The Dream of the Red Chamber (18th century) By Cao Xueqin
This is a huge family novel, written in the 18th century and published in translation by Penguin in 1970. Some people think this is the greatest Chinese novel ever written, but many westerners don’t know about it, which is a shame because it is such a good guide to our culture. More than 100 people, buildings, poems, paintings and dreams are described here in great detail. There is even a section that sums up how important food is in Chinese society. At one point, a mother explains to her daughter and grandchildren how to make “four seasons aubergines.” First, you must wash the aubergines in snow, then soak them in spring dew, then pickle them with summer flowers and thorns from autumn. I think that is so beautiful. This book has helped Chinese culture to survive, despite all the political upheavals and civil wars, and teaches western readers about us.
The Spirit of the Chinese People (1915) By Gu Hongming Gu Hongming was the first professor to teach foreigners in English, so he wrote this book to give his students a better understanding of what the Chinese people are like. He talks about the soul of Chinese culture—he wants westerners to understand why we Chinese are so different from them. One large difference is that, in China, we are brought up according to the seasons and nature. We don’t have such strong religious roots-—we adopted Buddhism as our philosophy relatively late on. If you look at all the old Chinese paintings, they are not about heaven and royalty like many of those in the west. We are much more focused on nature, the seasons, animals, birds and water. I must have given 50 or 60 copies of this book away to my western friends. We are like plants—you need to understand our environment in order to understand us.
My Country and My People (1935) By Lin Yutang This book looks at what happened in China after the opium wars of the 19th century. Yutang wrote it in English for foreigners, and for many people it became the standard text to read on the subject. Yutang wanted to explain why Chinese people are lost without the imperial emperor, who is like our god. He suggested that without a god we had nothing to fight for except a new one; that is why when the last emperor fell in the early 20th century there was such turmoil. China has a long history without religion. Even though western people might say they are not religious, belief nevertheless permeates your culture and your way of life. When you pray for something it is to do with the afterlife and your spiritual wellbeing. For Chinese people it is all about the here and now. If they adopt a religion and pray it will be for money or good luck or good health or good exam results.
Explosions and Other Stories (1991) By Mo Yan I admire Mo Yan’s writing because, while he hardly ever uses adjectives or adverbs, he uses verbs perfectly. He paints amazing pictures through his descriptions—reading his stories is like watching a film. This book of short stories is like a dictionary to me for understanding the differences between life in the city and the country. Sometimes it feels like there are 500 years of difference. Young people move to the city and learn so much, but when they go home it is hard for them to communicate with the older generation—often peasants who have never been educated or travelled. In one story, a man visits his home village and his neighbour’s daughter-in-law is having a baby. But, because the baby was a girl, the family pay more attention to the labour of their donkey, who gets the midwife rather than the woman. I have travelled all over China to research my books and can tell you this is what really happens.
To Live (1992) By Yu Hua This novel is about family life in a Chinese village before and after the 1949 revolution. The characters are ordinary people and the book looks at how they survived this difficult period in Chinese history, when the world was turned upside down. Although it all sounds very dramatic, with disabled children and fortunes lost and found, this is exactly what it was like at the time. When I read this book, I see my own childhood and my neighbours during the cultural revolution. I was hated by other children because my parents both spoke foreign languages and gave me chocolate every day—at a time when most Chinese families couldn’t read and didn’t have enough to eat. This book made me realise what good writing is all about. It makes the point that the past should not only be written by the history-makers. A real record will give voice to both the winners and losers.
The Spirit of the Chinese People (1915) By Gu Hongming Gu Hongming was the first professor to teach foreigners in English, so he wrote this book to give his students a better understanding of what the Chinese people are like. He talks about the soul of Chinese culture—he wants westerners to understand why we Chinese are so different from them. One large difference is that, in China, we are brought up according to the seasons and nature. We don’t have such strong religious roots-—we adopted Buddhism as our philosophy relatively late on. If you look at all the old Chinese paintings, they are not about heaven and royalty like many of those in the west. We are much more focused on nature, the seasons, animals, birds and water. I must have given 50 or 60 copies of this book away to my western friends. We are like plants—you need to understand our environment in order to understand us.
My Country and My People (1935) By Lin Yutang This book looks at what happened in China after the opium wars of the 19th century. Yutang wrote it in English for foreigners, and for many people it became the standard text to read on the subject. Yutang wanted to explain why Chinese people are lost without the imperial emperor, who is like our god. He suggested that without a god we had nothing to fight for except a new one; that is why when the last emperor fell in the early 20th century there was such turmoil. China has a long history without religion. Even though western people might say they are not religious, belief nevertheless permeates your culture and your way of life. When you pray for something it is to do with the afterlife and your spiritual wellbeing. For Chinese people it is all about the here and now. If they adopt a religion and pray it will be for money or good luck or good health or good exam results.
Explosions and Other Stories (1991) By Mo Yan I admire Mo Yan’s writing because, while he hardly ever uses adjectives or adverbs, he uses verbs perfectly. He paints amazing pictures through his descriptions—reading his stories is like watching a film. This book of short stories is like a dictionary to me for understanding the differences between life in the city and the country. Sometimes it feels like there are 500 years of difference. Young people move to the city and learn so much, but when they go home it is hard for them to communicate with the older generation—often peasants who have never been educated or travelled. In one story, a man visits his home village and his neighbour’s daughter-in-law is having a baby. But, because the baby was a girl, the family pay more attention to the labour of their donkey, who gets the midwife rather than the woman. I have travelled all over China to research my books and can tell you this is what really happens.
To Live (1992) By Yu Hua This novel is about family life in a Chinese village before and after the 1949 revolution. The characters are ordinary people and the book looks at how they survived this difficult period in Chinese history, when the world was turned upside down. Although it all sounds very dramatic, with disabled children and fortunes lost and found, this is exactly what it was like at the time. When I read this book, I see my own childhood and my neighbours during the cultural revolution. I was hated by other children because my parents both spoke foreign languages and gave me chocolate every day—at a time when most Chinese families couldn’t read and didn’t have enough to eat. This book made me realise what good writing is all about. It makes the point that the past should not only be written by the history-makers. A real record will give voice to both the winners and losers.
