Village Opera

Shi PingmeiMay 2024

3.7

Word count: 34K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Lu Xun wrote a short story titled "Village Opera." The "Village Opera" here is a different work: it is a collection of essays by Shi Pingmei, including pieces such as "A Single Red Leaf," "The Ivory Ring," "The Last Scene," "Sending My Feelings in Sealed Letters to the Yellow Springs," "Lingering Shadows of Mist and Rosy Clouds," "The Stone Bed Beside the Clear Pool of Ercuiluan," "Waves of the Heart," "Red Powder and Skeletons," "A Night of Fierce Wind and Torrential Rain," "I Shall Be Buried Alone on the Barren Hill," "Heartbroken and Tears Frozen to Ice," "A Dream Return to the Silence After the Dim Lamp," "Within the Endless Red Bloom and Dust," "Dream Return," "The Return," and "Village Opera." Although these works emphasize different subjects, they give voice to the author's exceedingly passionate yet profoundly sorrowful cry.

Editor's review

Shi Pingmei's essays have the force of opening her heart for all to see; fervor and sorrow exist almost simultaneously in every piece. This selection includes "A Single Red Leaf," "The Ivory Ring," "The Last Scene," "Sending My Feelings in Sealed Letters to the Yellow Springs," and others. Its themes center largely on emotion, remembrance, and parting by death, and the prose is intense yet restrained: she does not wail at the most grievous moments, nor embellish at the most affectionate ones. Her narration often begins with an old object or a scene and gradually builds toward an inner upheaval; reading it is like listening to someone speak softly under a lamp, every sentence warm with life. Unlike Lu Xun's short story of the same title, the "Village Opera" here is written as an essay, with its focus on feeling and memory rather than plot. The book is suited to slow reading in a quiet setting, especially for readers interested in modern women's writing and the tradition of lyrical prose. It offers no easy diversion, yet it lets one understand how a person may use words to lay to rest a sorrow that cannot be laid to rest.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy modern women's essays and care about the tradition of emotional writing
Those interested in Republican-era literature and the spiritual world of intellectuals
Readers going through loss or parting who need companionship in words
Writing students who want to see how private emotion can become powerful prose

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light, pleasant reading and relaxation
Readers who prefer objective, calm narration and have little patience for intense lyricism
Readers hoping to find Lu Xun's short story "Village Opera" of the same title

Reading tips

Begin with the shorter, emotionally gentler pieces before moving on to the works of remembrance and mourning.
While reading, note her recurring images, such as red leaves, rings, and lamplight, and follow their emotional thread.
When emotionally fragile, avoid reading the mourning pieces consecutively; alternate them with lighter reading.
After finishing, compare with women's essays from the same period to see how different authors handle grief.

版权信息
一片红叶
象牙戒指
最后的一幕
缄情寄向黄泉
烟霞余影——龙潭之滨
二翠峦清潭畔的石床
心之波
红粉骷髅
狂风暴雨之夜
我只合独葬荒丘
肠断心碎泪成冰
梦回寂寂残灯后
无穷红艳烟尘里
梦回
归来
社戏

FAQ

Is this "Village Opera" Lu Xun's short story?

No. This is a collection of essays by Shi Pingmei. One of the pieces is also titled "Village Opera," but it is an essay centered on personal feeling and memory, entirely different from Lu Xun's short story of the same title.

The emotional intensity is high—will reading it feel oppressive?

Some of the mourning and remembrance pieces are indeed heavy, but her writing also contains fervor and defiance, not unrelieved grief. Read slowly, piece by piece, and set it aside temporarily when you are not in a good mood; there is no need to finish it in one sitting.

Will not knowing Shi Pingmei's life affect my reading?

Not much. Her essays mostly start from concrete situations and inner feeling, so the emotion comes through even without background knowledge. For a deeper understanding, you can read a brief account of her life afterward and then return to the relevant pieces.

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About the author

Shi Pingmei Author · China · 1902–1928

Shi Pingmei (1902–1928), originally named Shi Rubi and known by the pen name Bowei, was a native of Pingding, Shanxi, and a prominent woman writer in Beijing during the May Fourth period. She is often grouped with Bing Xin, Lu Yin and Lin Huiyin as one of the talented women of the Republican era. In 1919 she entered Beijing Women's Higher Normal School and later taught at the affiliated middle school of Beijing Normal University. From 1924 she co-edited Women's Weekly and Rose Weekly with Lu Jingqing, developing a brief literary career between editing and writing. Her essay collections Taoyu and Ouran Cao are lucid and deeply felt, while her fiction Hongzong Ma and Pima Sifeng Lu shows delicate psychological insight into personal emotion and the anxieties of the age. Her work spans essays, social fiction and literary appreciation, with twenty-one titles held in the collection. She died of meningitis in 1928 at only 26, leaving a small but sincere and graceful body of writing that adds a poignant yet bright note to Republican-era women's literature.