I Am Ugly is a collection of short stories and novellas by the Hong Kong writer Yi Shu. It was first published in 1979 by Ming Cheung Publishing in Hong Kong and has since been reissued many times by Hong Kong publishers such as Cosmos Books, included in the Yi Shu Works series. In 1999, China Theatre Press released a simplified-Chinese boxed set of the Yi Shu Works in sixty volumes, of which I Am Ugly is one, brought to mainland readers alongside similar titles such as The Only Child Woman, Two Women, and The Story of the Rose. Set in urban Hong Kong, the book writes of partings and reunions between men and women, the calculations and concessions of marriage, and women's choices between love and livelihood. The title comes from a self-mocking tone—"I am ugly"—which expresses modesty about looks and hints at the plight of urban men and women being scrutinized and weighed in the marketplace of love and marriage. Yi Shu is known for propelling her stories with short sentences and cool narration, making the most embarrassing situations seem light, and leaving a chill within that lightness. She does not create perfect heroines; her pages are full of clear-eyed, strong-willed city women who are occasionally sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, getting through emotional deficits on a salary, a bit of dignity, and a touch of humor. To read I Am Ugly is to read the flavor of urban Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s, and also Yi Shu's philosophy of living: beautiful or not, one must first stand on one's own two feet. This volume is one of the 1999 China Theatre Press Yi Shu Works; for the specific contents, please refer to the physical copy.
China Theatre Press takes professional theatre publishing as its foundation while extending into fiction, biography, military and cultural reading. Its books cover fine fiction, general biography, war and military life, culture, classical literature and inspirational growth. They include historical narratives such as The Long March, artists' biographies such as Art Sea Sentiments: Good People Accompanied Me All My Life, and scholarly collections of traditional tea-picking opera tunes from southern Jiangxi. Representative authors include Wang Chaozhu, Bao Guo'an, Zhu Bing, Xin Zhou, Wang Yuyang and Guo Xianjun. The press balances theatre scholarship with general reading, and also touches on traditional tunes, classical novels and Jewish culture. As public information is limited, this description focuses on the directions reflected in its catalog without further speculation.
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