Single-Hearted

Single-Hearted is a collection of essays by the Hong Kong writer Yi Shu, no. 259 in the "Yi Shu Works Series," published by Cosmos Books in March 2008, about 249 pages. The original description notes: being unchanging is a happy thing; Chinese legend has a terrifying ghost called Wuchang; and again, seeing his tall building rise, seeing his guests feast, seeing his building collapse. It is clear that too much change is not a good thing. Here Yi Shu turns her gaze from urban love stories to the minute reflections of daily life: cherishing stability, peace, and things that do not change; sighing lightly at the reversals of the world and the warmth and coldness of human relations; and calmly observing urban people's advances and retreats, gains and losses, loves and hates. The whole book continues the consistent manner of Yi Shu's essays: short, crisp sentences, a sharp yet humorous tone, often beginning from a small incident, a proverb, or a piece of street observation and then returning to judgments about life choices, rarely sentimental and rarely preachy. The title "Single-Hearted" comes from the line "ministers of a single heart" in the Book of Documents, "Announcement of King Kang," originally meaning loyal and undivided; in Yi Shu's hands it is closer to a steadfastness toward people and things and an attitude not easily changed. Readers can treat this collection as a voice-over to Yi Shu's fictional world: the shrewd, free-spirited, sharp-tongued characters in her novels take on the author's own tone in these essays. This edition is the Hong Kong traditional Chinese edition and is currently the main verifiable edition of Single-Hearted.