A Record of Returning Home

Yu DafuJul 2022

4.0

Word count: 13K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

"Returning Home" recounts the journey of "I" from Shanghai back to his hometown, describing the scenes along the way; yet once the boat reaches Fuyang, only the tail end of a story remains, wrapped up in a few hundred words.

Editor's review

"Returning Home" is a travelogue with autobiographical overtones: it follows the journey from Shanghai back to the author's hometown, laying out the scenes along the way in careful detail, yet once the boat reaches Fuyang, a single story is concluded in only a few hundred words, creating a marked "detailed first half, abbreviated second half." This structure is itself part of the reading pleasure—it succeeds not through a complete plot but through observations, moods, and self-disclosure along the journey. Yu Dafu's tone is candid and sensitive; his descriptions of scenery and people are often steeped in personal emotion, giving the piece the ease of an essay while retaining the narrative pull of fiction. It suits slow reading in quiet moments, paying attention to how the narrator shifts from "on the road" to "looking back," and how the abruptness of the ending alters the emotional resting point of the whole piece. Readers expecting a story with a full arc of setup, development, climax, and resolution may feel unsatisfied; those willing to take it as a homecoming record woven from emotion and geography will find layers in it.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy modern essays and autobiographical writing
Readers interested in Yu Dafu's works and the theme of returning home
Writers looking for short examples to study scene description and narrative pacing
Readers curious about waterway travel in Jiangnan in the modern era

Not a good fit for

Story readers seeking a complete plot and a clear ending
Readers who prefer fast-paced, high-conflict narratives
Readers with little patience for first-person, emotionally charged narration

Reading tips

Read through once to feel the rhythm of the journey, then revisit the opening and ending to compare how the arrangement of detail and brevity changes the emotional effect.
Mark sentences that describe scenery and those that express mood as you read, and notice how the two alternate and propel the piece forward.
Read it alongside Yu Dafu's other autobiographical works to observe the continuity of the narrator's persona.
After finishing, write a short review of about a hundred words, focusing on whether the abruptness of the ending affects your reading experience.

版权信息
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十

FAQ

Does "Returning Home" tell a complete story?

Not in the traditional sense. It mainly describes "I"'s journey from Shanghai back to his hometown, and only after the boat reaches Fuyang does it conclude a story in a few hundred words, with detail early and brevity late. The focus of reading lies in travel observations, moods, and narrative rhythm rather than in a plot's setup, development, climax, and resolution.

Why is the ending so short?

The material shows that after the boat reaches Fuyang only the tail of a story remains, concluded in a few hundred words. This arrangement places the weight of the whole piece on "the journey home" rather than "after returning home"; the abruptness of the ending itself changes the emotional resting point, and readers can appreciate it as a deliberate structural closure.

Can I read this directly without having read other works by Yu Dafu?

Yes. This piece is not long and is written in an autobiographical voice about travel experiences, so the barrier to entry is low. If, after reading, you are interested in the narrator's emotional tone, seek out his other autobiographical works for comparison, and the continuity of style will become easier to see.

Is it suitable as a model for writing?

It is useful as a reference for writing that interweaves scenery and mood, and for the arrangement of detail and brevity. But it is not a narrative model with a complete plot; when studying it, focus on observing how the elaboration of "on the road" accumulates emotion and how the short, abrupt ending shifts the center of gravity of the whole piece, rather than imitating its story structure.

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About the author

Yu Dafu Author · Chinese · 1896–1945

Yu Dafu (1896–1945), originally named Yu Wen and styled Dafu, was a native of Fuyang, Zhejiang, and a prominent modern Chinese writer as well as one of the founders of the Creation Society. He wrote mainly fiction and prose. His early novella Sinking shocked the literary world with its bold self-exposure and melancholy tone, while short stories such as Springtime in a Drunken Night and Late Osmanthus depict intellectuals' anguish and drifting through lyrical atmosphere. His prose is candid and strongly autobiographical, and he left a mark in biography, social fiction, and miscellaneous essays. The collection includes 130 of his works, among them Reminiscences of Lu Xun, complete prose collections, and selected short stories. During the War of Resistance he went to Singapore to engage in anti-Japanese propaganda, later fled to Sumatra, was secretly killed by Japanese military police in 1945, and was posthumously recognized as a revolutionary martyr in 1952.