Imperfect Paradise
(SHEN CONGWEN)
Imperfect Paradise is a collection of short stories
by Chinese writer Shen Congwen (1902-1988). Shen Congwen''s career effectively
ended in 1949, with his works banned in both China
and Taiwan
due to his failure to follow either party line during the civil war. The twenty
four stories included in Imperfect Paradise span the three decades
before the revolution and showcase the extraordinary range of his work. A
native of West Hunan, he drew on Miao folk
tales as well as classical Chinese texts; he was also influenced by Western
writers such as Joyce and Shakespeare and thinkers such as Freud. He writes
about rough country justice, military barbarity and the uncertainties of the
warlord period, intellectual malaise, family life, change, childhood and
adolescence, and the contrast between city and country; he is as much at home
in the countryside of West Hunan as in the metropolis of Peking, with a poor
farmer, an itinerant puppeteer, or an avant-garde intellectual. His stories are
in turns lyrical, earthy, allegorical, sociological, psychological, and erotic.
Kinkley and his collaborators have produced accessible translations which
preserve much of the variety of the originals. Each story has a brief
introduction which sets it in the context of Shen Congwen''s life and Chinese
history; occasional footnotes are used where necessary to explain the meaning
of names or necessary cultural background. Also included are two non-fiction works, a collection of bawdy love songs from Zhen''gan
and a short play based on a folk prototype. Imperfect Paradise is a
potent collection: you could read it for a richly textured portrait of China in the
first half of the twentieth century or you could read it for some of the finest
short stories you will find anywhere.
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