail and care that he put into the story is
stunning. His telling of the political machinations and evolutions taking place in the 1960s and 1970s is quite frightening as we, in America, watch political machinations in our country. Perhaps the saddest and most alarming is the clear example of personal vindictiveness in the political arena. The loss of this talented woman was huge for the art world and the people of China.

[Star Gater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Recorded Books for allowing me to read and review The Woman Back from Moscow In Pursuit of Beauty by Ha Jin on NetGalley.

Narrator: Catherine Ho

Published: 11/28/23

Stars: 3

I cannot give you facts I was only able to follow along in a summary-like way. I feel incomplete. There is a story here, however, by my inability to follow along with the names and places, etc. I missed details thus leaving me uncertain. Sadly, I can only outline the book.

I would recommend if you are able to follow Chinese and Russian names.

The narration was fantastic.

The three stars is a representation of what I was able to take from the book with my shortcomings, not the book itself.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

On page 561:
"She could see that the young man had a refined, poetic sensibility that tended to keep the actors' diction too elevated, so here and there she toned it down a little, explaining to Shao that the actors had to speak naturally."

7 pages earlier writing an 8-year old who just found out she's adopted:
"I can see I'm so lucky. I could've become an abandoned baby. (...) I'm happy to know the truth, Dad and Mom."

Glad to have finished this book and become one of the whopping 84 people to rate it on this website. Consistently interesting but never fully rousing, it is certainly one of the books of all time.

Cool to see that a play is being staged in London soon about the same events.

[Sophia Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and honesty people, do not despise power! By all means, pursue it! And use it for good.

[Charita Ravula · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO LONG. This book was nice. It taught me a lot about the relations between China and the Soviet Union at the time. It was upsetting to see how despite Yomei’s (Weishi’s) attempt to stay out of politics, she was killed as the result of several political figures being upset with her for silly reasons.

[Ros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everyone. Not an easy read too. I picked this up mainly because I was really interested in Sun Weishi's story.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely portrait of a life, as well as a place & time. Communism's such a drag.

[Geourska · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating and highly readable book. The writing is fairly utilitarian - some of the dialogue is very terse - but oddly enough, for a book of this size and topic, I found I couldn't put it down.

[Chuyu Xiong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opinionated adoption of primary sources to portray Sun as simultaneously a universal charmer and an innocuous, occasionally hot-headed, romantic. The resulting narrative, though sympathetic, reads less like a poignant account of a historical figure than yet another attempt to subject a woman’s life to simplification and idealization through male gaze.

[Dirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this novel because I had become interested in the tense, vicious world of leadership of China since Mao Zedong. It follows closely the biography of Sun Weishi who was the daughter of a 1930s communist leader shot by Chiang Kai-shek and became the adopted daughter Zhou Enlai who was by and large second most important in the Communist Party throughout these decades. Thus she was tightly in the small leadership group that survived the Long March. In fact and in the book, as a young teenager she went to Moscow where she became interested in theater, specifically direction by the Stanislavski method. She returned from Moscow and became a leading director and was later a victim of the Cultural Revolution. Maybe the first half of the book is a sort of Central Committee variation on the marriage plot. The position of an attractive and well-connected young woman in this little world of powerful and often unscrupulous men is tense. There are all the usual pressures towards marriage but besides that the Central Committee may decide that some important man needs a good wife and make the decision for them. Although prudent people advise her to grab a politically important man, she marries a fellow stage director. In the rest of the book the pressure is on her to bend art for propaganda, while she wants art to be self-sufficient. She has also acquired the ill-will of some important people. If we have faith in the author’s credibility, he delivers persistently and intensely the tone of vicious, anxious competition. In character, not so much. The portrayal of character is always enmeshed in the question of how other people think of you, which grows steadily less interesting through 736 pages. It is ironic that she preaches the Stanislavsky method, which emphasizes the actor seeking inspiration from their inner self, an irony not explored in the book. In plot not so much. Incidents of the pressure of that world just heap and heap, and I lost interest. In prose not so much. The writing is never stupid or ugly, but in never does anything for the story or the reader.

[Jared Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but ultimately had to set it aside. I suspect I'm probably not the only reader who has struggled to make it through the glacially paced 700 page book. Compounding the problem for me, was that I had a hard time developing a strong attachment or even curiosity about the characters as their stories took shape. One barrier may have been the sheer density of recognizable historical figures—Zhou Enlai, Deng Yingchao, Mao Zedong, Jiang Qing, Otto Braun, Lin Biao, not to mention Sun Weishi (Sun Yomei) herself. The author tries to assure us that "most of the events and details in this novel were factual. . . . Reality is often more fantastic than fiction, so I did my best to remain faithful to Sun Weishi's life story." His evidence is five sources

Yet, some of these depictions do not ring true. Jiang Qing is imagined by Ha Jin in almost cartoonish terms. She is vain, deceitful, and jealous in ways that I have a hunch are ahistorical: what was true of Madam Mao in the 1970s were not necessarily enduring character traits that appeared fully formed in Yan'an decades earlier in the 1930s. Indeed, what we know of Jiang Qing is that she arrived in Yan'an as an earnest, if ambitious, convert to the cause, whose early years were marked more by a desperate need for Mao's validation and intellectual acceptance than by the calculated cruelty she would later manifest. I know less about Lin Biao, but his depiction by Ha Jin too neatly matches the easy retrospective imagining of him as a vapid, insecure stooge. Same, too, with Zhou Enlai, the "perfect" revolutionary, so imperfectly corrupted by his pact with Mao.

For all the pages, none of the characters emerged for me as especially complex or surprising. Ha Jin offered nothing of Anchee Min's unexpectedly sympathetic portraits of Cixi or Jiang Qing. Nor am I convinced he did enough research to be able to stand by the imagined encounters in the book. To me he seems to miss the fundamental tragedy of so many of these leading figures, not of their enduring wickedness, but rather the profound corruption of unchecked power that came with revolutionary triumph.

[R Hock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a historical biography with fictional dialogue of a famous female actor/director within the Chinese Communist Party from the 1930s to the end of the Cultural Wars in the 1960s. It is mostly based on historical documents. The book unveils in a long process the rise and fall of Sun Yomei a young woman revolutionary. Like many great books it is long and detailed in building the main character, so if you are an impatient person this book is not for you. I have read many books about Soviet and Chinese Communism and this is an excellent look a the faults of communism in practice. This book uses character development and inter-relationships with others to reveal the intrinsic failure of communism. It is not a grand condemnation of communism, but rather shows on a personal level the falseness of the communist state as it exists in day-to-day reality, not theory. In short, it shows that the figures at the top of the Chinese Communist Party are motivated by personal power and are incapable of loyalty to friends or relatives. For an excellent review see the New York Review Of Books, December 2023 issue.

[Danica B · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it, fun while I was reading it

Through the life of pioneering stage director, Sun Weishi (1921–1968)—this epic novel immerses us in the multifaceted history of China’s Communist Party.

The storytelling was good, but what really captured me was the history. In some ways, Sun's story was secondary and it really shouldn't have been.  I did however learn so much about the rise of communism and how China was viewed as less than by Russia. It's ironic that China's communist party endures far more intact than the way Russia's history has played out. 

The narrator, Catherine Ho, did a good job, I had no trouble understanding who was saying what, where, when, and with what expression/intension. 

Thank you to RB Media, NetGalley, and author Ha Jin for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The Woman Back from Moscow is out November 28, 2023.

[Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm conflicted about this. The narrative style drove me bonkers for 700+ pages: this happened, then this happened, then this happened, two sentences of introspection, then this happened, then this happened... Ugh, painful. But upon finishing the book, I think it was an important trick to pull the reader in so she, like the characters, has no opportunity to reflect, no means to stop, and can't see how rapidly things are changing until it's too late. Nevertheless, it was hard to bear. It also felt like we were wandering in the desert for the first 500 pages, but the last part moved at a better clip with dynamic characters who proved more thoughtful and reflective than at earlier points in the text.

[Grace Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fictionalized account of the life of a real person in China who was killed by the government during the Cultural Revolution. I would like more info about how Ha Jin came to write this book, why he is interested in her life specifically. The book is very interesting, especially about the relationship between the USSR and China in the 30s- 50s. How the USSR was considered the more advanced country, the "elder brother" in Communism to China. I think this book was written for an American, or English speaking audience? I enjoyed and would recommend this book if you are interested in China or the role of the dramatic arts in propaganda. Still wondering how someone I think of as a novelist came to write this very long and detailed account of Sun Yomei's life.

[Qin Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction about Sun Weishi, a talented play director in China. She was entangled with a few top leaders in Communist China, and ultimately her involvements costed her life. I know the back stories via some essays published before; Ha Jin tried to stay true to the historical facts. He also used a plain steady tone throughout the book. None the less, the story is shocking, disturbing and heart-breaking. The leaders of the modern China gave up their humanity to the crazed revolution concepts. Ultimately, they self-destructed, and took down China, and many innocent lives with them. I hope that history doesn't repeat itself in China in the 21st century. The description of theater and art of acting and directing are fascinating and make the book delightful.

[Eeeps :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it is just a stylistic taste difference, but I struggled with the prose of this novel. The writing seemed very clunky, and the exploration of characters' emotions was seriously hindered by the author telling instead of showing. The dialogue also completely lacked any subtext, taking away any feeling of actual depth to the conversations.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book. I had never heard of Sun Weishi (Yomei) before, and I think this might be the only English language resource about her life (while this is fiction, it is based on the facts of her life). Weishi's life is a fascinating look into WWII and early Communist China. But more importantly, this book counteracts Jiang Ching's attempt to erase Weishi's existence and artistic contributions. Weishi deserves to be remembered.

[Sue G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the audiobook.

Extensively researched biographical novel of Chinese stage director Sun Weishi, and the tyranny of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution. It reads more like a biography than a novel. The narrator lends authenticity as a native speaker in the pronunciation of the Chinese names. The reader comes to admire the integrity of Yo Mei (as Sun Weishi is called in the novel). It is appalling that she and thousands of other citizens were brutally tortured and murdered under the sick whims of a tyrannical political system.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book I've read in the past few years. Such a vivid portrait of an utterly enchanting and eccentric person, I was quickly charmed by the story of Sun WeiShi. It was also fascinating to read more accounts into the personalities of figures such as Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Zhou EnLai, Mao ZeDong, Zhu De, and others, even if the book is ultimately a fictionalized account of true people and events.

10/10 would absolutely recommend to any Sinophile or even a general reader who understands how tragic modern Chinese history could be.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was a long one, but it was worth it to read about a forgotten woman who had so much promise and talent, only to perish at the hands of jealous women with power greed. A well written picture of an often unseen communist China, where those flying too close to the top leaders were merely pawns to a totalitarian regime.

Written more like a biography, I felt like I was reading an accurately historical account rather than a piece of literary fiction.

[Magdalena Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but I’m not sure that I would recommend to just anyone. There were many details that were not important to the story and would have made the book about 300 pages shorter. Language and dialogue was a bit flat. You need patience at the beginning and about page 250 it picked up the pace. I learned a lot and the story is good enough to keep reader hooked but it never truly captured my emotions. Overall good.

[Doug Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sobering reminder of the human losses suffered when a handful of people, political extremists with personal axes to grind, take complete control of a society.

This insanity hit its apex in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the vendettas of Madame Mao.

Unfortunately, unless you have a great interest in dramatic theater, the book is made excessively long by the inclusion of several hundred pages of mind-numbing detail about the theater.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a hard read but by the 300th page I was hooked. I was so sad at the end of the book and angered by the injustices. Sun weishi was fully devoted to her work, family, and friends. The book really shows how she tried to avoid politics but was unwittingly entangled from the very beginning due to her family relationship with the premier.

[Timothy Frasca]

This doorstopper is not something you pick up for literary inventiveness, but the tale (based on the real life of the main character) is gripping. It starts in the Yunan base of the Chinese Communist Party and follows China's history up to the Cultural Revolution. I gather that all the characters are historical figures.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a history re-write more than a fiction. I’d say it’s actually non-fiction: though the dialogues of the people back then are improvised, yet the story itself is so true.

Thanks the author Ha Jin for such a vivid, detailed, emotion entrenched story. For the sake of herstory.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was so interesting, loved the character, but was a bit too dry for my taste. I wouldn’t tell someone NOT to read it to understand the 1900s China/USSR life, especially of someone who is so lovely as Yomei.