To Live (novel)
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| Author | Yu Hua |
|---|---|
| Original title | 活着/活著 – huózhe |
| Translator | Michael Berry |
| Country | China |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Anchor Books & Random House of Canada Limited |
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Publication date
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1993 |
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Published in English
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2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 235 |
| ISBN | |
To Live (simplified Chinese: 活着; traditional Chinese: 活著; pinyin: Huózhe) is a 1993 novel by Chinese novelist Yu Hua. It describes the struggles endured by the son of a wealthy land-owner, Fugui, while historical events caused and extended by the Chinese Revolution are fundamentally altering the nature of Chinese society. The contrast between his pre-revolutionary status as a selfish fool who (literally) travels on the shoulders of the downtrodden and his post-revolutionary status as a persecuted peasant are stark.
To Live is one of the most representative work by Yu Hua. The story begins with the narrator traveling through the countryside to collect folk songs and local legends and starting to hear a old peasant talking about his experiences, which encompass many significant historical events in China including the The Great Leap Forward, Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns and Cultural Revolution. Over the course of the story, the main character, Xu Fugui, witnesses the death of his family members and loved ones.
The book was originally published in the Shanghai literary journal Harvest.
Yu Hua wrote in his introduction that the novel was inspired by the American folk song "Old Black Joe".
Xu Fugui, son of a local rich man, is a compulsive gambler. After he gambles away the entire family fortune, his father dies with grief and indignation. The Chinese civil war is occurring at the time, and Fugui is forced to join the national army. By the time he finally returns home two years later, he finds his mother has died of a stroke, and his daughter has become mute and lost most of her hearing from a fever. Years later, Fugui's only son dies due to medical negligence while he was donating blood. The daughter finally grows up and finds a husband. They are a happy couple until she dies from giving birth to their son. Soon after that, Fugui's wife dies of osteomalacia, and his son-in-law dies in a construction accident. Eventually, even Fugui’s last relative, his grandson Kugen, chokes to death while eating beans. Finally out of relatives, Fugui buys an old ox to accompany him. While it seems like the world holds nothing left for Fugui, he never gives up. Fugui believes there is still hope that things will get better.
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