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游园惊梦
English, Chinese (translation)
410 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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About the author
Pai Hsien-yung
42 books56 followersChinese name: 白先勇
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (Chinese: 白先勇; pinyin: Bái Xiānyǒng; Wade–Giles: Pai Hsien-yung), born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War. Pai's father was the famous Kuomintang (KMT) general Bai Chongxi (Pai Chung-hsi), whom he later described as a "stern, Confucian father" with "some soft spots in his heart." Pai was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven, during which time he would have to live in a separate house from his siblings (of which he would have a total of nine). He lived with his family in Chongqing, Shanghai, and Nanjing before moving to the British-controlled Hong Kong in 1948 as CPC forces turned the tide of the Chinese Civil War. In 1952, Pai and his family resettled in Taiwan, where the KMT had relocated the Republic of China after Japan's defeat in 1945.
(from Wikipedia)
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (Chinese: 白先勇; pinyin: Bái Xiānyǒng; Wade–Giles: Pai Hsien-yung), born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War. Pai's father was the famous Kuomintang (KMT) general Bai Chongxi (Pai Chung-hsi), whom he later described as a "stern, Confucian father" with "some soft spots in his heart." Pai was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven, during which time he would have to live in a separate house from his siblings (of which he would have a total of nine). He lived with his family in Chongqing, Shanghai, and Nanjing before moving to the British-controlled Hong Kong in 1948 as CPC forces turned the tide of the Chinese Civil War. In 1952, Pai and his family resettled in Taiwan, where the KMT had relocated the Republic of China after Japan's defeat in 1945.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 4, 2008
I read this short story collection in Chinese, and it is one of my favorites of all time. it is gritty and evocative, full of past glories and romanticized heartbreaks, no one writes nostalgia like this guy.
October 31, 2014
Wandering in the Garden, Walking in a Dream: Tales of Taipei Characters (Pai Hsien-Yung)
This collection of 14 short stories is a modern classic of Taiwanese Literature. These stories set in the post-war Society of Taipei Taiwan, soon after the end of pre-communism in China during the 60’s. The stories uses vivid, realistic and dream-like language to give snapshots if people of various social identities in Taipei (widows, aviators, war generals, tax-dancers, scholars and noodle-shop owners). Some characters display a nostalgia of their past lives on the mainland which was heroically more golden, glorious and wealthy. Other characters accept mortality willingly, witnessing tragic deaths of people within their lowly circumstances. The stories show accurately the ills and sadness of a post-war culture and the resulting clinging to their “better” past lives. Students’ multicultural conception of the world would expand drastically upon reading these stories of ancient China, having a window into a cultural context (with its practices, beliefs and values) far different from their own. The short and sweet nature of these stories would also keep students engaged. Class lessons could center on Hsien’s use of cultural artifacts—art, food, mahjong and jewelry—to dream backwards into a time of solitary freedom. Students could bring in their own artifacts and link it to their own experienced short stories to parallel the reading.
This collection of 14 short stories is a modern classic of Taiwanese Literature. These stories set in the post-war Society of Taipei Taiwan, soon after the end of pre-communism in China during the 60’s. The stories uses vivid, realistic and dream-like language to give snapshots if people of various social identities in Taipei (widows, aviators, war generals, tax-dancers, scholars and noodle-shop owners). Some characters display a nostalgia of their past lives on the mainland which was heroically more golden, glorious and wealthy. Other characters accept mortality willingly, witnessing tragic deaths of people within their lowly circumstances. The stories show accurately the ills and sadness of a post-war culture and the resulting clinging to their “better” past lives. Students’ multicultural conception of the world would expand drastically upon reading these stories of ancient China, having a window into a cultural context (with its practices, beliefs and values) far different from their own. The short and sweet nature of these stories would also keep students engaged. Class lessons could center on Hsien’s use of cultural artifacts—art, food, mahjong and jewelry—to dream backwards into a time of solitary freedom. Students could bring in their own artifacts and link it to their own experienced short stories to parallel the reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews