Qinqiang Opera
Jia PingwaZhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021
Rating 4.0- Word count
- 432K words
- Chapters
- 12
- ISBN
- 9787533965150
Tags
Social Fiction Portrait GalleryPatriotismSocial CritiqueTraditional AestheticsCultural ChangeSocial ObservationFolk CustomsSummary
"Qin Qiang" (Shaanxi Opera) is undoubtedly one of Jia Pingwa's most famous and best-loved works. It won the 7th Mao Dun Literature Prize and was selected for the "70 Novels of 70 Years of New China" collection."Qin Qiang" is a work about hometown. Jia Pingwa said: "This novel, 'Qin Qiang,' is about what I know best, what is directly connected to my own life." Taking his hometown, Dihua Street, as the model, Jia Pingwa writes about the villagers and village affairs he feels most deeply about, and depicts the contradictions and bewilderment faced by rural China amid the great changes of the era. In terms of literary style, "Qin Qiang" is moreover a milestone work for Jia Pingwa, in which his everyday-life mode of writing reaches full maturity.
Editor's review
*Qin Qiang* ("Shaanxi Opera") is a major novel by Jia Pingwa modeled on his hometown of Dihua Street. It won the 7th Mao Dun Literature Prize and was selected for the "70 Novels in 70 Years of New China" collection. Its most moving quality is that the author writes into the novel the villagers and village affairs most familiar to him and directly bound up with his own life, presenting in a day-to-day manner the contradictions and bewilderment of rural China amid the transformations of a great era. It does not win readers through strong dramatic conflict; rather, through dense narration of weddings and funerals, family trivia, and fields and furrows, it lets readers feel the loosening and travail of the traditional rural order in the course of modernization. For readers who want to understand contemporary Chinese rural experience and care about rural change and the fate of traditional culture, this book offers a solid and rich literary sample. When reading, slow down and savor the flavor of dialect and the distinctive rhythm of life-flow narrative, catching the traces of an era turning in what seems like trivial daily life.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literary readers with a systematic interest in contemporary Chinese full-length novels
- Readers concerned with the transformation of rural China and the reality of village ethics
- Readers hoping to understand Jia Pingwa's creative style and landmark significance
- Students and scholars who need to study Mao Dun Literature Prize works and contemporary literary history
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer fast-paced stories with strong plots and strong reversals
- Readers impatient with life-flow narrative and dialect expression
- Readers hoping for light, sweet stories or urban romance themes
Reading tips
- Read through once without rushing to sort out character relationships; let the life-flow narrative unfold naturally.
- On a second reading, combine it with the background of rural China's transformation and pay attention to the information about the era embedded in daily details.
- When encountering dialect or local scenery descriptions, mark them simply; looking back after finishing will help you better appreciate their meaning.
- Read it alongside other rural-themed Mao Dun Literature Prize works to understand how different writers handle similar material.
About the publisher
Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1983Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House is a Chinese publisher specializing in literary publishing. Judging from the 808 titles in the database, its publishing areas cover world classics, foreign literature, social novels, folk literature and classic works, as well as modern and contemporary literature and prose. Representative titles include foreign literary translations such as Anna Karenina, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, In Praise of Shadows and The Complete Tragedies and Comedies of Shakespeare, alongside classic works by Lao She and Lu Xun such as Camel Xiangzi, Teahouse and Wandering. Its authors and translators include Leo Tolstoy, Cao Ying, Lao She, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Zhu Shenghao. The press emphasizes the translation and introduction of classic texts and the compilation of native literary works, giving equal weight to Chinese and foreign literature. Owing to limited public information, its specific series and editorial policies are not elaborated here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 正文一
- 正文二
- 正文三
- 正文四
- 正文五
- 正文六
- 正文七
- 正文八
- 正文九
- 后记
- 台湾版序
FAQ
What important awards has *Qin Qiang* won?
According to available information, *Qin Qiang* won the 7th Mao Dun Literature Prize and was selected for the "70 Novels in 70 Years of New China" collection. It is one of Jia Pingwa's best-known and most beloved works.What is the model for this novel's writing?
Jia Pingwa modeled it on his hometown of Dihua Street, writing about the villagers and village affairs he felt most deeply about. The author once said that *Qin Qiang* is about what was most familiar to him and directly bound up with his own life.What are the characteristics of *Qin Qiang*'s narrative style?
In terms of literary style, *Qin Qiang* is a landmark work by Jia Pingwa, in which his day-to-day writing reaches full maturity. The novel does not rely on strong dramatic conflict but unfolds the contradictions and bewilderment of rural China through dense daily narration.What background should I know before reading *Qin Qiang*?
It is not required. If you first understand the theme of the contradictions and bewilderment facing rural China amid the transformations of a great era, it will be easier to enter the novel's context; you may also pay attention to dialect and local scenery descriptions and slow down your reading pace.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
Jia Pingwa Author · Chinese · 1952Jia Pingwa, originally named Jia Pingwa, was born in Danfeng, Shaanxi, in 1952. A contemporary writer, he graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Northwest University in 1975 and has served as chairman of the Shaanxi Writers Association and vice chairman of the China Writers Association. His work spans social novels and prose, including Ruined City, Qin Opera, Ancient Furnace, Shan Ben and Zhan Zuo; Qin Opera won the seventh Mao Dun Literature Prize. The collection also includes Solo Walking, Moon Traces: Selected Prose of Jia Pingwa (English), Remembering the Wolf, Lao Sheng and Dai Deng, among twenty-six titles. His novels are rooted in rural life and social reality, while his prose is plain and natural, revealing character in everyday detail.