The Jungle Book

Name: The Jungle Book
ISBN: 9787201123110

鲁德亚德·吉卜林 / 段冶Tianjin People's Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

4.1

Word count: 193K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787201123110

Report an error Find this book

Summary

The widely loved story of Mowgli the wolf-child occupies eight pieces, telling of Mowgli and his friends—Baloo the brown bear, Bagheera the black panther, Kaa the rock python, the wolf pack—and their many adventures in the jungle: the struggle against Shere Khan the tiger, surviving the dry season together, repelling invaders, and more. There are also seven independent pieces: "The White Seal" takes place in the vast ocean; "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is set in a garden; "Toomai of the Elephants" concerns an Indian elephant handler; the protagonists of "Her Majesty's Servants" come from the animals of a military camp; "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat" recounts an extraordinary story between a sage and animals; "The Undertakers" features a crocodile who calls himself "the Adjutant"; and "Quiquern" takes place in the far Arctic, telling of the Inuit and their wonder.

Editor's review

Kipling's The Jungle Book is often treated as a children's animal story, but its texture is far more complex than the label suggests. Mowgli grows up among wolves and learns not simple bravery but how to maneuver between the rules of different groups: Baloo the brown bear teaches him the law of the jungle, Bagheera the black panther teaches him to read the situation, and Kaa the rock python reminds him that strength requires patience. What truly fascinates in these chapters is that Kipling writes the jungle as a society with laws, boundaries and betrayals. Seven other independent stories are scattered across the ocean, a courtyard, an army camp and the Arctic, spanning a vast range of subjects; among them, 'The White Seal''s inquiry into the fate of a community and 'Her Majesty's Servants'' depiction of the relationship between animals and humans both show that the author could do more than tell adventure stories. Duan Ye's translation preserves the rhythm and colloquial flavor of the original. It suits reading one piece at a time in spare moments, and also works as a parent-child shared text for discussing 'rules and freedom.'

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who enjoy animal stories and adventure narratives
Parents hoping to discuss rules, community and growing up with their children
Readers interested in Indian settings and colonial-era literature
Readers who prefer short pieces readable in fragmented time

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting only a single continuous long narrative
Adult readers uncomfortable with anthropomorphic animal narration
Readers hoping for direct expression of modern ecological conservation ideas

Reading tips

Read the eight Mowgli stories first to form a complete impression before moving to the other independent pieces.
After each piece, summarize in a few sentences the 'law of the jungle' it presents, and compare the differences in rules across stories.
When reading with a child, hold a discussion around 'should Mowgli stay in the jungle or return to people?'
When reading 'The White Seal' and 'Quiquern,' note how the author describes unfamiliar environments and feel the range of his geographical writing.

About the publisher

Tianjin People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Tianjin People's Publishing House publishes across such fields as classic works, foreign literature, architecture, social culture and social sciences, with 749 relevant titles in the collection. In the areas of classics and scholarship, works such as Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua and Fei Xiaotong's From the Soil and Fertility and Reproduction reflect a sustained attention to social culture and classic texts of thought. Architectural books are represented by Liang Sicheng's Annotated Yingzao Fashi and A History of Chinese Architecture, showing an emphasis on architectural heritage and building traditions. In foreign literature, translations of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don and Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through the work of translators such as Li Gang and Yu Dawei, form a substantial series of translated works. Overall, the press combines classic texts, scholarly works and fine translations, with a publishing character oriented toward humanistic depth and the dissemination of knowledge.

版权信息
丛林之书 I
莫格里的兄弟们
可阿的捕猎
“老虎！老虎！”
白海豹
“李奇—蒂奇—塔维”
大象的图梅
女王陛下的仆从们
丛林之书 II
恐惧的来历
圣徒普伦的奇迹
让丛林开进来
收尸者
国王的刺棒
魁狂
红狗
春天的奔跑

FAQ

Is this a fairy tale for children?

Not entirely. The Mowgli stories do have a fairy-tale quality, but some independent pieces involve death, conflict between groups and the complexity of human nature, and adult readers can read different layers into them. Judge according to the child's reading experience.

Are the stories beyond Mowgli related to the main line?

The connection is loose. The Mowgli stories occupy eight pieces; the other seven are independent, with settings from the ocean to the Arctic, and their themes mostly concern how animals and humans get along. They can be seen as variations on similar motifs by the same author.

How readable is the translation?

Duan Ye's translation is generally smooth and preserves the colloquial narrative rhythm of the original along with some Indian-context vocabulary. Unfamiliar place names or species names do not hinder understanding of the plot.

Do I need to know Indian history to read this book?

Not systematically, but knowing the stories are set in British India helps in understanding the hierarchical relations between humans and animals and among different groups in some pieces. It reads fine without that background.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

鲁德亚德·吉卜林 Author

Rudyard Kipling was a British writer known for his fiction and poetry, drawing much of his material from overseas experience and childhood imagination. Two of his works are included in this collection, represented by The Jungle Book and The Boy and the Sea. Set in the Indian jungle, The Jungle Book tells of the boy Mowgli living among animals and growing up within the rules of the community; it is vividly narrated and combines adventure with a fable-like quality. The Boy and the Sea centers on experiences at sea, depicting the contest between humanity and nature and a boy's trials. Kipling's style is distinctive: tightly plotted, rhythmical in language, and thoughtful about courage, discipline, and responsibility. His works are commonly classified as foreign literature and have circulated widely, influencing later adventure and coming-of-age children's fiction. As public information is limited, biographical details are not elaborated here.

段冶 Author

Duan Ye is a Chinese translator about whom little public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from his existing translations, his interests span children's literature, poetry, and popular science. He produced a Chinese translation of Kipling's The Jungle Book, bringing this classic animal story set in the Indian jungle to Chinese readers. He also translated a selection of poems by the British poet Siegfried Sassoon, published as "In Me the Tiger Sniffs the Rose," a title taken from a famous line in Sassoon's verse, helping the work of a First World War poet reach a wider Chinese readership. In addition, he translated the popular science book A Brief History of Elements: From Alchemy to the Periodic Table, introducing the history of chemical element discovery and the evolution of scientific ideas to general readers. The clear differences among these three works show his ability to handle narrative, verse, and informational texts. The library currently holds two of his works, and more material is needed to fully assess his translation style and choice of subjects.