What is it? A performance of the Kun-style “opera” at the MET museum, with subtitles.
Lynn A. Struve, Voices from the Ming-Qing Cataclysm: China in Tiger’s Jaws. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1993: Chapters 1-6.
What is it? Translations of eyewitness accounts of the upheaval, and other primary source documents from the Ming-Qing transition.
Spence, Jonathan D. Emperor of China: Self Portrait of Kʻang Hsi. New York: Vintage Books, 1975, Chapters 2-5 (pp. 25-139 in this edition)
What is it? Spence uses a variety of documents to weave together a “self-portrait” of one of the most important emperors of the Qing (read the Introduction for an explanation of his method).
Cao Xueqin, Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: The Golden Days, transl. by David Hawkes. Harmsworth: Penguin Books, 2006: Chapters 1-5.
What is it? The opening chapters of one of the greatest novels in the world- I encourage you to read the entire book (five volumes in total), some day in the near future. It will be worth it.
Earlier prints of David Hawkes translation also acceptable.
Shen, Fu. Six Records of a Floating Life. Trans. by Leonard Pratt and Chiang Su-hui. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1983.
What is it? The translation of the four surviving chapters of Shen Fu’s memoir. This gives you a good sense of the ups and downs, pleasures and disappointments in the life of a member of the “gentry” class in late Qing China.
Lu Xun. “Ah Q – The Real Story”. In Diary of a Madman and Other Stories. Transl. by William A. Lyell. Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1990, 101-172. [e-book]
What is it? One of the transformative stories in modern Chinese fiction.
Lao She, Rickshaw: The Novel Lo-t’o Hsiang Tzu. Transl. by Jean M. James. Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1979. [e-book]
What is it? A novel which documents the hard life of the lower classes in Beijing. Hsiang Tzu [Xiang Zi] makes a living transporting passengers with a rickshaw. He dreams of owning his own rickshaw some day.
Farewell, My Concubine. Directed by Chen Kaige. Miramax Films and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 1999.
What is it? This film follows the trials and tribulations of a pair of actors of jingju (known as Beijing opera), with China’s twentieth-century history as the backdrop. The title is taken from the play which made the fame of the two protagonists, who are loosely based on real historical figures from the late third century BCE. The character of Cheng Dieyi (nicknamed Douzi) is loosely based on the real life jingju star Mei Lanfang.
The Last Emperor. Directed by Bernardo Bertoluci. Yanco Films, 1987.
What is it? Epic bio-pic of Puyi, the last of the Manchu emperors, who died a commoner under the Communist regime. (Please note: our DVD is dubbed in English (sigh…) I am hoping to get a Chinese version with subtitles.
Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God’s Wife. 1st Vintage Contemporaries Ed. ed. New York: Vintage, 1993. (other editions available)
What is it? Focus on the “inner story” of Winnie (Chapter 3 onwards), which uses much of the history of twentieth-century China until 1949 as background. Although fictional, the story does a great job of portraying everyday life and struggles in China during a period of turmoil, told from a young woman’s point of view.
Lust Caution (Se jie). Directed by Ang Lee. Haishang Films, 2008.
What is it? Based on a short story by Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang). During World War II, a young woman gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee. He is a collaborator with the Japanese occupying forces, and she is trying to have him assassinated. (contains graphic scenes of sex and violence)
Devils on the Doorstep. Directed by Jiang Wen. Home Vision Entertainment, 2005.
A black comedy on what happens when the resistance drops two Japanese prisoners off in an unsuspecting village. (contains graphic scenes of violence)
To Live (Huozhe). Directed by Zhang Yimou. MGM Home Entertainment, 2003.
What is it? This fictional story follows the life of Xu Fugui and his family, and how they adapt (or not) to life in constantly changing political circumstances, from life under the Nationalist government to the various campaigns under the Communist Party.
Dai, Sijie. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. London: Vintage, 2002.
What is it? Dai’s fictional novel is informed by his personal experiences during the Cultural Revolution, when he was “sent down” to the country side. Two young men are sent to a small village near the border with Tibet. One of the other sent-down youths has a suitcase full of Chinese translations of the great nineteenth century novels from the West- obviously forbidden literature at the time…
Yang, Jiang. Six Chapters from My Life “downunder”. Translated by Howard Goldblatt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988.
What is it? Six sketches forming a memoir of Yang Jian’s experiences during the Cultural Revolution. She was an academic, who was sent to the countryside for re-education, together with her husband.
Tuchman, Barbara W. Notes from China. 2017 Random House Trade Paperback Edition. ed. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2017.
What is it? Tuchman, a prolific journalist and author, spent six weeks traveling through China in June 1972. She is well aware of her limitations in writing about a country when she does not speak the language, but she is a good observer who is familiar with China’s history. Her notes are an interesting insight in Americans’ re-engagement with China.
