The Loneliness Experiment
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Summary
"The Carlyle Museum": "It is precisely this face that soaked in a bathtub about the height of a warming table and lay on this plain bed for forty years, forever complaining that it was noisy outside." A travelogue of Sōseki's visit to Thomas Carlyle's former residence.
"The Tower of London": "The Tower of London is like the focal point of a dream from my previous life." A work based on Sōseki's actual visit to the Tower of London and his singular imaginative vision, incorporating his views on Western painting.
"The Phantom Shield": "This is the world inside the shield. And yet, William is the shield." A novel of the tragic love between the ancient knight William and Clara, who are like Romeo and Juliet.
"Song of the Dew" is a work steeped in English literary color, drawn from Arthurian legend and depicting the secret love between the legendary Round Table knight Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. Its title is taken from "Song of the Dew," a work by an anonymous poet in the ancient yuefu ballads of China's Han dynasty.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literature lovers who wish to go beyond novels such as I Am a Cat and understand the core of Natsume Sōseki's thought
- Readers interested in the modern clash between Eastern and Western cultures and the inner journey of intellectuals
- Modern readers who often feel alienated amid the noise and are willing to ponder the philosophical meaning of "solitude"
- Scholars or students of modern Japanese literature and thought
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking only light entertainment or fully story-driven novels
- Readers with little basic interest in essays on philosophy or social commentary
Reading tips
- Start by skimming the table of contents and choose the pieces that interest you; strict sequential reading is not necessary
- Reading alongside Sōseki's biography, especially his years studying and teaching abroad, will help you better understand the views expressed
- The book touches on Western thinkers (such as Spencer); a brief lookup when you encounter them is helpful but not essential—focus on Sōseki's own exposition
About the publisher
Beijing Times Chinese Press takes classic works and prose miscellanies as an important publishing direction, along with foreign literature, social novels, Eastern philosophy and art books. Its catalogue includes such Chinese classics as Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering, Xiao Hong's The Field of Life and Death, Zhang Dai's Reminiscences of Tao'an, Yuan Mei's Recipes from the Sui Garden and Hong Yingming's Caigentan, as well as foreign classics such as Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Rashomon. Among its translator resources is Wen Jieruo, whose translations provide reliable support for bringing foreign literary works into the Chinese-speaking world. While organizing traditional texts and reissuing classics, the press pays attention to readability and accessibility of editions, enabling ancient prose, notes and philosophical works to reach contemporary readers. Public information is limited; the above is only a brief account of the publishing directions reflected in the books held in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 对人际关系与人心的反复思索 ——话说夏目漱石
- 总序 “雕心镂魂”的异色经典
- 舍一世学术坦途，成百年文坛盛名 ——夏目漱石小传与重要著作年表
- 导读 孤独的漱石抑郁的伦敦 ——元智大学应用外语学系副教授廖秀娟
- 卡莱尔博物馆
- 伦敦塔
- 幻影之盾
- 薤露行
- 附 循漱石步履，赏英伦风光 ——夏目漱石文学散步
FAQ
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About the author
Natsume Sōseki, whose real name was Natsume Kinnosuke, is a representative author of modern Japanese literature. Born in Edo, he graduated from the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University and later studied in Britain. He rose to fame with I Am a Cat in 1905 and went on to write works such as Botchan, The Three-Cornered World, Sanshirō, and Kokoro, earning recognition as Japan's "national writer." He died of a stomach ulcer in 1916. His works often take the daily lives and inner worlds of intellectuals as their subject, with a humorous yet restrained style that combines satire of social manners with careful exploration of loneliness, selfhood, and moral dilemma. His writing spans novels, essays, and other forms, and his style gradually shifted from early light satire to deeper psychological portrayal, exerting a profound influence on the development of modern Japanese literature.
Xie Pu: public information is limited, and no clear record of this author's identity or career is available. Judging from the seven works held in the collection, the writing and editorial work span two quite different fields, foreign literature and industrial technology, which is a relatively uncommon combination. In literature, the representative titles include Elegant Villainess, Solitude Experiment, Hour of Encounters with Demons, Oh Love, Love, The Couple's Fine Day, and Melancholy Bomb. Their titles often carry a grotesque, shadowy, or emotionally charged tone, suggesting engagement with modern and contemporary Japanese fiction, with themes leaning toward human nature, urban uncanny tales, and emotional entanglements; stylistically, they may combine delicate psychological depiction with dramatic narrative. On the technical side, PADS VX.2.2 Circuit Design and Simulation from Beginner to Mastery is a practical tutorial on electronic design automation software aimed at engineering beginners. Placed side by side, the two kinds of works indicate that the author has been involved both in literary translation and editing and in the compilation of technical handbooks, showing diverse interests and abilities. Because biographical material is lacking, this note can only summarize the profile presented by the works; further information remains to be verified and supplemented.
Hou Yongxin is a full-time Chinese translator of Japanese literature. A graduate of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Fu Jen Catholic University, she has long worked as a professional translator and enjoys seeing different worlds through translation. Her translations focus mainly on modern Japanese literature, including Izumi Kyoka's The Hour of the Demon and Tanizaki Jun'ichiro's The Elegant Villainess, and she has contributed to several volumes in the "Japanese Heterodox Literary Classics" series published by Beijing Times Chinese Press. Seven of her works are listed here; besides foreign literature, they touch on art and essays, such as Mo Zi: The Calligraphy Way of Kitaoji Rosanjin, a Japanese All-round Artist, as well as Love Oh, Love, The Loneliness Experiment, The Happy Couple, and Holiday Hobbies. Her translations span fiction, essays, and art writing, striving to match the tone of the originals and helping Chinese readers approach the diversity of Japanese literature and art.
