Fallen Leaves

Xu ZhimoMay 2017

4.0

Word count: 51K words
Chapters: 21

Summary

I cannot forget her. She was a duckweed leaf spinning in the torrent of life; I saw it, scooped it into my hands and turned it over for a while, then gave it back to its fate and let it drift on—I had not seen its earlier wanderings, nor would I see those to come, yet even this brief bond of acquaintance—in truth she and I were together no more than nine hours—has left its trace in the mud of my heart. How could I forget, and how, when I recall it, could I not feel a moment's melancholy?

Editor's review

"Fallen Leaves" is one of Xu Zhimo's prose pieces. It is not long, yet it renders a brief encounter with lingering tenderness and restraint. The essay uses the image of a duckweed leaf to write of the chance meeting and inevitable parting between people; the language is light, while the mood is heavy. Xu Zhimo's prose always attends to rhythm and cadence, and this piece is especially notable for it—between sentence and sentence there is a rise and fall almost like breathing, so that reading it feels like listening to a low, murmured monologue. Its value lies not in telling a complete story but in writing "remembering" itself through to the bone: nine hours together in exchange for an indelible trace in the mud of the heart—this unequal memory is an experience many people share. It suits being read alone on a quiet afternoon or at night, not quickly, and not in too many pieces at once, or the emotion easily feels too dense. As a sample for understanding Xu Zhimo's prose style, it is short enough and typical enough.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like Xu Zhimo's prose and want to read his non-poetic work
Those interested in the language and lyrical tone of Republican-era prose
Readers going through parting or remembrance who hope to settle their feelings through words
Writers who need a short model text for sensing the rhythm and rhetoric of modern prose

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer tightly plotted, strongly narrative stories
Those easily impatient with heavy lyricism and a sentimental tone
Readers hoping to gain practical guidance or factual information from prose

Reading tips

Read it through once to feel the tone, then go back and mark the metaphors and short sentences to see how rhythm advances the emotion.
After reading, try retelling the "duckweed leaf" metaphor in your own words to test whether you have truly understood it.
If your emotions are stirred, pause before reading it a second time, and avoid reading too many lyrical pieces at once.
Read it alongside other Crescent School prose to notice Xu Zhimo's preferences in sentence structure and cadence.

版权信息
印度洋上的秋思
北戴河海滨的幻想
翡冷翠山居闲话
巴黎的鳞爪
九小时的萍水缘
我所知道的康桥
一
二
三
四
天目山中的笔记
浓得化不开之一
浓得化不开之二
落叶
毒药
白旗
婴儿
“话”
给陆小曼——代序
恩厚之来信

FAQ

Is "Fallen Leaves" a novel or a prose piece?

From the materials, this is a first-person prose piece about an encounter and remembrance, with no full plot development; its focus is on the unfolding of emotion and metaphor, so it is not a novel. When reading, there is no need to expect a story arc; it is better appreciated as a short lyrical essay for its language.

What does the "duckweed leaf" metaphor express?

It compares a person's drifting and chance encounters in the torrent of life to a duckweed leaf floating on water. The author sees it, turns it over for a moment, then gives it back to fate, showing that meetings are brief and partings inevitable, yet the brief encounter has left a trace in the heart; the emphasis is on unequal memory and melancholy.

Is this suitable to read in one sitting?

It is short, so it can be read in one sitting, but it is best to pause and look back after finishing. Xu Zhimo's prose has a high emotional density; reading it quickly in succession easily leaves only an impression of "sentimentality" and misses the care taken with sentence structure and metaphor.

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

Xu Zhimo Author · Chinese · 1897–1931

Xu Zhimo (1897–1931) was a native of Haining, Zhejiang, and a modern Chinese poet and essayist who became a leading figure of the Crescent Moon School. He studied in the United States and Britain, began writing new poetry in 1921, helped found the Crescent Moon Society, and edited publications such as the poetry supplement of Chen Bao and the journal Xinyue, leaving a lasting influence on modern Chinese poetry. His representative collections include Poems of Zhimo, A Night in Florence, and The Tiger. His verse is known for its clear language, gentle rhythm, and sincere feeling, often linking natural scenery with personal emotion and combining romantic sensibility with musicality; his essays are likewise graceful and free in style. The collection holds 145 of his works, including modern poetry, classic works, and translations of foreign literature such as Candide and L'Ingénu, reflecting his dual role as poet and translator. Xu Zhimo died in a plane crash in 1931.