China Studies Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Yu Hua

2016-06-05T08:11:04Z

Jackie:

This is an interesting paper. I enjoyed knowing more up-close in his personality, nice content.[[User:Reddragon|Reddragon]] 07:20, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Elaborated paper, used several sources. Shows some interesting aspects of Yu Hua's life. Maybe you could indicate the sources more frequently, at least at the end of each paragraph and not only at the end of each chapter. [[User:Root|Root]] 21:10, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
I'm curious as to his political standing or how his writings were accepted. It looks good though.[[User:Pips|Pips]] 22:25, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

This is a nice paper. By reading this, I learned a lot more about Yu Hua. He is a great writer and I want him to be my idol. I like his calm and indifferent writing style. He just uses this kind of narrative style to show a lot more to us. We can see his deep feeling and love hidden in his words. It is a shock to our deep heart. (by Jackie from BNU,2016)

Modern Chinese Literature

2016-06-05T08:04:48Z

Jackie: /* Master narrators Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Jia Pingwa, Wang Shuo */

= Emergence of modern Chinese literature =

= Historical and cultural background late Qing =
* Genre development in China, scholars as authors, Mandarin & Butterfly School
* Cao Xueqin, The Story of the Stone, also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, 1791, transl. David Hawkes, John Minford

= Encounter with the West, Westernization =
* [[Wu Jianren]]--[[User:Sunflowertide|Sunflowertide]] ([[User talk:Sunflowertide|talk]]) 10:49, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
** New Story of the Stone, utopian novel
* Liang Qichao, Accounts of the future of new China, utopian fragment
* Secondary Literature:
** Wang, David Derwei. Fin-de-siecle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1997.
** Wang, David Derwei. “Translating Modernity.” Pollard, David E., ed. Translation and Creation: Readings of Western Literature in Early Modern China, 1840–1918. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1998. 303-330.
** Wang Dun (王敦). “The Late Qing’s Other Utopias: China’s Science-Fictional Imagination, 1900-1910”, in: Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies 34.2, September 2008: 37-61
** John Fitzgerald, The Unfinished History of China's Future, in: Thesis Eleven 1999 57:17, here pp. 21-23, http://the.sagepub.com/content/57/1/17

= May Fourth iconoclasm - Historical and cultural background May Fourth =
* Liang Qichao, Foreword to the Publication of Political Novels in Translation, Denton 71-73
* Hu Shi, Some modest proposals for the Reform of Literature, D1996:123-139

= The role of translations and translators =
* Yan Fu
* Lin Shu
* the earliest translations [unpublished ppt presentation_woesler.pptx, paper: woesler_early_translations_of_german_literature_into_chinese_final.doc, paper]
* the selection process and intention of translations

= Discovery of the alienated Self – World Literature =
* McDougall and Louie, 1-185; focus on pages 1-30
* [[Lu Xun (1881-1936)]] Beween activism and self-doubt - the development of Lu Xun [[User:Maranda|Maranda]] 21:14, 11 September 2012 (UTC) and 21:45, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
** Lu Xun: Preface to the first collection of Short Stories "Call to arms" 1922 (LG:3-7), A Madman's Diary 1918 (LG:8-16), Kong Yiji 1919 (LG:17-21)
** Further information: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/courses/c503/mad.htm, http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/courses/c503/kong.htm
** "Hometown" http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/luxun-calltoarms.html#Home [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]

= Living to see the Western literary epochs in Chinese time lapse. The Literary societies and May Fourth Romanticism =
* Required reading: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/publications/research/soc.htm
* Further reading: Literary Societies of Republican China. Edited by KIRK A. DENTON and MICHEL HOCKX. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2008. ix, 591 pp.
* Crescent Moon
* Creation Society
* Yu Dafu, "Sinking" 1921 [31-55], Xu Zhimo's poems 1925-1930 [499-501]
* [[Guo Moruo (1892 -1978)]] [[User:DavidSmith|DavidSmith]] 21:40, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
** Guo Moruo: “The hound of heaven” 1920

= Literature of the 1930s =
*[[Qian Zhongshu (1910 – 1998)]] [[User:Ericaangie]] 13:19, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
** Self-selected excerpts from Qian Zhongshu, [[Fortress besieged]] --[[User:Sunflowertide|Sunflowertide]] ([[User talk:Sunflowertide|talk]]) 10:36, 1 June 2016 (UTC) 1947

= Women writers =
* Literature of the Megacities - The inner life of Shanghainese women writers with a focus on Zhang Ailing
* [[Zhang Ailing(1920-1995)]] -- [[User:Mark]] 15:15, 25 May 2016 (UTC)
* [[Ling Shuhua (1900-1990)]] [[User:Mattstrock|Mattstrock]] 21:22, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
* Ling Shuhua, "The Night of Mid-Autumn Festival" [95-102];
*[[ Xiao Hong (1911-1942)]] [[User:PhilipHarding|PhilipHarding]] 03:04, 9 October 2012 (UTC)
* Xiao Hong, "Hands" [161-73]; "On the Oxcart" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]
* [[Zhang Jie (born 1937)]][[User:Ericaangie|Ericaangie]] 18:18, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

= The fall: Authors yoke their literature for a deceiving ideology. Lu Xun’s proud ox bows his head not only for children, but now also for party action =
* Lu Xun’s ambiguous attitude towards taking physical action, towards the impact of literature on society and towards serving an ideology with literature.
* Mao's claim of Lu Xun

= The socialist era, Yan'an Literature and Rectification =
* Mao Zedong, Poems, Talks in Yan'an: Literature and Art for the Masses and the Use of Traditional Forms, 1938, D1996:433-435
* Ding Ling, "When I Was in Hsia Village" [132-46]
* Mao Dun and "Spring Silkworms" [56-73]

= Authors in transition: From Revolutionary Romanticism to Reform Literature =
* [[Wang Meng]] by Maranda 21:45, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
* Wang Meng, Long Live [the] Youth!
* Wang Meng, Hard Porridge, trans. by Chen Zishan
* [[Ba Jin]] [[User:PhilipHarding|PhilipHarding]] 21:43, 4 December 2012 (UTC): Family and the self-censorship in the later edition

= On different paths: Bing Xin, Zhang Jie =
* [[Bing Xin]]
* Zhang Jie: Heavy Wings
* [[Zhang Jie: Kid From The Forest]]

= Chinese Modernism and the Aesthetic =
* McDougall and Louie, 189-321; focus on pages 189-207
* Shi Zhicun, "One Evening in the Rainy Season" [115-24]
* Regional literature
* Shen Congwen, "Xiaoxiao" [82-94]
* "Meijin, Baozi, and the White Kid" [in China: A Traveler's Liteary Companion]

= Post-Revolutionary Literature; Cultural Revolution =
* "Red Detachment of Women" [Film Viewing]

= Post-Mao Literature, Scars and realism, Roots literature =
* McDougall and Louie, 325-448; focus on pages 325-44
* Liu Heng, "Dogshit Food" [366-78]; scars literature
* Yan Lianke, "Black Bristle, White Bristles" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]
* [[The Scar Literature After "the Cultural Revolution"]]
** Lu Xinhua, Scar

= Master narrators Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Jia Pingwa, Wang Shuo =
* [[Mo Yan]] 莫言 by Corinne B.
: His story: "Old Gun" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion], novel 生死疲勞 "Life and Death are Wearing me out"
* [[Yu Hua]], "Brothers" by David 06:48, 5 December 2012 (UTC) by Jackie(BNU)2016
* Jia Pingwa
* Wang Shuo

= Contemporary Women authors =
* Bi Shumin (毕淑敏), 女儿拳 Women’s boxing, 女心理师 The female psychologist

= Avant-garde literature and post-socialist present =
“Avant-garde” means something fashion forward、radically、and rebellious. Avant-garde should be a dynamic and historical being . Any work which is pioneering、experimental and prospective should be called “Avant-garde” literature.
The most widely agreed about Avant-garde refers to that, about 1985, a group of writers who have clear innovation on form and show a strong attention on narrative . Apart from 苏童 and 余华,there are 马原、洪峰、叶兆言 and so on.
* Su Tong, "Escape" [445-54];
* Yu Hua, "On the Road at Eighteen" [439-44]
** modern Chinese literary life, such as publishing in journals and newspaper supplements, working within literary societies or associations, and dealing with censorship
* Gu Cheng, Mang Ke, Bei Dao: Poets of the Obscure School since the 1980s

= Taiwan literature =
* Zhang Dachun, "Lucky Worries About His Country" (403-416)
* Zhu Tianwen, "Fin de Siècle Splendor" [388-402]

= Longing for something literature I: Historicizing, II: Tibet Exotism =
* Yu Dan 于丹, 《论语》心得 Confucius in your heart, Yi Zhongtian (易中天)
* Alai

= Megacity Literature II - Peking and Vagabound Literature =
* Xu Zechen (徐则臣), 跑步穿过中关村 Peking double quick
* Liu Zhenyun (刘震云), 我叫刘跃 The pickpockets

= Between cult and celebrity =
* Cult author Guo Jingming
** Book series "Bestseller"
** Guo Jingming (郭敬明), 悲伤逆流成河 Cry me a sad river
* Cult author Mian Mian
** Mian Mian (棉棉), 声名狼籍 Panda Sex

= Critical surrealist Han Han, young authors =
* [[Han Han]] by Matt S.
:Triple door
:His Land

= Blog, Web and Fan literature =
* Blogs (blog literature?), from web to paper literature
* Ai Weiwei, Han Han, Annie Baobei

= Fan literature =
* Web literature portal qidian.com

Yu Hua

2016-06-05T07:59:38Z

Jackie: /* Childhood */

[[File:Yu_hua.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]]]

== Childhood ==
Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. [[File:753px-Zhejiang_in_China.png|200px|thumb|right| Birth Place [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhejiang_in_China_(%2Ball_claims_hatched).svg]]]]

Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu, went to school and was raised during the cultural revolution. China from 1966 - 1976 suffered a cultural and social-political movement that took place removing anyone opposed to the communist party. This revolution allowed children to take power, controlling and killing as they pleased. Yu Hua reflects back on the red guard and the shame inflicted on their families and their country even mentioning them in several of his novels. Yu Hua briefly mentions that the first twenty years of his live were spent in a impoverish state but the next twenty were lavishly spent. Yu grew up in and around a hospital where his parents were both doctors. Under the direction of his parents and government he studied to be a dentist.

Yu said this of dentistry in a interview with Michael Standaert, "I had been working as a dentist for five years, but I didn’t like the job because I was looking into people’s mouths the whole day. The mouth offers the worst scenic view in the world. I was still young and I wanted to see other more interesting things." (Michael Standaert).

The only other event that Yu Hua mentions of his childhood was the comical school experience relating to the death of Mao Zedong. Yu at the age of sixteen had been lead out of the school with thousands of other students for an announcement. Mao Zedong had died that morning, "everyone burst into tears. I started crying, too, but one person crying is a sad sight; more than a thousand people crying together, the sound echoing, turns into a funny spectacle, so I began to laugh. My body shook with my effort to control my laughter while I bent over the chair in front of me. The class leader later told me, admiringly, ‘Yu Hua, you were crying so fervently!’” (Pankaj Mishra).

He experienced THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION in his childhood. This experience influenced him a lot in his whole life. And we can see a lot in his book about this experience of Cultural Revolution.(Jackie)

== Motivations ==

Yu Hua loves to laugh and during his time as a dentist he found it hard being himself. The lifestyle of a dentist was non-creative and boring. He hated the long hours and poor government allotted pay. Yu had watched the people at the cultural center as they seemingly wandered about the streets the whole day. Yu eventually asked why they weren't working and one man responded that he was, his job was to wander the streets. Yu Hua told himself that was the job for him. After writing some worthwhile articles he was able to make the transition. Securing a job working at the local cultural center. He said this of the new position, "I was still a poor bastard, but a poor bastard in the cultural center who had every minute to himself. I slept until noon nearly every day. Then I would spend my time wandering about in the streets. If there were absolutely no people left to play with me, I’d go home and write."

Yu was asked once what fueled his desires to write? What fueled his desires? His response was that he began writing because he wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted to do. He then mentioned that he would always have to write to express himself.

The change gave Yu the freedom to spend his day being social and seeing china from a view other then his dental office. Yu began to express himself though his writing.

Another of Yu's motivations was money. Growing up with two parents as doctors you would assume that he was wealthy, but that was not the case. The typical american doctor currently makes around 200,000 where a Chinese doctor on fixed wages by the government makes roughly 42,000. These numbers are not the same as twenty five years ago but you get the idea. Pay then for Yu's parents wasn't that spectacular.

As an experienced author, Yu dreams of those moments where he's writing and there's no distinguishable line between himself being the author or the reader. He enjoys the fluidity of listing to his inner voice and and being able to write what he feels and hears.

== Writing Styles ==

Yu started a movement in china the french named "Avant-garde". Avant-garde stretches the boundaries of the Chinese government and the social norms of china's current cultural realm. This writing is what Yu became famous for. Yu Hua did this type of writing during the 1980's. Through writing about Extremes in the Cultural Revolution and the mass protests in 1989 he attracted a large audience. The Literary tools he used best were his vivid first-hand observations, and his graphic detail especially during his depictions of the violent scenes. Yu Hua has also been complemented in his writing for how he conveys a rich and complex view of China. The simplicity is something westerners have been waiting for some time. His writing enables westerners to obtain a deeper understanding of the modern and rich culture of china.

Yu switched to realism and melodrama in 1992 in his novel “To Live.” This atrocity-rich tale of a peasant whose son dies after a blood transfusion to save a party official. This sensationally dramatic piece exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions of Yu's audience.

Yu in his later years begins to change from his radical writing style "Avant-garde" to a more traditional style. After 1995, when he finished To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, he started writing in a plain and less elaborate style. Yu's transition is explained as himself listening and following his audiences needs. Yu also states that he started to hear the voice of his characters. "I began to dissolve into my writing, to become the characters in my work. This is a truly wonderful feeling." (Michael Standaert)

There are five narrative characteristics of Yu Hua.
The first one is the CALM NARRATIVE ATTITUDE. He is look for a kind of "selfless" way of narration, in the process of narration ,he tried to avoid direct narrative as soon as possible, in the contrary, he tried to use the dark sky to show the sun. He is just like a glassy-eyed bystanders standing in the scene of the violence and avoids subject emotion. He just use a easy way to narrate important event. Just like his novel <to live>, when narrating the family of seven died one by one, he used a calm and indifferent attitude ,as if the story is far from himself. We can see no emotional attitude in the book. It is because He is influenced by "Western Modernism" that he formed this kind of narrative characteristic.
The second one is the COMMON NARRATIVE TOPIC AND THEME. There are four common topics in his novels.The first one is THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. His novels, like <to live> and <chronicle of a blood merchant>,are about the cultural revolution. We can see there are plots about "large steel making movement", interrogates and parade. These are all the elements of the cultural revolution. Besides, SUFFERING is another common topic of Yu. Most main character in his works are all "misery ridden". For example, the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's experience is typical. DEATH AND VIOLENCE is another common theme in Yu's books. In the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's family died one by one. And in <brothers> Song Fanning's being abused before his death. These are all about death and violence. STARVATION(SEX AND FOOD) is also the main topic of Yu. In the novel <to live>, Ku Gen eats beans as if he can never be full. He stoked to death at last. There is another plot about food starvation in <to live> that is everyone fight for sweet potato. In the book <brothers>, Li Guangtou "peep at other people's bottom". This is an vivid example about sex starvation.
The third one is REPEATED NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND THE COMMON NARRATIVE STYLE.In <brothers>, Li Guangtou peeps at women's bottom and use it change for noodles. In <to live>, the death of Fu Gui's family members. In <chronicle of a blood merchant>,Xu Sanguan sold his blood seven times before and after. These are all plots repeated. Besides, language also appears in his works. Another one is the common narrative style. The protagonists in his novels are mostly live in the bottom. Therefore, Yu uses a folk narrative perspective . The people in his pen are all this kind of people, just lie Fu Gui and Xu Sanguine. Yu Hua's success in overseas are also connected with his folk feelings and civil position.
The forth one is DIVERSIFIED NARRATIVE LANGUAGE. Yu Hua's unique style of writing is also influenced by west. There are long sentences of Europeanization, full of fancy symbolism and metaphor. It is just like the translation of the western language. Also, we can see a concise straightforward language dialogue. these are developed by small figure from a village or town.
The last one is MEMORIES NARRATIVE AND THE SHIFT OF NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Yu's book <to live> just used memories narration. The structure of the book is organized by 'I' and Fu Gui's interview. 'I' listen to Fu Gui memorizing the past and promote the narrative process. There is two different levels in the book: the narrator "I" and the experience of Fu Gui. Yu Hua here practiced this unique narrative perspective.
（Jackie）

== Legacy ==

*"Brothers," published in two parts in China, in 2005 and 2006, sold millions of copies and helped cement Yu's place as one of the country's few homegrown literary stars.

*Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.

* Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002).

* A film was made of "To Live" by China’s most prominent director Zhang Yimou. It won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

==Works==
'''Short Stories'''

* Leaving Home at Eighteen
* The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996)
** Blood and Plum Blossoms
** Classical Love
* World Like Mist: Eight Stories
* China in Ten Words (American Release Date )

'''Novels'''
* To Live (1992)
* Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995)
* Cries in the Drizzle (2003)
* Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005)

== References ==

* [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=5470 A conversation with Yu Hua at UCLA]

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all A profile of Yu Hua in the New York Times Magazine]

== Sources ==

Fish Stone Isaac. "Fish Stone Isaac, Talking About His Generation" News week Magazine, Mar 20, 2009. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/20/talking-about-his-generation.html>

Freudenberger Nell, The Secret Lives of Dentists, " Slate.com, 24 Oct. 2003, <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2003/10/the_secret_lives_of_dentists.html>.

Mishan Ligaya, China as Paper Republic, "The New York Times" 10 Nov. 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/china-in-ten-words-by-yu-huatranslated-by-allan-h-barr-book-review.html?_r=0>.

Mishra Pankaj. "Mishra Pankaj, "The Bonfire of China’s Vanities" The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all&>.

Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>.

Yu Hua

2016-06-05T07:53:41Z

Jackie: /* Writing Styles */

[[File:Yu_hua.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]]]

== Childhood ==
Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. [[File:753px-Zhejiang_in_China.png|200px|thumb|right| Birth Place [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhejiang_in_China_(%2Ball_claims_hatched).svg]]]]

Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu, went to school and was raised during the cultural revolution. China from 1966 - 1976 suffered a cultural and social-political movement that took place removing anyone opposed to the communist party. This revolution allowed children to take power, controlling and killing as they pleased. Yu Hua reflects back on the red guard and the shame inflicted on their families and their country even mentioning them in several of his novels. Yu Hua briefly mentions that the first twenty years of his live were spent in a impoverish state but the next twenty were lavishly spent. Yu grew up in and around a hospital where his parents were both doctors. Under the direction of his parents and government he studied to be a dentist.

Yu said this of dentistry in a interview with Michael Standaert, "I had been working as a dentist for five years, but I didn’t like the job because I was looking into people’s mouths the whole day. The mouth offers the worst scenic view in the world. I was still young and I wanted to see other more interesting things." (Michael Standaert).

The only other event that Yu Hua mentions of his childhood was the comical school experience relating to the death of Mao Zedong. Yu at the age of sixteen had been lead out of the school with thousands of other students for an announcement. Mao Zedong had died that morning, "everyone burst into tears. I started crying, too, but one person crying is a sad sight; more than a thousand people crying together, the sound echoing, turns into a funny spectacle, so I began to laugh. My body shook with my effort to control my laughter while I bent over the chair in front of me. The class leader later told me, admiringly, ‘Yu Hua, you were crying so fervently!’” (Pankaj Mishra).

== Motivations ==

Yu Hua loves to laugh and during his time as a dentist he found it hard being himself. The lifestyle of a dentist was non-creative and boring. He hated the long hours and poor government allotted pay. Yu had watched the people at the cultural center as they seemingly wandered about the streets the whole day. Yu eventually asked why they weren't working and one man responded that he was, his job was to wander the streets. Yu Hua told himself that was the job for him. After writing some worthwhile articles he was able to make the transition. Securing a job working at the local cultural center. He said this of the new position, "I was still a poor bastard, but a poor bastard in the cultural center who had every minute to himself. I slept until noon nearly every day. Then I would spend my time wandering about in the streets. If there were absolutely no people left to play with me, I’d go home and write."

Yu was asked once what fueled his desires to write? What fueled his desires? His response was that he began writing because he wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted to do. He then mentioned that he would always have to write to express himself.

The change gave Yu the freedom to spend his day being social and seeing china from a view other then his dental office. Yu began to express himself though his writing.

Another of Yu's motivations was money. Growing up with two parents as doctors you would assume that he was wealthy, but that was not the case. The typical american doctor currently makes around 200,000 where a Chinese doctor on fixed wages by the government makes roughly 42,000. These numbers are not the same as twenty five years ago but you get the idea. Pay then for Yu's parents wasn't that spectacular.

As an experienced author, Yu dreams of those moments where he's writing and there's no distinguishable line between himself being the author or the reader. He enjoys the fluidity of listing to his inner voice and and being able to write what he feels and hears.

== Writing Styles ==

Yu started a movement in china the french named "Avant-garde". Avant-garde stretches the boundaries of the Chinese government and the social norms of china's current cultural realm. This writing is what Yu became famous for. Yu Hua did this type of writing during the 1980's. Through writing about Extremes in the Cultural Revolution and the mass protests in 1989 he attracted a large audience. The Literary tools he used best were his vivid first-hand observations, and his graphic detail especially during his depictions of the violent scenes. Yu Hua has also been complemented in his writing for how he conveys a rich and complex view of China. The simplicity is something westerners have been waiting for some time. His writing enables westerners to obtain a deeper understanding of the modern and rich culture of china.

Yu switched to realism and melodrama in 1992 in his novel “To Live.” This atrocity-rich tale of a peasant whose son dies after a blood transfusion to save a party official. This sensationally dramatic piece exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions of Yu's audience.

Yu in his later years begins to change from his radical writing style "Avant-garde" to a more traditional style. After 1995, when he finished To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, he started writing in a plain and less elaborate style. Yu's transition is explained as himself listening and following his audiences needs. Yu also states that he started to hear the voice of his characters. "I began to dissolve into my writing, to become the characters in my work. This is a truly wonderful feeling." (Michael Standaert)

There are five narrative characteristics of Yu Hua.
The first one is the CALM NARRATIVE ATTITUDE. He is look for a kind of "selfless" way of narration, in the process of narration ,he tried to avoid direct narrative as soon as possible, in the contrary, he tried to use the dark sky to show the sun. He is just like a glassy-eyed bystanders standing in the scene of the violence and avoids subject emotion. He just use a easy way to narrate important event. Just like his novel <to live>, when narrating the family of seven died one by one, he used a calm and indifferent attitude ,as if the story is far from himself. We can see no emotional attitude in the book. It is because He is influenced by "Western Modernism" that he formed this kind of narrative characteristic.
The second one is the COMMON NARRATIVE TOPIC AND THEME. There are four common topics in his novels.The first one is THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION. His novels, like <to live> and <chronicle of a blood merchant>,are about the cultural revolution. We can see there are plots about "large steel making movement", interrogates and parade. These are all the elements of the cultural revolution. Besides, SUFFERING is another common topic of Yu. Most main character in his works are all "misery ridden". For example, the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's experience is typical. DEATH AND VIOLENCE is another common theme in Yu's books. In the novel <to live>, Fu Gui's family died one by one. And in <brothers> Song Fanning's being abused before his death. These are all about death and violence. STARVATION(SEX AND FOOD) is also the main topic of Yu. In the novel <to live>, Ku Gen eats beans as if he can never be full. He stoked to death at last. There is another plot about food starvation in <to live> that is everyone fight for sweet potato. In the book <brothers>, Li Guangtou "peep at other people's bottom". This is an vivid example about sex starvation.
The third one is REPEATED NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND THE COMMON NARRATIVE STYLE.In <brothers>, Li Guangtou peeps at women's bottom and use it change for noodles. In <to live>, the death of Fu Gui's family members. In <chronicle of a blood merchant>,Xu Sanguan sold his blood seven times before and after. These are all plots repeated. Besides, language also appears in his works. Another one is the common narrative style. The protagonists in his novels are mostly live in the bottom. Therefore, Yu uses a folk narrative perspective . The people in his pen are all this kind of people, just lie Fu Gui and Xu Sanguine. Yu Hua's success in overseas are also connected with his folk feelings and civil position.
The forth one is DIVERSIFIED NARRATIVE LANGUAGE. Yu Hua's unique style of writing is also influenced by west. There are long sentences of Europeanization, full of fancy symbolism and metaphor. It is just like the translation of the western language. Also, we can see a concise straightforward language dialogue. these are developed by small figure from a village or town.
The last one is MEMORIES NARRATIVE AND THE SHIFT OF NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Yu's book <to live> just used memories narration. The structure of the book is organized by 'I' and Fu Gui's interview. 'I' listen to Fu Gui memorizing the past and promote the narrative process. There is two different levels in the book: the narrator "I" and the experience of Fu Gui. Yu Hua here practiced this unique narrative perspective.
（Jackie）

== Legacy ==

*"Brothers," published in two parts in China, in 2005 and 2006, sold millions of copies and helped cement Yu's place as one of the country's few homegrown literary stars.

*Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.

* Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002).

* A film was made of "To Live" by China’s most prominent director Zhang Yimou. It won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

==Works==
'''Short Stories'''

* Leaving Home at Eighteen
* The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996)
** Blood and Plum Blossoms
** Classical Love
* World Like Mist: Eight Stories
* China in Ten Words (American Release Date )

'''Novels'''
* To Live (1992)
* Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995)
* Cries in the Drizzle (2003)
* Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005)

== References ==

* [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=5470 A conversation with Yu Hua at UCLA]

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all A profile of Yu Hua in the New York Times Magazine]

== Sources ==

Fish Stone Isaac. "Fish Stone Isaac, Talking About His Generation" News week Magazine, Mar 20, 2009. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/20/talking-about-his-generation.html>

Freudenberger Nell, The Secret Lives of Dentists, " Slate.com, 24 Oct. 2003, <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2003/10/the_secret_lives_of_dentists.html>.

Mishan Ligaya, China as Paper Republic, "The New York Times" 10 Nov. 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/china-in-ten-words-by-yu-huatranslated-by-allan-h-barr-book-review.html?_r=0>.

Mishra Pankaj. "Mishra Pankaj, "The Bonfire of China’s Vanities" The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all&>.

Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>.

Modern Chinese Literature

2016-06-05T06:22:42Z

Jackie: /* Master narrators Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Jia Pingwa, Wang Shuo */

= Emergence of modern Chinese literature =

= Historical and cultural background late Qing =
* Genre development in China, scholars as authors, Mandarin & Butterfly School
* Cao Xueqin, The Story of the Stone, also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, 1791, transl. David Hawkes, John Minford

= Encounter with the West, Westernization =
* [[Wu Jianren]]--[[User:Sunflowertide|Sunflowertide]] ([[User talk:Sunflowertide|talk]]) 10:49, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
** New Story of the Stone, utopian novel
* Liang Qichao, Accounts of the future of new China, utopian fragment
* Secondary Literature:
** Wang, David Derwei. Fin-de-siecle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1997.
** Wang, David Derwei. “Translating Modernity.” Pollard, David E., ed. Translation and Creation: Readings of Western Literature in Early Modern China, 1840–1918. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1998. 303-330.
** Wang Dun (王敦). “The Late Qing’s Other Utopias: China’s Science-Fictional Imagination, 1900-1910”, in: Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies 34.2, September 2008: 37-61
** John Fitzgerald, The Unfinished History of China's Future, in: Thesis Eleven 1999 57:17, here pp. 21-23, http://the.sagepub.com/content/57/1/17

= May Fourth iconoclasm - Historical and cultural background May Fourth =
* Liang Qichao, Foreword to the Publication of Political Novels in Translation, Denton 71-73
* Hu Shi, Some modest proposals for the Reform of Literature, D1996:123-139

= The role of translations and translators =
* Yan Fu
* Lin Shu
* the earliest translations [unpublished ppt presentation_woesler.pptx, paper: woesler_early_translations_of_german_literature_into_chinese_final.doc, paper]
* the selection process and intention of translations

= Discovery of the alienated Self – World Literature =
* McDougall and Louie, 1-185; focus on pages 1-30
* [[Lu Xun (1881-1936)]] Beween activism and self-doubt - the development of Lu Xun [[User:Maranda|Maranda]] 21:14, 11 September 2012 (UTC) and 21:45, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
** Lu Xun: Preface to the first collection of Short Stories "Call to arms" 1922 (LG:3-7), A Madman's Diary 1918 (LG:8-16), Kong Yiji 1919 (LG:17-21)
** Further information: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/courses/c503/mad.htm, http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/courses/c503/kong.htm
** "Hometown" http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/luxun-calltoarms.html#Home [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]

= Living to see the Western literary epochs in Chinese time lapse. The Literary societies and May Fourth Romanticism =
* Required reading: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/denton2/publications/research/soc.htm
* Further reading: Literary Societies of Republican China. Edited by KIRK A. DENTON and MICHEL HOCKX. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2008. ix, 591 pp.
* Crescent Moon
* Creation Society
* Yu Dafu, "Sinking" 1921 [31-55], Xu Zhimo's poems 1925-1930 [499-501]
* [[Guo Moruo (1892 -1978)]] [[User:DavidSmith|DavidSmith]] 21:40, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
** Guo Moruo: “The hound of heaven” 1920

= Literature of the 1930s =
*[[Qian Zhongshu (1910 – 1998)]] [[User:Ericaangie]] 13:19, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
** Self-selected excerpts from Qian Zhongshu, [[Fortress besieged]] --[[User:Sunflowertide|Sunflowertide]] ([[User talk:Sunflowertide|talk]]) 10:36, 1 June 2016 (UTC) 1947

= Women writers =
* Literature of the Megacities - The inner life of Shanghainese women writers with a focus on Zhang Ailing
* [[Zhang Ailing(1920-1995)]] -- [[User:Mark]] 15:15, 25 May 2016 (UTC)
* [[Ling Shuhua (1900-1990)]] [[User:Mattstrock|Mattstrock]] 21:22, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
* Ling Shuhua, "The Night of Mid-Autumn Festival" [95-102];
*[[ Xiao Hong (1911-1942)]] [[User:PhilipHarding|PhilipHarding]] 03:04, 9 October 2012 (UTC)
* Xiao Hong, "Hands" [161-73]; "On the Oxcart" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]
* [[Zhang Jie (born 1937)]][[User:Ericaangie|Ericaangie]] 18:18, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

= The fall: Authors yoke their literature for a deceiving ideology. Lu Xun’s proud ox bows his head not only for children, but now also for party action =
* Lu Xun’s ambiguous attitude towards taking physical action, towards the impact of literature on society and towards serving an ideology with literature.
* Mao's claim of Lu Xun

= The socialist era, Yan'an Literature and Rectification =
* Mao Zedong, Poems, Talks in Yan'an: Literature and Art for the Masses and the Use of Traditional Forms, 1938, D1996:433-435
* Ding Ling, "When I Was in Hsia Village" [132-46]
* Mao Dun and "Spring Silkworms" [56-73]

= Authors in transition: From Revolutionary Romanticism to Reform Literature =
* [[Wang Meng]] by Maranda 21:45, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
* Wang Meng, Long Live [the] Youth!
* Wang Meng, Hard Porridge, trans. by Chen Zishan
* [[Ba Jin]] [[User:PhilipHarding|PhilipHarding]] 21:43, 4 December 2012 (UTC): Family and the self-censorship in the later edition

= On different paths: Bing Xin, Zhang Jie =
* [[Bing Xin]]
* Zhang Jie: Heavy Wings
* [[Zhang Jie: Kid From The Forest]]

= Chinese Modernism and the Aesthetic =
* McDougall and Louie, 189-321; focus on pages 189-207
* Shi Zhicun, "One Evening in the Rainy Season" [115-24]
* Regional literature
* Shen Congwen, "Xiaoxiao" [82-94]
* "Meijin, Baozi, and the White Kid" [in China: A Traveler's Liteary Companion]

= Post-Revolutionary Literature; Cultural Revolution =
* "Red Detachment of Women" [Film Viewing]

= Post-Mao Literature, Scars and realism, Roots literature =
* McDougall and Louie, 325-448; focus on pages 325-44
* Liu Heng, "Dogshit Food" [366-78]; scars literature
* Yan Lianke, "Black Bristle, White Bristles" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion]
* [[The Scar Literature After "the Cultural Revolution"]]
** Lu Xinhua, Scar

= Master narrators Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Jia Pingwa, Wang Shuo =
* [[Mo Yan]] 莫言 by Corinne B.
: His story: "Old Gun" [in China: A Traveler's Literary Companion], novel 生死疲勞 "Life and Death are Wearing me out"
* [[Yu Hua]], "Brothers" by David 06:48, 5 December 2012 (UTC) by Jackie 2016
* Jia Pingwa
* Wang Shuo

= Contemporary Women authors =
* Bi Shumin (毕淑敏), 女儿拳 Women’s boxing, 女心理师 The female psychologist

= Avant-garde literature and post-socialist present =
“Avant-garde” means something fashion forward、radically、and rebellious. Avant-garde should be a dynamic and historical being . Any work which is pioneering、experimental and prospective should be called “Avant-garde” literature.
The most widely agreed about Avant-garde refers to that, about 1985, a group of writers who have clear innovation on form and show a strong attention on narrative . Apart from 苏童 and 余华,there are 马原、洪峰、叶兆言 and so on.
* Su Tong, "Escape" [445-54];
* Yu Hua, "On the Road at Eighteen" [439-44]
** modern Chinese literary life, such as publishing in journals and newspaper supplements, working within literary societies or associations, and dealing with censorship
* Gu Cheng, Mang Ke, Bei Dao: Poets of the Obscure School since the 1980s

= Taiwan literature =
* Zhang Dachun, "Lucky Worries About His Country" (403-416)
* Zhu Tianwen, "Fin de Siècle Splendor" [388-402]

= Longing for something literature I: Historicizing, II: Tibet Exotism =
* Yu Dan 于丹, 《论语》心得 Confucius in your heart, Yi Zhongtian (易中天)
* Alai

= Megacity Literature II - Peking and Vagabound Literature =
* Xu Zechen (徐则臣), 跑步穿过中关村 Peking double quick
* Liu Zhenyun (刘震云), 我叫刘跃 The pickpockets

= Between cult and celebrity =
* Cult author Guo Jingming
** Book series "Bestseller"
** Guo Jingming (郭敬明), 悲伤逆流成河 Cry me a sad river
* Cult author Mian Mian
** Mian Mian (棉棉), 声名狼籍 Panda Sex

= Critical surrealist Han Han, young authors =
* [[Han Han]] by Matt S.
:Triple door
:His Land

= Blog, Web and Fan literature =
* Blogs (blog literature?), from web to paper literature
* Ai Weiwei, Han Han, Annie Baobei

= Fan literature =
* Web literature portal qidian.com

Yu Hua

2016-06-05T06:17:05Z

Jackie: /* Writing Styles */

[[File:Yu_hua.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]]]

== Childhood ==
Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China. [[File:753px-Zhejiang_in_China.png|200px|thumb|right| Birth Place [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhejiang_in_China_(%2Ball_claims_hatched).svg]]]]

Yu Hua has very little written of his childhood other then what you can piece together from his novels. Yu, went to school and was raised during the cultural revolution. China from 1966 - 1976 suffered a cultural and social-political movement that took place removing anyone opposed to the communist party. This revolution allowed children to take power, controlling and killing as they pleased. Yu Hua reflects back on the red guard and the shame inflicted on their families and their country even mentioning them in several of his novels. Yu Hua briefly mentions that the first twenty years of his live were spent in a impoverish state but the next twenty were lavishly spent. Yu grew up in and around a hospital where his parents were both doctors. Under the direction of his parents and government he studied to be a dentist.

Yu said this of dentistry in a interview with Michael Standaert, "I had been working as a dentist for five years, but I didn’t like the job because I was looking into people’s mouths the whole day. The mouth offers the worst scenic view in the world. I was still young and I wanted to see other more interesting things." (Michael Standaert).

The only other event that Yu Hua mentions of his childhood was the comical school experience relating to the death of Mao Zedong. Yu at the age of sixteen had been lead out of the school with thousands of other students for an announcement. Mao Zedong had died that morning, "everyone burst into tears. I started crying, too, but one person crying is a sad sight; more than a thousand people crying together, the sound echoing, turns into a funny spectacle, so I began to laugh. My body shook with my effort to control my laughter while I bent over the chair in front of me. The class leader later told me, admiringly, ‘Yu Hua, you were crying so fervently!’” (Pankaj Mishra).

== Motivations ==

Yu Hua loves to laugh and during his time as a dentist he found it hard being himself. The lifestyle of a dentist was non-creative and boring. He hated the long hours and poor government allotted pay. Yu had watched the people at the cultural center as they seemingly wandered about the streets the whole day. Yu eventually asked why they weren't working and one man responded that he was, his job was to wander the streets. Yu Hua told himself that was the job for him. After writing some worthwhile articles he was able to make the transition. Securing a job working at the local cultural center. He said this of the new position, "I was still a poor bastard, but a poor bastard in the cultural center who had every minute to himself. I slept until noon nearly every day. Then I would spend my time wandering about in the streets. If there were absolutely no people left to play with me, I’d go home and write."

Yu was asked once what fueled his desires to write? What fueled his desires? His response was that he began writing because he wanted to be free to do whatever he wanted to do. He then mentioned that he would always have to write to express himself.

The change gave Yu the freedom to spend his day being social and seeing china from a view other then his dental office. Yu began to express himself though his writing.

Another of Yu's motivations was money. Growing up with two parents as doctors you would assume that he was wealthy, but that was not the case. The typical american doctor currently makes around 200,000 where a Chinese doctor on fixed wages by the government makes roughly 42,000. These numbers are not the same as twenty five years ago but you get the idea. Pay then for Yu's parents wasn't that spectacular.

As an experienced author, Yu dreams of those moments where he's writing and there's no distinguishable line between himself being the author or the reader. He enjoys the fluidity of listing to his inner voice and and being able to write what he feels and hears.

== Writing Styles ==

Yu started a movement in china the french named "Avant-garde". Avant-garde stretches the boundaries of the Chinese government and the social norms of china's current cultural realm. This writing is what Yu became famous for. Yu Hua did this type of writing during the 1980's. Through writing about Extremes in the Cultural Revolution and the mass protests in 1989 he attracted a large audience. The Literary tools he used best were his vivid first-hand observations, and his graphic detail especially during his depictions of the violent scenes. Yu Hua has also been complemented in his writing for how he conveys a rich and complex view of China. The simplicity is something westerners have been waiting for some time. His writing enables westerners to obtain a deeper understanding of the modern and rich culture of china.

Yu switched to realism and melodrama in 1992 in his novel “To Live.” This atrocity-rich tale of a peasant whose son dies after a blood transfusion to save a party official. This sensationally dramatic piece exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions of Yu's audience.

Yu in his later years begins to change from his radical writing style "Avant-garde" to a more traditional style. After 1995, when he finished To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, he started writing in a plain and less elaborate style. Yu's transition is explained as himself listening and following his audiences needs. Yu also states that he started to hear the voice of his characters. "I began to dissolve into my writing, to become the characters in my work. This is a truly wonderful feeling." (Michael Standaert)

There are five narrative characteristics of Yu Hua. The first one is the CALM NARRATIVE ATTITUDE. He is look for a kind of "selfless" way of narration, in the process of narration ,he tried to avoid direct narrative as soon as possible, in the contrary, he tried to use the dark sky to show the sun.（Jackie）

== Legacy ==

*"Brothers," published in two parts in China, in 2005 and 2006, sold millions of copies and helped cement Yu's place as one of the country's few homegrown literary stars.

*Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.

* Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002).

* A film was made of "To Live" by China’s most prominent director Zhang Yimou. It won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

==Works==
'''Short Stories'''

* Leaving Home at Eighteen
* The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996)
** Blood and Plum Blossoms
** Classical Love
* World Like Mist: Eight Stories
* China in Ten Words (American Release Date )

'''Novels'''
* To Live (1992)
* Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995)
* Cries in the Drizzle (2003)
* Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005)

== References ==

* [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=5470 A conversation with Yu Hua at UCLA]

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all A profile of Yu Hua in the New York Times Magazine]

== Sources ==

Fish Stone Isaac. "Fish Stone Isaac, Talking About His Generation" News week Magazine, Mar 20, 2009. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/20/talking-about-his-generation.html>

Freudenberger Nell, The Secret Lives of Dentists, " Slate.com, 24 Oct. 2003, <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2003/10/the_secret_lives_of_dentists.html>.

Mishan Ligaya, China as Paper Republic, "The New York Times" 10 Nov. 2011, <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/china-in-ten-words-by-yu-huatranslated-by-allan-h-barr-book-review.html?_r=0>.

Mishra Pankaj. "Mishra Pankaj, "The Bonfire of China’s Vanities" The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25hua-t.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all&>.

Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>.