Whispered Words

Jian ZhenJiuzhou Press · ChinaJun 2020

Rating 3.9
Word count
19K words
Chapters
123
ISBN
9787510846731

Tags

Essays and Miscellany Nature ObservationSpiritual HealingSlow ReadingDaily ReflectionsTender SentimentLife Wisdom

Summary

This is the only collection of short prose pieces from Jian Zhen's thirty-year writing career, divided into three parts: "Seven Seasons," "One Thought Ties Three Thousand Worlds," and "Traces of Flowing Water." In "Seven Seasons," her only such selection, Jian Zhen observes the vast world with a distinctive eye, revealing how ordinary people find life and joy amid daily domesticity. "One Thought Ties Three Thousand Worlds" emerged after she lingered for days in a stone garden, observing the postures of stones and discerning their textures; over time she could faintly sense the emotions and consciousness of the stones and hear their stories of wind and rain, and so wrote seventy-four short pieces. In all, nearly twenty years of short prose and brief aphorisms have been sifted into a small heap that rustles and whispers, old feelings and new laments sounding together. To the ear it is as if she once shouted at a distant mountain years ago, and only now has that mountain released the echo.

Editor's review

A collection of essays from Jian Zhen's middle years, Miscellany gathers pieces written around her fortieth birthday. Compared with the youthful verve and ornate diction of her early work, this book shows an inward settling and clarity. Jian Zhen describes it as a "mid-career transformation," an attempt to move from complexity to simplicity, from lyricism to reflection. The pieces are short—most around a thousand characters—yet they carry a deep gaze into enduring questions of time, memory, solitude, and death. In poetic language she distills fragments of daily life—a falling leaf, the sound of rain, a sleepless night—into meditations on the nature of existence. The prose retains her characteristic sharpness and delicacy, but the feeling is more restrained and the pace more unhurried, like a wise elder murmuring beside the long river of years. These "miscellanies" are not private confessions but an attempt to share with readers an understanding of the common ground of life that transcends particular experience. For readers familiar with her early work, this book is a valuable sample of how a fine writer breaks through herself and completes a stylistic transformation; for new readers, it is an excellent window into a deep and tranquil inner world.

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Reading tips

  1. Best read slowly in a quiet setting, savoring the white space and resonance between the lines
  2. No need to finish in one sitting; keep it by the bedside and read one or two pieces a day, letting your thoughts settle with them
  3. Reading alongside your own life experience and reflections, in dialogue with the text, may bring deeper resonance

About the publisher

Jiuzhou Press China · Founded in 1993

Jiuzhou Press is a comprehensive publisher with humanities, social sciences, and classic works as important publishing directions, maintaining a sustained focus on philosophy, history, literature, and social culture. Its catalogue includes works by modern literary masters such as Xiao Hong and Lu Xun, as well as intellectual and art history works by Xu Fuguan, including A History of Chinese Theories of Human Nature: Pre-Qin Volume, A History of Han Thought, and The Spirit of Chinese Art: A Study of Shitao. It also translates and introduces overseas academic works such as Peter H. Wilson's The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy and Peter Suber's The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, and covers cross-cultural exchange themes such as From Dunhuang to Samarkand. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of original texts with academic translation, forming relatively stable author and title resources in categories including philosophy, military affairs, theory, and social culture. More complete information about the press's publishing history and plans is limited in publicly available sources; this summary is based only on the titles in the catalogue.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一语 七个季节
  3. 人之卷
  4. 事之卷
  5. 时之卷
  6. 地之卷
  7. 第二语 一念系三千世界
  8. 祥云
  9. 舞乾坤
  10. 夜读
  11. 鹦鹉头
  12. 夫妻石
  13. 斜壁
  14. 珍珠贝
  15. 一拳定江山
  16. 映
  17. 狮子吼
  18. 牲礼——记肉形石
  19. 人间世
  20. 云乡
  21. 春天从高山下来
  22. 坐看云起时
  23. 鸟鸣洞
  24. 对歌
  25. 钟鼎山林
  26. 大海回澜
  27. 斧与臼的对白
  28. 饮泣
  29. 初恋
  30. 天之仓廪
  31. 振衣千仞岗
  32. 叠浪
  33. 绿
  34. 凤求凰
  35. 白玉象
  36. 冰冻三尺
  37. 三生石
  38. 洞仙
  39. 姊妹
  40. 兄弟
  41. 卷起千堆雪
  42. 孪生
  43. 侠侣
  44. 神木
  45. 养气
  46. 负剑游侠
  47. 将帅相逢
  48. 父母心
  49. 一线天
  50. 独步青云
  51. 穿过幽静的甬道
  52. 圆满
  53. 太极
  54. 旷世巨作
  55. 月娘
  56. 看破
  57. 高山闻笛
  58. 一念系三千世界
  59. 天山暖雪
  60. 云山
  61. 神岩
  62. 一帆风顺
  63. 飞天
  64. 白牡丹
  65. 纵浪大化
  66. 风吹袭
  67. 三阳开泰，福至心灵
  68. 龙盘虎踞太师椅
  69. 神龟
  70. 不眠
  71. 花与兽
  72. 石字钟
  73. 日月大吉
  74. 第三语 流水线索
  75. 1
  76. 2
  77. 3
  78. 4
  79. 5
  80. 6
  81. 7
  82. 8
  83. 9
  84. 10
  85. 11
  86. 12
  87. 13
  88. 14
  89. 15
  90. 16
  91. 17
  92. 18
  93. 19
  94. 20
  95. 21
  96. 22
  97. 23
  98. 24
  99. 25
  100. 26
  101. 27
  102. 28
  103. 29
  104. 30
  105. 31
  106. 32
  107. 33
  108. 34
  109. 35
  110. 36
  111. 37
  112. 38
  113. 39
  114. 40
  115. 41
  116. 42
  117. 43
  118. 44
  119. 45
  120. 46
  121. 47 眺望墓山有感
  122. 48
  123. 后记 回音

FAQ

How does this book differ from Jian Zhen's early works such as Questions of Water and Only Because I Am in These Mountains? The greatest difference lies in style and mood. The early works are emotionally charged and richly ornamented, full of youthful searching and melancholy; Miscellany is more restrained, quiet, and plain—a clearer, more philosophical contemplation of life from middle age, with the writing moving from "heavy ink and vivid color" to "light brushwork."
What exactly does the "miscellany" in the title refer to? "Miscellany" can be understood as the author's intimate dialogue with herself, with time, and with all things. These words are not loud declarations but murmurs and musings from deep within, concerning subtle yet momentous insights into life; readers must listen quietly to grasp the meaning within the "miscellany."
Is this book suitable as an introduction to Jian Zhen? It can serve as an introduction, but expectations should be adjusted. It shows the literary realm and intellectual depth of Jian Zhen's mature period. For a fuller understanding of her, read it alongside her early representative works; the arc of a rich creative life and spiritual journey will then be clearer.

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About the author

Jian Zhen Author · Chinese · 1961

Jian Zhen, born in 1961 under the original name Jian Minzhen, was born in Yilan, Taiwan, and graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature at National Taiwan University. A contemporary essayist, she calls herself an "incurable lover of the essay" and writes mainly essays along with miscellaneous prose, often centering on memories of rural life, women's experiences and everyday life. Her representative works include Shui Wen, Nü'er Hong, Yanzhi Pendi, Zhi Yuan Shen Zai Ci Shan Zhong, Hong Yingzai, Mengyou Shu, Weiyun de Shulin, Jiuqing Furan and Sifang Shu. Her prose is delicate and concise, rich in imagery and sincere in feeling, giving her a distinctive style in contemporary Taiwanese essay writing. She has received the China Times Literary Award for best essay and the National Award for Arts.