Capturing Chinese

Dragonboat Holiday or Dragonboat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday falling on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.  It is also called Double Fifth.  The story is another story that closely follows Lu Xun's own life.  For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.  Otherwise keep reading for a longer introduction to Dragonboat Holiday.

Dragonboat Holiday

端午节

Duānwǔjié

端午节 was first published in September 1922 in Fiction Monthly (小说月报 Xiǎoshuō Yuèbào). After the establishment of the Republic, life did not change very much at first.  The overthrow of the Qing dynasty resulted in a Republic dominated by a military man, Yuán Shìkǎi (袁世凯), who did little to benefit the common people and improve government.  In the story, the main character chooses the pet phrase, “差不多”meaning "not much different."  Given the historical context of the times, one can understand why he would feel this way.  While the name of China changed, nothing much else did, causing Lǔ Xùn (known as Fāng Xuánchuò (方玄绰) in the story) to become disillusioned with the revolution and much else in life. 端午节 is Dragonboat Holiday in China and is a typical time to get paid and also to repay debts.  The story is about the main character, Fāng Xuánchuò, not getting paid for his teaching position or his government position and what he does about it (not much).  Basically his philosophy is to not do anything because everything will have the same result anyways. His family has to borrow from friends and relatives to make ends meet.  After a mass demonstration, in which Fāng Xuánchuò did not participate, the government finally issues back pay to the teachers and officials.  However, once the finance department has the checks to disperse, they refuse to issue to people like Fāng Xuánchuò who did not help in the protest.  Fāng Xuánchuò refuses to beg for his check which he believes he already rightly deserves.  Instead he goes to a good friend and asks for a temporary loan.  While his friend congratulates him on not capitulating to the finance department's demands, he quickly becomes incensed when he finds Fāng Xuánchuò is visiting only to ask for a loan.  Fāng Xuánchuò can't really blame his friend because he remembers doing the same thing.  When he was still getting paid, someone came to ask him for a loan.  Instead of helping out, Fāng Xuánchuò pretended he had no money to spare. The backdrop of this story is based on actual events.  The government did stop paying their workers, which escalated into a mass demonstration demanding back pay.  On June 3rd, 1921 at Xīnhuámén (新华门), at the gate outside the government offices at Zhōngnánhǎi (中南海), 10,000 teachers and students took to the streets of Běijīng to demand their back pay before classes could resume.  Several people were hurt, and the government eventually resumed pay for the teachers and government officials. Dragonboat Festival 端午节

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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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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

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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

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Enjoy and 加油！