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Some Rabbits and a Cat  is another short and easy story by Lu Xun.  For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.  

Rabbits and a Cat

兔和猫

Tù Hé Māo

兔和猫 was published in October 1922 in Běijīng's Morning Post Supplement (晨报副刊 Chénbào Fùkān) 兔和猫 is about Third Missus, Lǔ Xùn's sister-in-law, buying a couple of rabbits.  The kids find the rabbits adorable and love to play with them.  Since the rabbits begin eating the furniture and wall paper, Third Missus moves them into the courtyard under the mulberry tree.  The rabbits manage to scare away the birds that come looking to eat some of the berries from the tree, but the family is most concerned with the neighborhood cat who likes to strut across the courtyard wall.  Lǔ Xùn's dog, "S," is relied upon to guard the rabbits from this pesky feline. A few days later, the two rabbits disappear.  No one has seen them for quite some time and they begin to worry.  However, the two rabbits return from their burrow along with a couple of baby rabbits.  The children find this particularly entertaining. A few days later the rabbits disappear again.  The family worries after the rabbits don't reappear for quite some time.  Third Missus begins digging into their burrow in search of the rabbits, but only finds rabbit fur, a sure sign that the cat found them. Third Missus checks a second, new burrow and there finds the two parent rabbits along with seven new baby rabbits.  Not willing to take any more risks, she brings the whole bunch inside and raises the baby rabbits herself.  Since the parent rabbits don't seem to being doing a very good job, she makes sure that each of the baby rabbits gets their fair and equal share of the mother's milk. While the Third Missus focuses on tending to the rabbits, Lǔ Xùn has his eye on some potassium cyanide hoping to avenge the rabbits by poisoning the cat. Lǔ Xùn wrote this story when he had a Russian poet, Vasily Eroshenko, who visited him in Běijīng.  He also wrote A Comedy of Ducks (鸭的喜剧), which is more about his experience with the Russian poet.

Some Rabbits and a Cat 兔和猫

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Hometown is a very nice story describing Lu Xun's hometown.  The story is one of Lu Xun's brighter stories and truly enjoyable.  If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

Hometown

故乡

Gùxiāng

  故乡 was published in May 1921 in New Youth (新青年 Xīn Qīngnián). After moving to Běijīng in 1912, Lǔ Xùn lived in the Shàoxīng club for a number of years.  The Shàoxīng club was a hostel for those of similar geographic origins to live.  In 1919, Lǔ Xùn purchased a large family compound for his family and his two brothers' families in Běijīng.  This story is about his trip back to Shàoxīng to sell the old family compound. Upon arriving in his hometown, Lǔ Xùn sees a place little different from the one he left behind twenty years prior.  The town is still a barren place with little signs of progress.  However, at the slight mention of his childhood friend, Rùntǔ, Lǔ Xùn becomes nostalgic.  He remembers the time his family was in charge of the large sacrifice for their clan's ancestors and  how they hired Rùntǔ's father to help out.  Lǔ Xùn and Rùntǔ became immediate friends and Lǔ Xùn was fascinated by Rùntǔ's stories.  Since Lǔ Xùn spent all his days inside the family compound studying the classics, Rùntǔ provided stories of a life Lǔ Xùn knew nothing about.  Stories about trapping birds, guarding watermelons, fighting cha, and collecting shells by the shore. Their childhood friendship proved hard to rekindle thirty years later.  The wall between intellectual and farmer had grown and Lǔ Xùn found it hard to open up and share stories of the past with his friend.  The past decades had been hard on Rùntǔ.  Whether it be bandits, officials, or famine, something was always creating obstacles for Rùntǔ and making life difficult for him. The day before the lunar new year Rùntǔ and others come to see Lǔ Xùn off as he sells their family home in Shàoxīng to prepare for their future in Běijīng.  Lǔ Xùn lets Rùntǔ have his choice of his family's belongings and Rùntǔ asks for the incense holder and candlesticks.  While Lǔ Xùn slightly chuckles because Rùntǔ still worships idols, he can't help but wonder whether his own hope for a better future is any different.  His hope for better opportunities for his nephew and Rùntǔ's son to be able to stay friends as they get older.  He hopes there will be better opportunities for his nephew and Rùntǔ's son and that they can remain friends as they grow older.  His hope is no more tangible than the idols Rùntǔ worships. Rùntǔ is based on an actual peasant from an area near Shàoxīng.  His real name was 章运水 (Zhāng Yùnshuǐ) and the character Rùntǔ appears in several other pieces of Lǔ Xùn's writing as well. Hometown 故乡

Would you like to read this Chinese short story with pinyin, footnotes with definitions, historical summaries, and cultural references, as well as Chinese audio files of two native speakers, one male and one female, reading the story? Get your copy of Capturing Chinese today! See the Capturing Chinese Catalog

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Here is another story about the crazy amount of trouble a hairstyle could cause in imperial Qing dynasty China and in the early years of the Republic of China.  This week's story is A Passing Storm, also translated as A Storm in a Teacup.  If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Passing Storm

风波

Fēngbō

 

风波 was published in September 1920 in New Youth (新青年 Xīn Qīngnián).

Revolutionary China was filled with rebellions, revolutions, and on occasion reinstatement of the previous dynasty.  These constantly changing environments put strain on the common people who found themselves in the middle of this power struggle.  During the Qing dynasty, males had to wear a queue, which involved shaving the front half of the head and growing the back part long and braiding it.  (See A Story About Hair for more information)  During the Tàipíng Rebellion, the rebels grew out their hair in defiance of this law.  The government troops would execute those who did not have the mandatory queue.  The Tàipíngs would kill those with a queue for thinking they were loyal to the Qing dynasty.  The common villager only stood to lose in this situation. After the Qing dynasty was overthrown, queues were no longer mandatory but some loyal to the previous dynasty decided to keep them.  This is when A Passing Storm takes place. Some of the villagers had cut their queue (or had them forcibly cut) while others preserved them by coiling them on top of their head.  However the situation changed again on July 1, 1917 when the northwest troops supported by Zhāng Xūn (张勋) occupied Běijīng.  Zhāng Xūn and his troops announced the restoration of the Qing Dynasty by reinstating the last emperor, Pǔyí (溥仪), onto the Dragon Throne.  After twelve long days for the villagers Zhāng Xūn and his troops were defeated on July 12^th. During this brief occupation of Beijing, the villagers worry whether or not they will have to begin wearing queues again.  One character, Seventh Master Zhao, is a Qing loyalist and insists that Qī Jīn, who had his queue cut off in town, will face execution for being in violation of the law.  Fighting breaks out as the villagers release their anxiety upon each other.  Twelve days later, life resumes back to normal. A Passing Storm 风波

Would you like to read this Chinese short story with pinyin, footnotes with definitions, historical summaries, and cultural references, as well as Chinese audio files of two native speakers, one male and one female, reading the story? Get your copy of Capturing Chinese today! See the Capturing Chinese Catalog

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Enjoy and 加油！

I never knew how much trouble hair could cause until I read this story by Lu Xun.  Wow!  How your hairstyle could affect your life so dramatically.  To learn a bit about the hair style of Qing dynasty China check out this week's story, A Story about Hair.  If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Story About Hair

头发的故事

Tóufà de Gùshi

  头发的故事 was first published in October 1920 in Shànghǎi's New Journal of Current Affairs, the Lamp of Learning (时事新报·学灯 Shíshì Xīnbào·Xué Dēng). In this story, Lǔ Xùn discusses his experiences with his hair.  While the story's main character is named Mr. N, the story is really about Lǔ Xùn's own experiences and frustrations with hair. Controlling people's hair style has a long history in China.  Not so long ago, shaving of the head was considered punishment for petty criminals.  When the Manchus came to power and formed the Qing dynasty in 1644, they brought their unique hair styles with them.  Men had to shave the front half of their head, while keeping the back half long and braided in a queue (辫子 biànzi).  This imposed hair style met strong resistance in the first years of the Qing dynasty, but was eventually accepted and worn throughout China. When Lǔ Xùn went to study abroad in Japan, he cut off his mandatory queue.  While such an act would have been reactionary in China, the officials let the rules slide for foreign students.  Upon returning to China though, he was the object of many people's ridicule as he did not have a queue.  He bought a fake queue in Shànghǎi, but decided not to wear it for fear of it falling off or worse being pulled off.  Instead he wore western style clothes and sported a mustache, which earned him such nicknames as "fake foreign devil." Even in Běijīng, Lǔ Xùn was ridiculed for lacking the proper hairstyle.  Spending time out of the capital would only have been worse. A Story About Hair 头发的故事

Would you like to read this Chinese short story with pinyin, footnotes with definitions, historical summaries, and cultural references, as well as Chinese audio files of two native speakers, one male and one female, reading the story? Get your copy of Capturing Chinese today! See the Capturing Chinese Catalog

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

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Enjoy and 加油！

This week we would like to introduce A Small Incident.  The story is very short and one of Lu Xun's easier stories.  If you haven't dived into the stories yet, then start with this one.  If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Small Incident

一件小事

Yí Jiàn Xiǎoshì

一件小事 was published in November of 1919 in Beijing's Morning Post – Anniversary Commemorative Edition (晨报·周年纪念增刊 Chénbào·Zhōunián Jìniàn Zēngkān). The story is about Lǔ Xùn traveling to work by rickshaw one morning in Beijing.  While he has been working in Beijing for six years already, no important official affairs comes readily to mind.  Instead he remembers clearly the morning his rickshaw driver hits a pedestrian causing her to fall and hurt herself.  Lǔ Xùn doesn't think the woman is seriously hurt and in any case no one saw it happen, so he thinks it best for the rickshaw man to just keep going.  Otherwise, Lǔ Xùn might be late.  Instead, the rickshaw driver gets out and helps the old woman find help at a police station.  Seeing the generosity of the rickshaw driver to a complete stranger, Lǔ Xùn is dumbfounded and waits in the carriage until a police officer tells him he better get going. Lǔ Xùn first moved to Beijing in 1912, during the first year of the republic.  Like many people at the time, he held high hopes for the newly established republic founded by Sun Yat-sen (孙中山 Sūn Zhōngshān), but quickly became disillusioned as Yuán Shìkǎi (袁世凯), a man with military authority, usurped power and formed the republic in ways not much different from the Qing dynasty before him.  The foreign powers of Japan and western Europe continued to encroach upon China's sovereignty and Yuán Shìkǎi actually declared himself emperor near the end of his life.  During this time, Lǔ Xùn served as an official in the Ministry of Education and was rather depressed about the state of affairs.  This story takes place in 1917, six years after Lǔ Xùn moved from Nanjing to Beijing. A Small Incident 一件小事

Would you like to read this Chinese short story with pinyin, footnotes with definitions, historical summaries, and cultural references, as well as Chinese audio files of two native speakers, one male and one female, reading the story? Get your copy of Capturing Chinese today! See the Capturing Chinese Catalog

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don't take our word for it.  Take yours.  Download a FREE sample of "A Small Incident." [wp_eStore_free_download_ajax_fancy id=22]

Enjoy and 加油！