Craftsman匠人

by 申赋渔, Shen Fuyu

Craftsman tells the fate stories of the craftsmen and their families in Shencun Village, the author Shen Fuyu's hometown, including gardener, carving artisan, blacksmith and tailor. With these stories, the book presents the local and life changes of a village with tens of thousands of people and recalls the author's lost hometown. The rise and fall of Shencun Village is also the circumstance of the society, which makes people sigh and feel sad.《匠人》讲述了作者申赋渔的家乡——申村中一个个手工艺匠人及其家族的命运故事，有花匠、雕匠、铁匠、裁衣……从这些故事中，展现了一个几万人大村的乡土、生活变迁，追忆了作者失落的故乡。申村的兴亡衰落，既是时代变迁，也是人世间的因缘际遇，令人叹息，深觉悲凉。

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, China, Chinese Literature, Asia, 21st Century

299 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an odd book to read, mostly due to the structure. The chapters each focus around a particular person in the author's village: their trials, triumphs, and tragedies. The stories sometimes follow the people outside of the village, but often they are an intimate portrait of village life mostly in ~1910-1970s China.

I read this book mostly for glimpses into life at that time period, and the book didn't disappoint in that aspect. Little aspects of artisanship come through: how tofu was made, what jobs families had and how they moved between them, how different jobs were treated and seen by the community, etc. There's also a strong sense of place and Chinese culture: there's descriptions of various holidays and how they were celebrated, of the little rituals and cultural beliefs that shaped various decisions and life paths, of how religion and magic intersected with everyday life. It also described how the villagers' lives changed (or didn't) during several rounds of social upheaval and political change. As someone who doesn't know much about that period of Chinese history, it was interesting in itself to hear the ways these policies affected people on the ground.

Even though it is nonfiction, the book has some of the same storytelling elements as fiction. It's very much like sitting on the porch with some of the old fogeys in any small town and listening to their stories of their neighbors' scandals, heroism, and successes, as well as the everyday tragedies and bad luck that plague any group of people. There are interesting characters all the way through, in that way any ordinary person can be interesting. They have their own foibles, petty desires, and, sometimes, grand dreams. Still, there's no real overstory, except a sad recognition of impermanence: as the author mentions in several places, this small village and may soon be no more.

[Elena L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shen Fuyu was born in a small (Shen) village in Southeast China. Years later, now a writer, he returns to his hometown and witnesses the village's transformation in the face of industrialization.

In his hometown, Fuyu felt at ease the most and the villagers felt like "one big family", which they didn't hold grudges and had similar ways of thinking/mutual customs. Fuyu unfolds interlinked true stories of fifteen artisans as their lives interweave over the course of a century - it was interesting to see the way these characters tie together with his family. Through these characters, Fuyu captures how cultural beliefs and rituals shape people's decisions; also the life change in rural China after political turmoil.

From virtuous bull to table manners to lantern-maker, Fuyu evokes his heritage stained with nostalgia - he captures quiet and ordinary slice-of-life, embedded with religion, friendships, the relevance of honoring ancestors and cultural symbols. My complaint is that I wasn't equally interested in the characters and found some quite dull - while some characters weighted more in relevance, others played a smaller role.

Often poignant, often comic, THE ARTISANS (tr. Jeremy Tiang) is a recollection about a disappearing community and its hardships. It is a work of non-fiction that often read like fiction. With unsparing style, this memoir is recommended for readers looking for vanishing voices of people who used to be close.

[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Astra House publishing . All opinions are my own ]

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while. A beautiful book in cover and content. Love the concept of creating a book around a little village and its craftsmen. The unsung heroes and suffering. To them.

[Ken The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite captivating. Author Shen Fuyu provides us glimpses of what it might have been like to live in his ancestral village, starting nearly 100 years ago, to the present. Through this lens, we learn actual stories about the various artisans which helped keep the village surviving amongst societal turmoil over the decades, and through incredible change. Just prior to WWII, nearly all of rural China was existing within a blend of animism, feudalism and Confucianism. From there, throw in over the time a Japanese invasion, Civil War, Mao's Great Leap Forward, and other crises, and it is a wonder that the villagers were able to keep their head about them.

[Kes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet non-fiction book - The author grew up in a Chinese village; everyone has their own story and conflicts. Everyone also has a “job” - carpentry, tofu-making, tailor, etc. Each chapter tells the story of one of these people (the chapter titles are by the job).

I liked the insight into village life - and the hints of culture that go through. There’s fengshui / sorcery for example. There’s the element of (social) reciprocity - people don’t have money, but they feed and help each other in the story. There can be social repercussions for not helping each other too.

I liked the glimpse into village life and how it has faded.

[Sevelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed his writing style. Fascinating that he recalls so much. I thought this yet another book, though, that was ruined by its title. it’s really more a straight memoir of his home town. Some stories are more compelling than others; one expects that. But you have to dig a bit to ferret out the aspects of the narrative focused on ‘artisans.’ That is secondary to much of what he writes. A different title would’ve positioned it better. Book is strongest when focused on a history of how the communists rolled into small towns.

[Grittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to @astrahousebooks for this #gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

CW: suicide

The author takes a good look at the different people in his small Chinese village from the early 1900s to the present day and how each artisan wove the history of Shen village for the last 100 years or so. It seems to be more of a collection of short stories that almost seem fictional, until you realize this is a nonfiction book. There were definitely some that drew you in more than others. It did feel like it was dragging by the end though.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a really unique look at the history of a place that I enjoyed. The little stories focused on one person’s life and career were cool and I liked learning more about Chinese history from the inside perspective of ordinary people rather than a top down one of governments and leaders.

It was just kind of boring at some points and hard to follow. With so many people, I got lost and had trouble connecting the stories. Nothing was long enough to really get invested in the characters.

[Byron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking, haunting, beautiful, memorable and incredibly well crafted collection of stories. Only wish that I could read Shen Fuyu's original manuscript in Chinese, just to be sure I didn't miss a single word. Very moving reader experience this amazing book is from start to finish!

[Noah Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a small village during the times of war in China and social upheaval told through different villagers with certain tasks and how their lives intertwined.

[Smalltown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really slow read but interesting vignettes of rural Chinese life over a long span of time. Chinese government made life miserable and the society was something very unfamiliar. But interesting.

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even if just believable and not necessarily factual stories - these are fascinating to read even if a lot remains unsaid and lacks context that would only be obvious to Chinese people.