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Newly Published: “Fragments on Rainy Night” by Yu Qiuyu

    Recently, Yu Qiuyu’s first essay anthology “Fragments on Rainy Night” (Yu Ye Duan Wen) was published by Tiandi Press. This book is Yu’s first and brand-new essay anthology in succession to his series of “Great Cultural Prose” published over 20 years, such as “Cultural Perplexity in Agonized Travel” (Wen Hua Ku Lü), “Sketches on Mountain Life” (Shan Jü Bi Ji) and etc. In his new book, Yu has infused his experiences, reflections and wisdom into each short essay, which is brisk in style while profound in significance.
    The anthology is divided into two parts. In part one, “Mind over Thousand Miles”, the author has reviewed the notion of “Ruins” with his sensation and perception. It is not only the pondering and reflection on Yu’s long-some and agonized travels, but also the reverie and admonishment from a septuagenarian who was reminiscing his journey of life. In part two, “Legacy in Literary History”, is Yu’s bold attempt, in which he has revisited half of the literary history with every short essay concerning a small topic.
    Why did Yu Qiuyu publish the new book after he had decided to quit writing?
    In 2017, at the age of 71, Yu published “Meditation: Walk on Mud” (Ni Bu Xiu Xing), which was declared by the media as his “last work”. Why did he choose to write the new book, the first essay anthology in his life, two years later? In “Fragments on Rainy Night”, Yu offered the answer: “Today, since the pace of life’s becoming faster and faster, ordinary readers have no time to be indulged in a lengthy essay. They only get the occasional chance to read short essays. Some readers are fond of appreciating life through reading literary works, and they mainly choose short essays.”
    “In this new book, I’ve collected many short essays with distinct themes, thus readers would choose to read any of them at ease in the interval of their busy life. Still, I insist to keep my own style. Because since I was a child, I have disliked the lyrical works of “artistic youth” or the homiletic style of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, and I am more tired of obscurity out of mystification, clichés served for flattery. I’ve completed each essay as a major cultural project. Although the style of each essay is brisk, its theme is profound and serious. In my mind, since contemporary readers can only utilize very limited period to read short essay, we cannot spoil this precious opportunity.”
    The new book focuses on the “very limited reading time” of contemporary readers.”
    In the preface of his new book, Yu mentioned that “the idea of each short essay in this book is rather distinctive from traditional views or mainstream ideology. In my view of writing, it is not necessary to put anything if my idea is not different from the traditional ideology. Therefore, I have to leave a precaution for readers who are ready to read this book: You are treading on a road full of bumpy thistles and thorns. Be careful.”
    “Legacy in Literary History”, the second part of the new book, has not only maintained the conventional writing style of Yu Qiuyu, but also outlined the Chinese literature via touching classics. In the words by Yu, “I am conducting a very difficult attempt, i.e., revisiting half of Chinese literary history through short essays. Although this project is rather delicate in that each essay only covers a small facade, it is what ancient and foreign essayists often do.”
    In the chapter “Two Hell Gates”, Yu has expressed his admiration towards Sima Qian, “the founder of Chinese historical thinking”, in a self-questioned and self-answered fashion. In the author’s view, the profundity of “Shihchi” (Historical Records) not only lies in the literary work itself, but also in the struggle and perseverance of Sima Qian, who has completed this masterpiece, which is a “Great” work to us as well as a “humiliation” to himself. “When the utmost greatness and the excruciating humiliation had converged in a small individual, we witnessed the highest value and the last defense of a man’s life.”
    From “Shi Jing” (The Book of Songs), “Chuang-Tzu”, “Shihchi” (Historical Records) to Tang poetry, Song-Ci, Yuan opera, drama and fiction, the book has revisited these Chinese literary classics with limited words, but managed to outline the most essential kernel and the humanistic spirit of these works. Yu has selected 97 poems of Tang/Song poetry, and Song-Ci as an appendix to “Fragments on Rainy Night”, for young readers to appreciate.
    Yu deems that his new book is different from all the previous works in that this is his first attempt to adopt an original writing style of “short discourse”. “This is on account of the extremely limited reading time of contemporary readers.” He has attached great importance to this work, and inscribed the title of the new book.