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Joy of Life
Joy of Life or Qing Yu Nian (庆余年), is a Chinese web novel written by Mao Ni (猫腻). The novel was originally published by Tencent Literature's Qidian platform.
That lonesome night as he lays dying in the hospital, fearing of death and desiring the taste of life, his mind became unprecedentedly complex with mixed emotions.
Myasthenia gravis — an incurable disease where one’s muscle slowly degenerated until the day when one can no longer move and only tears may flow.
“Is this… dying?”
When he opened his eyes again, he had crossed over into the body of a two months old infant, right in the middle of an assassination attempt.
He was born as the illegitimate son of a noble. His name was Fan Xian; and with that name came the burden of deep political secrets and the legacy of his mother.
He understood; to survive, he needed unparalleled strength, money and political power.
To a new world with the luxury of a new life, so named; Celebrating the Remaining Life.
That lonesome night as he lays dying in the hospital, fearing of death and desiring the taste of life, his mind became unprecedentedly complex with mixed emotions.
Myasthenia gravis — an incurable disease where one’s muscle slowly degenerated until the day when one can no longer move and only tears may flow.
“Is this… dying?”
When he opened his eyes again, he had crossed over into the body of a two months old infant, right in the middle of an assassination attempt.
He was born as the illegitimate son of a noble. His name was Fan Xian; and with that name came the burden of deep political secrets and the legacy of his mother.
He understood; to survive, he needed unparalleled strength, money and political power.
To a new world with the luxury of a new life, so named; Celebrating the Remaining Life.
333 pages, ebook
First published October 14, 2008
80 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
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August 16, 2023Ai ai yet another gazillion page book I had to read because the show (Joy of Life S1) ended on a cliffhanger. The show diverges from the book in important ways so they are not truly comparable. I like the show better than the book, and am glad they aged up the characters. But am happy I now know how it all ends.
July 8, 2021
This is an interesting, if somewhat slow for the genre read. It's nowhere near as good as the authors later work it's still decent but honestly I don't think I'd recommend reading it.
My enjoyment of it was marred by a few factors. While most of the characters had some depth to them the main characters character felt oddly fluid. It seemed to switch at the authors whims and while acting inconsistently is certainly human the inconsistencies in his character felt very artificial at times.
He was, like a lot of the characters, flawed but in fairly unlikeable ways. While it is unfortunately a staple for the genre his sociopathy was off-putting but nowhere near as much as his sexism. A "charming" example of his viewpoint "As Fan Xian saw it, as soon as a woman thought she was powerless to resist, she was already preparing not to resist." He also spends a considerable amount of time thinking of how to get a harem, not because he loves the women but just that he feels he should have lots of women as a testament to his success.
His chauvinism was acknowledged by the third person narrative voice. But unfortunately said narrative voice did the same thing, there's lots of casual sexism in the novel (another problem with the genre) eg. "Fan Xian knew very well that in this world, the scariest ones were children, women, and the insane, because those three groups of people could not be dealt with using logic and could not be rationally analyzed. "
While it isn't there all the time and there are competent female characters it pops up regularly enough to be jarring and the female characters are often very stereotypical. There's also several mentions of pornography, both from the main characters viewpoint and from the authorial voice that are pretty creepy e.g. the main character talking about he he could woo his fiance using tricks garnered from watching pornography (unless Chinese pornography is very very different there's very little "wooing" involved)
That's without getting into the inherent creepiness of all reincarnation/isekai romances. He's mentally over 50 and marrying a sixteen or seventeen year old girl and the readers supposed to be cool with that romance (thats not even getting into the familial relationships involved).
The protagonists "harem" is transparent male wish fulfillment. It's a big mark against the novel in my opinion. Actually maybe thats the novels main problem. It has the trappings of maturity but the core feels very juvenile.
The plot can be a bit hit or miss at times. There's a big "twist" about 130 chapters in that feels like it was written purely to shock the reader but just comes across as really (really) stupid. Parts of it were telegraphed before hand but the more, lets say physical parts of the revelation really ruin ones suspension of disbelief. Which is saying something.
Also, and this may just be a difference between the two languages that translation can't account for, the prose often felt vaguely masturbatory as if it was purposefully obtuse to amuse the author. There's also a fair bit of "Chinese culture uber alles!" but thats all in character from the (Chinese) protagonist so it didn't feel particularly grating.
Finally the book perpetuates the dangerous fiction that torture is a useful and valid means of extracting information which I find personally repulsive.
Now all this might seem very negative but there are good bits as well. There's a lot of interesting and engaging world-building and the author does a good job of slowly revealing mysterious elements but without letting the reader feel that they're being purposefully kept in the dark. As mentioned the cast have some depth to them and most of them act based on understandable and human feeling motivations. The main character, apart from the "breaks" mentioned above also behaves in a manner that "makes sense" given his situation and life prior to reincarnation.
Ultimately I'd suggest not wasting your time with this and reading the authors Way of Changes instead.
My enjoyment of it was marred by a few factors. While most of the characters had some depth to them the main characters character felt oddly fluid. It seemed to switch at the authors whims and while acting inconsistently is certainly human the inconsistencies in his character felt very artificial at times.
He was, like a lot of the characters, flawed but in fairly unlikeable ways. While it is unfortunately a staple for the genre his sociopathy was off-putting but nowhere near as much as his sexism. A "charming" example of his viewpoint "As Fan Xian saw it, as soon as a woman thought she was powerless to resist, she was already preparing not to resist." He also spends a considerable amount of time thinking of how to get a harem, not because he loves the women but just that he feels he should have lots of women as a testament to his success.
His chauvinism was acknowledged by the third person narrative voice. But unfortunately said narrative voice did the same thing, there's lots of casual sexism in the novel (another problem with the genre) eg. "Fan Xian knew very well that in this world, the scariest ones were children, women, and the insane, because those three groups of people could not be dealt with using logic and could not be rationally analyzed. "
While it isn't there all the time and there are competent female characters it pops up regularly enough to be jarring and the female characters are often very stereotypical. There's also several mentions of pornography, both from the main characters viewpoint and from the authorial voice that are pretty creepy e.g. the main character talking about he he could woo his fiance using tricks garnered from watching pornography (unless Chinese pornography is very very different there's very little "wooing" involved)
That's without getting into the inherent creepiness of all reincarnation/isekai romances. He's mentally over 50 and marrying a sixteen or seventeen year old girl and the readers supposed to be cool with that romance (thats not even getting into the familial relationships involved).
The protagonists "harem" is transparent male wish fulfillment. It's a big mark against the novel in my opinion. Actually maybe thats the novels main problem. It has the trappings of maturity but the core feels very juvenile.
The plot can be a bit hit or miss at times. There's a big "twist" about 130 chapters in that feels like it was written purely to shock the reader but just comes across as really (really) stupid. Parts of it were telegraphed before hand but the more, lets say physical parts of the revelation really ruin ones suspension of disbelief. Which is saying something.
Also, and this may just be a difference between the two languages that translation can't account for, the prose often felt vaguely masturbatory as if it was purposefully obtuse to amuse the author. There's also a fair bit of "Chinese culture uber alles!" but thats all in character from the (Chinese) protagonist so it didn't feel particularly grating.
Finally the book perpetuates the dangerous fiction that torture is a useful and valid means of extracting information which I find personally repulsive.
Now all this might seem very negative but there are good bits as well. There's a lot of interesting and engaging world-building and the author does a good job of slowly revealing mysterious elements but without letting the reader feel that they're being purposefully kept in the dark. As mentioned the cast have some depth to them and most of them act based on understandable and human feeling motivations. The main character, apart from the "breaks" mentioned above also behaves in a manner that "makes sense" given his situation and life prior to reincarnation.
Ultimately I'd suggest not wasting your time with this and reading the authors Way of Changes instead.
July 12, 2022
(The spoiler is at the end)
I saw the tv drama before reading this book. I’m glad this was the order. I liked the drama quite a lot because of acting, not really for the storyline. But, I absolutely love this novel. Of course, books provide much more details that can’t be compressed into tv dramas because of budget and time constraints. The author wrote a novel worth reading. The transmigration, fantasy, and some science fiction and other themes that are typically banned from tv dramas and movies by Chinese sensors remain in the novel.
The characters are well developed. They consider options and make logical decisions before taking action and give the reader the chance to see the in-depth personalities of each major character and many secondary characters. Of course, male characters take the lead. But, female characters are not dumbed down or made passive as seen in many palace novels. They just have a lot less scenes. The main character is the most interesting, as expected, with a wealth of knowledge, but not too overpowered. Reading about his growth and his increasing skills while dealing with the powerful , showing uncertainty and sometimes exhibiting fear was entertaining. This is a page turner and well worth reading.
SPOILER
Best lines describing the character of the MC, Fan Xian (Chapter 356):
“Only now did he think about the fact that Fan Xian was nothing as simple as just a powerful official.
In today’s world, Fan Xian was among those who had the most money. And those in the world who had more money than him definitely did not have his power. Those who had more power than him did not have his skill in martial arts. Those who were better at martial arts were not as shameless as him. Those who were more shameless than him did not have as strong a support. Those who had stronger support had not yet been born.
Give him money, he did not consider it valuable. To want to whittle away his power in the capital, he was not worried. To want to assassinate him, he was not afraid. To want to stain his reputation, he did not care. He would only use a knife to saw off your head to relieve the anger in his heart.
It took decades of hate to form this abnormal existence. “
I saw the tv drama before reading this book. I’m glad this was the order. I liked the drama quite a lot because of acting, not really for the storyline. But, I absolutely love this novel. Of course, books provide much more details that can’t be compressed into tv dramas because of budget and time constraints. The author wrote a novel worth reading. The transmigration, fantasy, and some science fiction and other themes that are typically banned from tv dramas and movies by Chinese sensors remain in the novel.
The characters are well developed. They consider options and make logical decisions before taking action and give the reader the chance to see the in-depth personalities of each major character and many secondary characters. Of course, male characters take the lead. But, female characters are not dumbed down or made passive as seen in many palace novels. They just have a lot less scenes. The main character is the most interesting, as expected, with a wealth of knowledge, but not too overpowered. Reading about his growth and his increasing skills while dealing with the powerful , showing uncertainty and sometimes exhibiting fear was entertaining. This is a page turner and well worth reading.
SPOILER
Best lines describing the character of the MC, Fan Xian (Chapter 356):
“Only now did he think about the fact that Fan Xian was nothing as simple as just a powerful official.
In today’s world, Fan Xian was among those who had the most money. And those in the world who had more money than him definitely did not have his power. Those who had more power than him did not have his skill in martial arts. Those who were better at martial arts were not as shameless as him. Those who were more shameless than him did not have as strong a support. Those who had stronger support had not yet been born.
Give him money, he did not consider it valuable. To want to whittle away his power in the capital, he was not worried. To want to assassinate him, he was not afraid. To want to stain his reputation, he did not care. He would only use a knife to saw off your head to relieve the anger in his heart.
It took decades of hate to form this abnormal existence. “
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2020
我其实觉得，倒数第二部已经把高潮吊得太高了，看到最后一部就有点意兴阑珊。而且范闲这么搞法他的子孙迟早要遭殃的，那连皇帝都要战战兢兢的局势，是只靠他这个人活来维持的，他一死，又是一场灭门之祸
September 13, 2023
Can't open the book to read.whats up?
May 1, 2024
It took me almost two years to complete this. I started reading because I couldn't wait for the next season of the TV show. A number of things are different in the book compared to the show. Having watched the show, I could better imagine the whole story as I read it. It's a slow read .. I love the book, love the characters, the whole world building ..HOWEVER, the time the author spent meandering over unnecessary sub plots could have been spent on exploring more about Uncle Wu Zhu and Ye Qingmei. Like, that was the whole reason why I wanted to finish the book!! The ending was underwhelming. Underwhelming.
October 5, 2022
Just incredible how this book has gained so much success in China. The political intrigues were okay, but the casual misogyny in this book has gone through the roof... A great waste of time.
Please refer to Michael Mc Donnell's beautiful review for more details on why this book was a pain in the a**.
Please refer to Michael Mc Donnell's beautiful review for more details on why this book was a pain in the a**.
June 10, 2024
I read this because the second season of the series is airing. I watched a few episodes of the first season, then decided to read the book and compare it.
It took me four days to finish it.
I actually like the series better because Fan Xian in the book version scared me. But this book is so damn good, I'm seriously pissed I just found out about it now.
It took me four days to finish it.
I actually like the series better because Fan Xian in the book version scared me. But this book is so damn good, I'm seriously pissed I just found out about it now.
July 21, 2024
388 pages my erse, 745 chapters on my copy and long ass chapters. Long breaks needed but really enjoyed it.
October 8, 2019
I was looking for something with less action that was more politically motivated. Unfortunately in this book nothing significant ever happens. If there is something intriguing that pops up, it is only briefly touched on every 20 chapters or so but never resolved. It has become a thoroughly boring read.
I only now realize that the author of this book also wrote Ze Tian Ji. This book is complete garbage in comparison.
Dropped Ch 122
I only now realize that the author of this book also wrote Ze Tian Ji. This book is complete garbage in comparison.
Dropped Ch 122
March 20, 2020
This is a good story -- otherwise, I couldn't have finished a 3.8 million word book. The main character crossed to another time-space point of a parallel universe. His stay there was adventurous. But in the end, it was a story about human struggle -- love, hatred, remorse, and indifference. While the book is certainly entertaining, it is expectedly verbose and the storyline pursues suspense somewhat unnecessarily.
May 25, 2020
Awesome story telling, grand plotting, brain stimulating politicking. Should read the whole set of 7 books which is a massive task. (5 million Chinese characters for the total 7 volumes) Best fiction (not counting children /teenagers ones such as Harry Potter) I've read in the last decade.
August 21, 2020
前部寫得好，內容緊湊，後部太多文字描途打斗
October 17, 2020
杀时间还���。
October 26, 2020
Mao Ni's work has set the bar so high that it makes reading other wuxia/xianxia novels trash.
July 9, 2021
如果老天给你第二次机会让你有另一个人生，并且给你前世的记忆和经验，你会怎么做？这就是范闲时时刻刻面对的问题。而他的答案就是怎样好好活着，生很多孩子，并且过得悠闲、快乐、简单。整个过程宛如打游戏-升级，增加功力，赚钱，得美女，打BOSS，最终隐居山林过上逍遥自在的生活。
虽然故事情节不是最完满的，小说依然令我放不下，偶尔还想想自己一直求什么。
虽然故事情节不是最完满的，小说依然令我放不下，偶尔还想想自己一直求什么。
January 9, 2021
Absolutely wonderful
March 24, 2021
377.61万字，叙述手法略啰嗦（褒贬两义），多亏找到了不错的听书平台，文字通过声音叙述更为顺畅、生动。故事走向极其意想不到，沙雕，无赖，无耻！有些谜题依然没解开但不影响大走向，不失为本好书。有靠拢文学经典的潜力👍
May 11, 2022
300 hours to complete, can't believe there is one book which would take my so long time, even after read. Far more fantasy than hollywood scripts
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews