Difference between revisions of "Yu Hua"

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[[File:Yu_hua.jpg|400px|thumb|left|Original File [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]Original File]]
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[[File:Yu_hua.jpg|450px|thumb|left|Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival  [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yu_hua.jpg]]]]
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== Childhood ==
 
== Childhood ==
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Ba Jin (巴金), was born as Li Yaotang (李尧棠) on November 25, 1904 in Chengdu, Sichuan.
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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]]]]
  
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Li Yao Tang’s childhood and upbringing is much like his story, “Family”. He lived in a large estate. His parents died when he was young, so most of his upbringing was arranged by his grandfather, who was the domineering head of the house, and it was not until his grandfather’s death that Ba Jin was free to start pursuing his own goals and ambitions.[1]
+
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.  
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When he was sixteen he enrolled in the Chengdu Foreign Language Specialist School with his older brother. There he began to broaden his horizons and started writing in the school’s literary journal, called the Crescent, for which he wrote some free verse poetry. He also joined an anarchist group called  the Equality Society.
 
  
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In the years following his studies in Chengdu, he first moved to Shanghai, and then to Nanjing to study at the Southeast University (东南大学).
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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).  
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While studying in Nanjing he continued to support  the Anarchist movement and actively voiced his opinions in his writing..
 
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His first and foremost reason for leaving home to study was, I believe, not for education, although he did study. I think the primary reason was to get away from his controlling family.
 
  
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In 1927 he found an opportunity to study abroad, which led him to Paris, France . Here he continued his correspondence with the anarchist movement, and branched to international correspondence to others in America. His living circumstances and a longing for home brought him back to China one year later in 1928.[2]
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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 ==
 
== Motivations ==
−
Ba Jin drew his inspiration from many different sources, one of which was Emma Goldman, an anarchist writer, who started a correspondence with him which lasted for many years. He referred to her as his “spiritual mother.” [3]
 
  
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He chose his pen name from the Chinese transliterations of Ba in Bakunin (Mikhail), and of the last syllable of the name  Kropotkin (Pyotr), two Russian anarchist writers that he admired. [4]
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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."
  
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while he was in France he heard of two Italian men, Ferdinando Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were imprisoned in America, They were fellow members of the anarchist movement. He wrote to them, and recieved a reply, recounting their story, which touched him deeply. He kept correspondence with them until they were executed. In memory of them he wrote a short story  called “The Electric Chair” (电椅). [5]
+
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.
  
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Upon returning to Shanghai, he dove into his writing career, writing novels, short stories, as well as translating foreign works into Chinese.
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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.  
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It was at this time that he wrote his most influential novel “Family” (家) which became part of a trilogy called “The Torrents Trilogy” also including “Spring” and “Autumn”.[6]
 
  
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By 1934, some of his writing received some negative attention and was blacklisted, which forced him to flee to Japan, using a fake name. He returned to China two years later, when things had cooled down.
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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.  
  
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From 1937-1941 he moved a lot, trying to escape the conflict of the war with Japan. He slowly made his way back to his ancestral home in Chengdu. There he saw the final results of his family’s traditions fade into history.
 
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When the war ended he moved back to Shanghai, where he continued writing.
 
  
  
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'''Family'''
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== Writing Styles ==
  
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The novel “Family” is a story of a broken home. The family relationship is the complete opposite of what a family should be like. It makes perfectly clear the injustices of the time, and the senile traditions of the Kao family.  
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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.
  
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There are 3 main protagonists in the story. They are three brothers, Cheuh Hsin, Cheuh Hui, and Cheuh Min. They each have their own ambitions and love interests, however each is muddled up and ruined by the elders of the family, particularly the grandfather, who is the head of the house, and has the final say on everything.  
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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.
  
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The oldest brother, Cheuh Hsin, (whom I think perfectly represents Ba Jin) is very good academically, and has plans to study abroad. He also has his heart set on marrying Mei Mei. His hopes are shattered, however, when his father arranges for him to marry a complete stranger, and also his dreams of continuing his education when his father sends him to work at a local, family-owned business, to support his new family.
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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)
  
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Cheuh Hui loves Ming Feng, a servant in their house. He feels strongly about going forward with their relationship but he can’t bring himself to tell his relatives about it. Without his knowledge, the grandfather arranges for her to become a concubine to one of the grandpa’s friends. She is so dejected and frightened by the prospect, that she drowns herself. This sends Cheuh Hui into severe depression.
 
  
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Chueh Min is perhaps the only character that may achieve his own ambition. He loves Chin, a cousin who has similar goals for her education. But they are equally afraid let anyone find out about any of this.
 
  
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The final blow on the characters is struck when the grandfather dies. There is a tradition in this part of china, that when a corpse is in a house, and a woman is giving birth, it causes the corpse to be desecrated and spurt blood or something like that. So, Cheuh Hsin’s wife is giving birth, and in order to keep with tradition, she is forced to go somewhere else to have her baby, in the dead of winter, all to protect the dead grandpa and she dies in childbirth.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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）
  
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== Controversy==
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== Legacy ==
  
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When the communist party assumed power in 1949, Ba Jin was hopeful for a better future. He believed communism could be the answer to the problems China was facing, However he soon began to see that life did not improve under the communist regime.
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*"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.
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In the 1950’s he still continued to write, but was compelled to write under the communist theme, which he conformed to. He stopped writing fiction, and strictly wrote nonfiction.  
 
  
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He was also forced to “edit” his past and deny all connection to the Anarchist Movement. In 1961 he said 'I am not satisfied either by the quantity or quality of my works.‘ The attention given to him, proved to be a curse, not a blessing, when he was appointed him to be vice-chairman of the official China Writers' Association.[7]
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*Yu Hua's novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.
  
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He regretted his submissive actions and when allowed to, he began expressing his true opinions and criticized the government. He even wrote a letter of support to the students of the 1989 Tiananmen protests on May 18. (before the massacre had started.)
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* Yu Hua was the first Chinese Author to receive the James Joyce Award (2002).
  
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During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Terror was unleashed on all non-supporters of Mao Zedong. The Red Guards attacked many writers, including Ba Jin. They made a big fuss about his anarchist past.  They saw his independent thinking was dangerous, and claimed he was being  a traitor to his country.
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* 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.
  
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For a while he was imprisoned, and was also forced to work in a Labor camp. Finally, on June 20, 1968, Ba Jin was dragged to the People's Stadium of Shanghai. It was a televised humiliating spectacle with him kneeling on broken glass, with the shouts from the crowd, accusing him of being a traitor and enemy of Mao Zedong. At the end of the demonstration Ba Jin shouted, “You have your thoughts and I have mine. This is the fact and you can't change it even if you kill me.”[8]
 
  
 +
==Works==
 +
'''Short Stories'''
  
 +
* Leaving Home at Eighteen
 +
* The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories (1996)
 +
** Blood and Plum Blossoms
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** Classical Love
 +
* World Like Mist: Eight Stories
 +
* China in Ten Words (American Release Date )
  
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== Legacy ==
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'''Novels'''
 +
* To Live (1992)
 +
* Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995)
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* Cries in the Drizzle (2003)
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* Brothers (2005 novel)|Brothers (2005)
  
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He was happily married to Xiao Shan from 1944 until she died in 1973
 
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They had two children, A daughter and a son, both of whom had the freedom filled upbringing he wanted himself to have. They each choose their own careers and their own spouses.  His daughter is now a leading member of the editorial department of a big Chinese literary magazine while his son is a rising novelist. [9]
 
  
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His wife, Xiao Shan died  of cancer in 1973, which affected him deeply. He said, "When I lose my ability to work, I hope there will be several copies of fictions translated by Xiao Shan on my sickbed. After I close my eyes, please let my ashes be mixed with hers." [10]
 
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In 1983 he contracted Parkinson’s disease, which in his final years left him mute and unable to walk. He spent most of that time in a hospital in Shanghai, where he died in 2005 at the age of 100.
 
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He left behind a vast amount of writing and shared the wealth of experience from the century of his life. That legacy was the legacy of learning from your mistakes, and choosing to be a nonconformist. He saw both sides of the spectrum, conformity and rebellion, and he chose at last to stay a rebel forever.
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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1,5- A giant of Chinese literature <http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/a-giant-of-chinese-literature/2005/10/20/1129775897723.html>
 
  
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2- Literary witness to century of turmoil 2003-11-24  China Daily <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-11/24/content_284041.htm>
 
  
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3,7,8- Ba Jin: From Rebellion to Endurance <http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/4xgxxt>
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* [http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=5470 A conversation with Yu Hua at UCLA]
  
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4- Ba Jin, 100, Noted Novelist of Prerevolutionary China, Is Dead, DAVID BARBOZA
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* [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]
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<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/books/18BA.html?_r=1&>
 
  
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6- Ba Jin (Paper Republic) <http://paper-republic.org/authors/ba-jin/>
 
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9,10- Noted Contemporary Chinese Literary Giant - Ba Jin <http://www.chinesecultureonline.org/literature.jsp?catName=contemporary&centerName=bajin>
 
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== 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>
  
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"Ba Jin." Ba Jin. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://paper-republic.org/authors/ba-jin/>.
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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>.
−
 
 
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Barboza, David. "Ba Jin, 100, Noted Novelist Of Prerevolutionary China." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2005. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/books/18BA.html?_r=0>.
 
−
 
 
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"China, Chinese Literature & Philosophy : Contemporary :." China, Chinese Literature & Philosophy : Contemporary :. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.chinesecultureonline.org/literature.jsp?catName=contemporary&centerName=bajin>.
 
−
 
 
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"Literary Witness to Century of Turmoil." Literary Witness to Century of Turmoil. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-11/24/content_284041.htm>
 
  
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"A Giant of Chinese Literature" The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. <http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/a-giant-of-chinese-literature/2005/10/20/1129775897723.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>.
  
−
"Ba Jin: From Rebellion to Endurance." Ba Jin: From Rebellion to Endurance. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. <http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/4xgxxt>
+
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&>.
  
−
Ba Jin. Digital image.巴金. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin>.
+
Michael Standaert. "Michael Standaert, Interview with Yu Hua" MCLC Resource Center, Aug 30, 2003. <http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yuhua.htm>.

Latest revision as of 09:59, 5 June 2016

Yu Hua at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival [[1]]


Childhood

Yu Hua was born on April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China.

Birth Place [[2]]

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


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>.

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