Encounter
Wang ZengqiTianjin People's Publishing House · ChinaJul 2022
Rating 4.1- Word count
- 148K words
- Chapters
- 23
- ISBN
- 9787201115573
Tags
Classic Works Ordinary PeopleCommon FolkLocal AffectionLyrical StyleLyrical ProseRural MemoryTurbulent EraPlain EleganceChanging TimesFolk CustomsSummary
This collection features 22 classic stories by Wang Zengqi, including such representative works as "Encounters," "Three Friends of Winter," and "Qili Tea House," offering a comprehensive view of the varied facets of his fiction. In these stories, Wang Zengqi creates vividly distinctive minor characters and, in a lyrical vein, portrays local customs and folkways rich in regional color, in a plain and natural style.Editor's review
Encounters is a highly representative collection of essays by Wang Zengqi, published by Tianjin People's Publishing House. The book gathers fine essays written in different periods, covering affectionate reminiscences of his hometown, delicate observations of daily life, original insights into culture and art, and impressions gathered in the course of travel. Wang Zengqi's writing has long been known for its plain simplicity and lingering depth; he excels at discovering poetry and philosophical reflection in the ordinary and trivial, and with a concise, unhurried brush he sketches vivid human feelings and social manners. In this collection, readers can feel not only his deep attachment to the water towns of Gaoyou and the plants of Kunming, but also his refined taste and learning in discussions of food, opera, and painting and calligraphy. These essays contain no grand narratives or fierce emotions, yet like tea slowly savored, they convey, in a gentle rhythm, a love of life, a steadfast pursuit of beauty, and a lucidity and warmth born of vicissitudes. Reading Encounters is like conversing with a learned, humorous, and generous elder, completing again and again, between the lines, a gentle encounter with beauty, with life, and with culture. For readers who love essays, seek inner quiet, and wish to enhance their literary and life aesthetics, this is a rare bedside book.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who love modern and contemporary Chinese essays, especially the fresh and lasting style of the Beijing School
- Those who hope to find a moment of quiet amid a fast-paced life and draw comfort and nourishment from words
- Readers interested in folk customs, food culture, and painting and calligraphy who wish to enrich their enjoyment of life
- Writing enthusiasts who want to learn how to express deep feeling and delicate observation in plain language
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer fiction with strong plot, fast pace, and intense dramatic conflict
- Readers seeking systematic academic research or profound social criticism
Reading tips
- Best read in leisure or before sleep, a few pieces at a time, savoring the flavor and mood between the lines
- Can be read alongside Wang Zengqi's fiction (such as "Ordination" and "Story of Big Nao") for a fuller understanding of his literary world
- Readers may slow down and notice how the author sketches scenes and portrays characters with plain description, appreciating his art of language
About the publisher
Tianjin People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1950Tianjin 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.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 邂逅
- 待车
- 安乐居
- 双灯
- 王四海的黄昏
- 岁寒三友
- 七里茶坊
- 鸡毛
- 小姨娘
- 辜家豆腐店的女儿
- 晚饭花
- 钓人的孩子
- 历史
- 羊舍一夕
- 黄油烙饼
- 尾巴
- 云致秋行状
- 星期天
- 拟故事两篇
- 故人往事
- 桥边小说三篇
- 寂寞和温暖
FAQ
What kind of writing is mainly collected in Encounters?
The book mainly collects Wang Zengqi's essays, broad in subject: reminiscences of old times and people, travel sketches, talks on art (discussing opera, painting and calligraphy, folk customs, and more), and life sketches, representing the essence of his essay writing.What are the characteristics of Wang Zengqi's essay style?
Wang Zengqi's essays are plain and natural, restrained and lasting, leisurely and unhurried. His language is concise and clear; he excels at capturing the details and delights of daily life, revealing true flavor in the ordinary. Full of cultural depth and the breath of life, he is known as a "lyrical humanist."Is this book suitable as an introduction to Wang Zengqi?
Very much so. As a selected collection of essays, Encounters covers many aspects of Wang Zengqi's essay writing and fairly comprehensively displays his literary style, aesthetic taste, and thought and feeling, making it a very good entry point for understanding this literary master's achievement in the essay.Related on WeRead
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About the author
Wang Zengqi Author · China · 1920–1997Wang Zengqi (1920–1997) was a modern Chinese writer, essayist, and dramatist from Gaoyou, Jiangsu. In 1939 he entered the Chinese Department of Southwest Associated University, where he studied under Shen Congwen. He later worked as an editor at Beijing Literature and as a playwright with the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe, and took part in adapting the Peking opera Shajiabang. His fiction and essays include such representative works as Shou Jie (The Love Story of a Young Monk), Da Nao Ji Shi, and Pu Qiao Ji. This site holds 77 of his titles, among them Shou Jie, the Wang Zengqi small complete works volume Da Nao Ji Shi, Renjian Caomu, Yu in Kunming, Slow Cooking Life, and several essay collections; his works are commonly grouped under classics and essays and miscellaneous writings. His prose is restrained yet evocative, drawing warmth and resonance from everyday food, plants and scenery, and the people and places of his hometown. He is known as “China's last literatus” and continues to reach a wide readership today.