Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LITERATURE
In keeping with its well-read and creative reputation among ordinary and educated
Chinese, Běijīng has been home to some of China's towering modern writers. The literary
landscapes of Lao She, Lu Xun, Mao Dun and Guo Moruo are all forever associated with
rings of the Red Guards and the democracy protests of 1989, Běijīng's revolutionary blood
has naturally seeped into its literature. Over the past century, local writers have penned
their stories of sorrow, fears and aspirations amid a context of ever-changing trends and
political upheaval.
BĚIJĪNG BOOKSHELF
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Beijing Coma
(Ma Jian, 2008) Novel revolving around protagonist Dai Wei's involvement with the pro-demo-
cracy protests of 1989 and the political coma that ensues.
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Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
(Lu Xun, translated by William Lyell) Classic tale of mental disintegra-
tion and paranoia, and a critique of Confucianism in prerevolutionary China from the father of modern Chinese
literature. China's first story published in
báihuà
(colloquial speech), save the first paragraph.
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Rickshaw Boy
(Lao She, translated by Shi Xiaoqing, 1981) A masterpiece by one of Běijīng's most beloved au-
thors and playwrights about a rickshaw puller living in early-20th-century China.
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Blades of Grass: The Stories of Lao She
(translated by William Lyell, 2000) This collection contains 14 stories
by Lao She - poignant descriptions of people living through times of political upheaval and uncertainty.
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The Maker of Heavenly Trousers
(Daniele Vare, 1935) Recently republished tale of old Běijīng with a splendid
cast of dubious foreigners and plenty of insights into Chinese life in the capital in the chaotic pre-WWII days.
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The Noodle Maker
(Ma Jian, translated by Flora Drew, 2004) A collection of interconnected stories as told by a
state-employed writer during the aftermath of the Tiān'ānmén Square protests. Bleak, comical and unforgettable.
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Midnight in Peking
(Paul French, 2012) True-life mystery of a brutal murder of an English girl in the British
Legation era, with lots of juicy detail about the sinful underworld of pre-1949 Běijīng.
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Black Snow
(Liu Heng, translated by Howard Goldblatt, 1993) Compelling novel about workers in Běijīng. Su-
perbly written - a fine translation.
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Peking Story: The Last Days of Old China
(David Kidd, 2003) A true story of a young man who marries the
daughter of an aristocratic Chinese family in Běijīng two years before the 1949 communist revolution. The writ-
ing is simple, yet immersive.
