The Dancing Girl

Name: The Dancing Girl
ISBN: 9787201116860

森鸥外 / 赵玉皎Tianjin People's Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

4.3

Word count: 147K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787201116860

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Summary

Maihime (The Dancing Girl) is a selected collection of short fiction by Mori Ōgai, featuring thirteen representative novellas and short stories, including the "Dancing Girl trilogy," "The Tower of Silence," the novella The Wild Geese, the spiritual autobiography Delusion, "Yu Xuanji," and such celebrated historical tales as The Boat on the Takase River and Hanshan and Shide, accompanied by a ten-thousand-character introduction that presents the literary career of this great writer in three dimensions. The Dancing Girl, The Record of Foam, and The Messenger are known together as the "Dancing Girl trilogy." All three stories stem from Mori Ōgai's years in Germany and were an unexpected gift of his years of Western life, opening the way for Japanese Romantic literature.

Editor's review

This selected collection of Mori Ōgai's fiction centers on the "Dancing Girl trilogy" and also gathers thirteen novellas and short stories, including "The Tower of Silence," The Wild Geese, Delusion, "Yu Xuanji," The Boat on the Takase River, and Hanshan and Shide, together with a ten-thousand-character introduction that offers a fairly three-dimensional view of his creative span from Romanticism to historical fiction. The trilogy, born of his years in Germany, carries autobiographical elements and depicts conflicts of emotion and self-respect in a foreign setting; the later works shift toward restrained, cool narration and focus on individual choices caught between the era and ethics. The translation seeks to preserve the elegance and sense of distance of the original, and the introduction helps readers understand the context of Meiji literature. It is suited to slow reading in quiet hours, one or two pieces at a time, with attention to narrative perspective and the blanks left at the endings; readers interested in modern Japanese literature can take it as an entry point into Mori Ōgai's world.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern Japanese literature and the situation of intellectuals in the Meiji period
Literature lovers who enjoy short stories and novellas and prefer subtle, restrained narration
Students and teachers who need a supplementary reader for Japanese literature courses or a book-club selection
Beginners who want to understand the trajectory of Mori Ōgai's writing through the introduction

Not a good fit for

General-fiction readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced stories
Those unfamiliar with Meiji history and culture who are unwilling to read the introductory essay
Readers expecting a single full-length novel with a complete narrative

Reading tips

Read the ten-thousand-character introduction first to learn about Mori Ōgai's years in Germany and the phases of his career, then move on to the works.
Read in the order of "the trilogy—middle period—historical fiction" to appreciate the changes in style.
Pause after each piece and note the sense of distance between the narrator and the protagonist.
For the historical fiction, look up brief background information before reading the text to reduce obstacles to understanding.

About the publisher

Tianjin People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Tianjin People's Publishing House publishes across such fields as classic works, foreign literature, architecture, social culture and social sciences, with 749 relevant titles in the collection. In the areas of classics and scholarship, works such as Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua and Fei Xiaotong's From the Soil and Fertility and Reproduction reflect a sustained attention to social culture and classic texts of thought. Architectural books are represented by Liang Sicheng's Annotated Yingzao Fashi and A History of Chinese Architecture, showing an emphasis on architectural heritage and building traditions. In foreign literature, translations of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don and Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through the work of translators such as Li Gang and Yu Dawei, form a substantial series of translated works. Overall, the press combines classic texts, scholarly works and fine translations, with a publishing character oriented toward humanistic depth and the dissemination of knowledge.

版权信息
导读森鸥外：底比斯百门大都
舞姬
泡沫记
信使
修葺中
游戏
沉默之塔
妄想
雁
兴津弥五右卫门的遗书
佐桥甚五郎
鱼玄机
高濑舟
寒山拾得
译后记

FAQ

Which pieces make up the Dancing Girl trilogy?

According to this book, the "Dancing Girl trilogy" consists of The Dancing Girl, The Record of Foam, and The Messenger, all stemming from Mori Ōgai's years in Germany and regarded as a precursor of Japanese Romantic literature. When reading, you can read the three together and note the conflicts of emotion and self-respect in a foreign setting.

What kinds of works are collected in this book?

Besides the trilogy, it includes such novellas and short stories as "The Tower of Silence," The Wild Geese, Delusion, "Yu Xuanji," The Boat on the Takase River, and Hanshan and Shide, covering Romanticism, spiritual autobiography, and historical fiction, and presenting Mori Ōgai's literary career in fairly three-dimensional form.

Can I read it without any background in Japanese literature?

Yes, but it is advisable to read the ten-thousand-character introduction first. The works involve the social and ethical background of the Meiji period, and the introduction provides the necessary context of his writing; when reading the text, do not try to understand everything at once—first feel the narrative tone and the characters' situations, then return to the background.

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About the author

森鸥外 Author

Mori Ōgai is an important modern Japanese writer whose name is often associated in Chinese-reading circles with the short story "The Dancing Girl" (Maihime). Five of his works are included in the library, and the representative works are all titled "The Dancing Girl," with editions in the "Yue Classic Series 18" and the "Duke Classic Library," which shows that this work has been circulated relatively concentratedly in the Chinese-speaking world. Available materials provide limited information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, and early life; public information is limited, making it difficult to describe his life in detail. Judging from the common categories, his works are classified as foreign literature, classic works, and social fiction. Their themes often involve the situation of modern intellectuals caught between ideals and reality, with a restrained tone tinged with melancholy and attention to the tension between inner conflict and social ethics. Readers may wish to note the calm narrative perspective and the undercurrent of emotion in the characters, which is one reason his works continue to be reread by Chinese readers.

赵玉皎 Author

Zhao Yujiao is an author about whom limited public information is available. Two of her Chinese works are currently known, The Dancing Girl and Rashomon, which are often classified as classics and world masterpieces. Judging from the subject matter of these two works, what she engages with and presents is largely drawn from classic works of modern Japanese literature, dealing with themes such as human fate, the subtleties of human nature, and emotional entanglements, with a style that tends toward serious literary expression and delicate narrative development. Because information such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background is not found in the existing materials, her personal history cannot be described in detail at present; however, the choice of works suggests a sustained interest in and commitment to translating classic East Asian literature, especially modern Japanese fiction. Such works usually require translators to balance the tone, rhythm, and cultural context of the original, so her textual style tends to be faithful to the source and attentive to detail. For readers who wish to become acquainted with classic modern Japanese short stories, these two works can serve as references for introductory and further reading, while more information about the author herself remains to be supplemented by further public materials.