The Flowers of Evil

Name: The Flowers of Evil
ISBN: 9787210089612

波德莱尔 / 张秋红Jiangxi People's Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

4.6

Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 159
ISBN: 9787210089612

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Summary

"Les Fleurs du mal" is the representative poetry collection of the French poet Baudelaire and established his place in the history of French and indeed world poetry. This classic work presents evil and the relationship between good and evil that unfolds around it. Baudelaire overturns centuries-old notions of good and evil, viewing evil dialectically and holding that it has a dual nature: it has a wicked side, yet also radiates a peculiar beauty. On the one hand it corrodes and harms humanity; on the other it is full of a spirit of challenge and rebellion, urging people to struggle against their own indolence and social injustice. Baudelaire thus both loathes and praises evil, both fears and yearns for it. He lives within evil, yet strives not to be swallowed by it, confronting and dissecting evil with a critical eye and extracting the flowers from within it.

Editor's review

"Les Fleurs du mal" is not a comfortable book: it forces readers to look directly at urban decay, ennui, and desire, while its verbal alchemy turns ugliness into beauty. Baudelaire observes good and evil through the eyes of a city wanderer, setting melancholy, erotic desire, death, and ideals side by side, and in doing so pioneers a modern way of perceiving through poetry. Zhang Qiuhong's translation takes care to preserve the original's metrical feel and density of imagery, and the annotations help with allusions and historical context. Reading it does not require endorsing its decadent stance; what matters is experiencing the critical edge of "refusing to be swallowed within evil." It suits slow reading in quiet moments, a few poems at a time, letting the cold light and rhythm of the lines seep in gradually.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern poetry and the origins of Symbolism
Literature lovers who enjoy melancholy, irony, and urban imagery
Students who need to understand nineteenth-century French poetry and aesthetics
Poetry readers willing to read slowly and savor the lines repeatedly

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a light, pleasant, uplifting reading experience
Readers sensitive to themes of erotic desire, death, and decadence
Readers who want to read quickly straight through without pausing

Reading tips

There is no need to read straight through in order; begin with shorter poems to feel the rhythm, then return to the poem cycles to see the overall structure.
Pause after every few poems and note recurring images such as the city, smells, and dusk.
Use the annotations to understand allusions and historical context, but do not feel obliged to verify every point; keep your first impressions.
Try reading aloud to experience the sound and pauses of Baudelaire's lines.

About the publisher

Jiangxi People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Jiangxi People's Publishing House is a comprehensive local publisher based in Nanchang, with publishing directions covering philosophy and social sciences, politics and economics, history and culture, education, and the collation of ancient texts. Judging from its books in the database, the house offers Chinese translations of world classics such as Ulysses, Les Fleurs du mal, and Letter from an Unknown Woman, while continuing to publish Eastern philosophical classics including The Analects, the Dao De Jing, and the fully translated and annotated edition of Chuanxilu, forming a parallel structure of Chinese and foreign literary and intellectual classics. Translators such as Xiao Qian, Wen Jieruo, and Zhang Qiuhong support its foreign literature translations, while authors such as Confucius, Laozi, Wang Zengqi, and Hai Zi reflect its accumulation in traditional classics, prose and miscellany, and modern poetry. Its common categories include world classics, Eastern philosophy, prose and miscellany, literature, foreign literature, and modern poetry, showing a publishing character that balances academic popularization with general reading.

版权信息
题一部禁书
致读者
Sp leen e t i déa l忧郁与理想
1 祝福
2 信天翁
3 高翔
4 契合
5 声音
6 我爱这对于裸体时代的回忆
7 灯塔
8 患病的缪斯
9 谋生的缪斯
10 碌碌无为的修士
11 敌人
12 厄运
13 往昔的生活
14 四处飘泊的波希米亚人
15 人与海
16 下地狱的唐璜
17 对骄傲的惩罚
18 美
19 理想
20 巨人般的姑娘
21 面具
22 美颂
23 首饰
24 异国的幽香
25 浓密的长发
26 我爱你，犹如爱夜间的苍穹
27 你也许要把整个世界都引向你这条小街
28 但是尚未满足
29 她穿着波浪般起伏的珠光闪闪的衣裙
30 翩翩起舞的蛇
31 腐尸
32 我从深渊大声疾呼
33 吸血鬼
34 忘川
35 有天夜里，我在一个丑陋的犹太女子身边鬼混
36 身后的悔恨
37 猫
38 决斗
39 阳台
40 着魔者
41 幽灵
42 我向你献上这些诗篇
43 永远这样
44 全身
45 今日黄昏你说什么呢，可怜而孤独的灵魂
46 活生生的火炬
47 致大喜过望的少妇
48 通功
49 告解
50 灵魂深处的黎明
51 颂歌
52 黄昏的和谐
53 香水瓶
54 毒
55 阴云笼罩的天空
56 猫
57 美妙的船
58 邀游
59 不可救药的悔恨
60 闲谈
61 秋歌
62 致一位圣母
63 午后之歌
64 哀伤的情诗
65 西西娜
66 贝尔特的眼睛
67 致我的弗朗索瓦兹的颂歌
68 致一位克里奥尔女子
69 致一位马拉巴尔少女
70 远离这里的地方
71 忧伤与漫游
72 幽灵
73 秋之十四行诗
74 喷泉射出的水柱
75 月亮的忧伤
76 猫
77 猫头鹰
78 烟斗
79 音乐
80 墓地
81 一幅幻想的版画
82 快乐的死者
83 仇恨的无底桶
84 出现裂痕的钟
85 伊卡洛斯的哀怨
86 忧郁
87 忧郁
88 忧郁
89 忧郁
90 深渊
91 摆脱不了的烦恼
92 虚无的感受
93 痛苦的炼金术
94 感应的恐怖
95 子夜的反思
96 折磨自己的人
97 警告者
98 盖子
99 意外
100 反抗者
101 不可救药的命运
102 时钟
Tableaux Parisiens 巴黎即景
103 风景
104 太阳
105 致一位红发女丐
106 天鹅
107 七个老头儿
108 小老太婆
109 盲人
110 沉思
111 致一位过路女子
112 从枯骨堆里出来的农夫
113 暮色
114 赌博
115 被冒犯的月亮
116 死神舞
117 虚幻的爱
118 我没有忘记……
119 满腔热忱的女仆
120 雾与雨
121 巴黎梦
122 晨曦
Le Vin 酒
123 酒魂
124 拾荒者的酒
125 杀人犯的酒
126 孤独者的酒
127 情侣的酒
Fleurs du mal 恶之花
128 毁灭
129 遇害的女子
130 异教徒的祈祷
131 累斯博斯
132 入地狱的女子
133 入地狱的女子
134 一对好姐妹
135 血泉
136 寓意
137 贝雅特丽丝
138 吸血鬼的化身
139 基西拉岛之行
140 爱神与颅骨
Révo l te 叛逆
141 圣彼得的否认
142 亚伯与该隐
143 献给撒旦的连祷
La Mort 死亡
144 情侣之死
145 穷人之死
146 艺术之死
147 一天的结束
148 好奇者之梦
149 旅行
波德莱尔及《恶之花》

FAQ

Why is "Les Fleurs du mal" regarded as the beginning of modern poetry?

It shifts poetry's gaze from the pastoral and the sublime to everyday urban life, brings ugliness, melancholy, and sin into the realm of the aesthetic, and uses symbolism to connect the sensory and the spiritual. This approach influenced later Symbolism and modern poetry, and it is therefore often seen as an important starting point of modern poetry.

What if I don't understand the symbols and allusions?

First let go of the pressure to "understand" and grasp the emotions and images the lines evoke. Symbolism inherently allows multiple meanings; the annotations can help with context, but there is no need to match every line. After several readings, the connections between images will emerge naturally.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to poetry?

It can serve as an advanced introduction. Its language is not so obscure as to be inaccessible, but its themes are rather melancholy and its imagery dense; beginners would do best to use the annotations and an introductory guide, reading only a few poems at a time so as not to be overwhelmed by the overall atmosphere.

What reading advantages does Zhang Qiuhong's translation offer?

The translation takes care to preserve the original's rhythm and layers of imagery, and includes annotations to help with allusions and context. For readers unfamiliar with French poetry, the annotations lower the threshold without interrupting the rhythm of the lines.

Comments

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About the author

波德莱尔 Author

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet and one of the most influential authors in the history of modern poetry. Public information about his life is limited, so his biographical details are not expanded upon here; what is certain is that his representative work, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), has become an important work in world literature. This collection of poems takes themes such as city life, melancholy, desire, and death, with concise and musical language and vivid imagery. It often places beauty and ugliness, good and evil side by side, presenting complex modern experience. Baudelaire's style is austere yet sensuous, and he was skilled at discovering symbolic meaning in everyday scenes, exerting a profound influence on later Symbolism and the development of modern poetry. The library currently holds one of his works, classified under literature, through which readers may enter his distinctive poetic world.

张秋红 Author

Zhang Qiuhong is an author about whom relatively little public information is available. Her name appears in Chinese book catalogues, and her representative work is Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil). So far, only one work by her has been recorded in the database, classified under literature. No clear records exist regarding her biography, nationality, dates of birth and death, or educational background, making it difficult to outline her full writing career and development. As for the known work, the title Les Fleurs du mal readily brings to mind Baudelaire's collection of the same name, yet the exact role Zhang Qiuhong played in the book—translator, editor, or otherwise—cannot be confirmed from the available materials. Given these limitations, readers may focus on the work's literary category and the poetic or literary themes it may involve, using it as a clue to understanding this author. A fuller picture of Zhang Qiuhong still awaits additional catalogue information and public documentation.