A Life of Fireworks cover

A Life of Fireworks

Rating 3.9
Word count
146K words
Chapters
103
ISBN
9787520527217

Tags

Summary

Here, celebrated writers paint portraits of one another, capturing the brilliant fireworks of ordinary days, the quiet songs of everyday city life, and the piercing cries of a shattered nation. In these affectionate portraits, we see them lingering in one another's lives, guiding the younger generation, and striding forward together with pride.

Drawing from cultural luminaries' accounts of the lives and work of the great masters, the elegantly edited volume *Portraits of the Great* presents a multifaceted view of their temperament and personal charm in graceful, finely wrought prose. *A Life of Fireworks* focuses on the everyday moments of such cultural masters as Lu Xun, Zhu Ziqing, Lao She, Cao Juren, Tian Han, Ye Shengtao, and Xia Mianzun, rich with the warmth of ordinary life. Reading it, you will find their greatness all the more powerful and their lovableness truly tangible.

Editor's review

*A Life of Fireworks* turns its lens on the ordinary lives of cultural masters such as Lu Xun, Zhu Ziqing, Lao She, Cao Juren, Tian Han, Ye Shengtao, and Xia Mianzun, assembling fragments written by others into a warmer collective portrait. Its strength lies not in grand pronouncements but in the "tangible everyday": the details of daily routine, social interaction, work, and temperament that lend their greatness force and make their lovableness real and palpable. The styles of the various celebrated writers differ, yet together they create a plain documentary feel and an essayistic beauty—intimate and unpretentious. Perfect for reading a piece or two in spare moments, it satisfies curiosity about the masters' lives and helps readers understand the lived ethics and human ties of modern intellectuals; for students of writing, it is also an excellent model for observing how character is drawn through detail.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • General readers who enjoy anecdotes from the lives of famous people and humanistic essays
  • Readers who want to learn how to portray people through detail and improve their prose
  • Those interested in the daily lives and interactions of modern intellectuals
  • A light, accessible read for humanistic general knowledge

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking complete biographical chronologies and systematic critical biographies
  • Readers who prefer theoretical analysis and demand scholarly annotations
  • Those who read only plot-driven fiction and lack patience for essays

Reading tips

  1. Use fragmented time—commutes or before bed—to read one piece at a time and keep the pace relaxed.
  2. Notice how the author reveals character through one or two small incidents, and take notes.
  3. Start with writers you know, then branch out to unfamiliar figures to lower the threshold.
  4. After finishing, pick one figure and try writing a three-hundred-word "life sketch" as practice.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一章 鲁迅:一个安静的老头儿
  3. 鲁迅的美学
  4. 鬼也是怕人踢的
  5. 一九三五年十月一日夜
  6. 明朝会
  7. 鲁迅先生病了
  8. 哪一年哪一月哪一日
  9. 周氏兄弟反目
  10. 鲁迅和景宋女士
  11. 所谓怪者,无非书生本色
  12. 永在的温情
  13. 鲁迅翁杂忆
  14. 鲁迅与曹聚仁
  15. 第二章 朱自清:我是大时代中一名小卒
  16. 童年:家境一天不如一天
  17. 我们的恋爱是倾心相待
  18. 孩子,孩子
  19. 昆明半年
  20. 给鲁迅贺年
  21. 两位母亲
  22. 领略父亲的慈爱
  23. 一本得而复失的书
  24. 他的认真、诚恳,感动了学生
  25. 不肯马虎,太苦了自己
  26. 他清贫、多病
  27. 从司家营到昆明
  28. 一首反法,一首抗日
  29. 人是要先吃饭的
  30. 朋友并不都是靠得住的
  31. 这玩意儿很有趣
  32. 最后一面
  33. 他的旧伤痕使他倒了下去
  34. 他才只五十一岁啊
  35. 永远的旅人的颜色
  36. 我是大时代中一名小卒
  37. 第三章 老舍:生活的滋味
  38. 西装与画
  39. 多鼠斋
  40. 文章入冠
  41. 老舍,来段相声
  42. 柿子
  43. 放火烧山
  44. “农村派”VS“城市派”
  45. 马莲
  46. 一篇贺词
  47. 鱼与渔
  48. 知我者,老舍先生也
  49. 老舍的考题
  50. 第四章 曹聚仁:划过生命的海
  51. 绿茶、零食和书
  52. 我的丈夫与书本
  53. 织女从天外飞来
  54. 父亲生前身后事
  55. 一捆捆的手稿,一叠叠的报……
  56. 父亲的梦
  57. 我们成了他的左丞右相
  58. 我的悲伤和喜悦
  59. 四川伯伯
  60. 曹聚仁和他的朋友们
  61. 谦谦有容梅兰芳
  62. 为人谋而不忠乎
  63. “半客卿顶上了石臼”
  64. 红豆深情
  65. 第五章 叶圣陶:海棠花下享天伦
  66. 圣陶是个寡言的人
  67. 叶圣陶的催稿法
  68. 海棠花下享天伦
  69. 一声叶老觉温馨
  70. 昆仑飞雪到眉梢
  71. 第六章 田汉:筚路蓝缕去演戏
  72. 筚路蓝缕去演戏
  73. 初识田汉
  74. 田家终日门庭若市
  75. 南国风格
  76. 田妈妈请客
  77. 可亲可敬的妈妈
  78. 关怀民间艺人的疾苦
  79. 关注电影艺术
  80. 我想想,想想
  81. 吃饭的人围了一圈又一圈
  82. 田汉先生来看戏
  83. 一盘辣牛肉干
  84. 《双忠记》
  85. 田先生是一团火
  86. 天涯谁人不识君
  87. 第七章 夏丏尊:我们要互相亲爱
  88. 舍监夏丏尊
  89. 夏丏尊的名山事业
  90. 穿白土布短衫裤的中学教师
  91. 深厚的爱和鄙夷的骂
  92. 我们要互相亲爱
  93. 家贫无奈做先生
  94. 求对
  95. 丏翁与叶老
  96. 孤岛时期的夏丏尊
  97. 悼夏丏尊先生
  98. 第八章 速写众生相
  99. 半农的浅
  100. 我们是孤竹君之二子
  101. 一多的气质是刚性的
  102. 弘一法师之出家
  103. 弘一四变

FAQ

How does this book differ from *Elegance of This World*?
Both books share the "Portraits of the Great" approach but emphasize different things: *Elegance of This World* highlights the refined tastes found in ordinary city life, while *A Life of Fireworks* focuses more on the details and warmth of everyday existence. You can start with one according to your interest, then read the other in comparison.
Are the pieces in the book complete biographies or fragments?
They are selected essays by cultural luminaries describing episodes from the masters' lives and work—essayistic fragments and profiles, not continuous biographies. It is best read as a collection of group portraits in essay form.
Is it suitable for middle school students as extracurricular reading?
It can serve as extracurricular reading: the pieces are short and the language is standard, helping students appreciate how essays portray people and the details of life. For exam preparation, however, it should be paired with textbooks and teacher guidance, not used as a substitute for systematic reading.

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

Zhu Ziqing Author · Chinese · 1898–1948

Zhu Ziqing (1898–1948), originally named Zihua and styled Peixian, was a modern Chinese essayist, poet and scholar. His ancestral home was Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and he was born in Donghai, Jiangsu. He taught for many years at Tsinghua University, where he served as professor and chair of the Department of Chinese. His essays often draw on everyday observations and personal experience; written in clear, refined language with sincere and restrained feeling, they convey deep reflection through plain narration. Pieces such as "Back View," "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" and "Hurry" are widely read. Beyond creative writing, he devoted himself to the study and popularization of classical literature, notably in Common Talks on Classics, which surveys traditional texts in an accessible style. This collection holds more than 219 of his works, covering essays, literary appreciation and classic works. He died in Beiping in 1948.

Xiao Hong Author · China · 1911–1942

Xiao Hong, originally named Zhang Naiying, was a modern Chinese woman writer from Hulan, Heilongjiang. She rose to fame in 1935 with The Field of Life and Death. Her works are mostly set in the rural society of Northeast China, focusing on how ordinary people live and struggle with fate in turbulent times, with delicate, compassionate writing. Her representative work Tales of Hulan River unfolds through memories of her hometown and its people; its plain, natural language and essay-like narration portray local customs and individual experience, and it is regarded as an important achievement of modern Chinese literature. Works such as Ma Bole and Commercial Street also show her sustained observation of social reality and daily life. She died in Hong Kong in 1942 at the age of thirty-one. The library holds 175 of her works, commonly classified as social fiction and classics, reflecting her lasting influence among readers and publishers.

More by the same author

Top rated in the same category