Loud Sparrows
Contemporary Chinese Short-Shorts
Columbia University Press
Loud Sparrows
Contemporary Chinese Short-Shorts
Columbia University Press
Extremely short stories-known as short-shorts-have become a global phenomenon, but nowhere have they been embraced as enthusiastically as in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The form's artistic and aesthetic freedoms allow authors to capture the tone, texture, and chaos of their rapidly changing societies in infinitely inventive ways. Fragments and contingencies reveal unofficial histories, undocumented memories, and the trials of everyday individuals, and the genre's lean format is a welcome antidote to a culture characterized by rampant excess.
Loud Sparrows is a spirited collection of ninety-one short-shorts written by Chinese authors over the past three decades. Presenting diverse voices and perspectives by writers both well known and new to the art, the stories are culled from newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and personal collections. Their subjects range from the mundane to the sublime and illuminate everything from humanist ideals to traditional virtues to the material benefits of a commercialized society. The anthology is organized into thematic categories such as Change, Creatures, (In)fidelities, Grooming, Governance, Nourishment, and Weirdness, and includes notes to better understand the genre. Each section is introduced by an original piece of flash fiction written by Howard Goldblatt.
The short-short, to borrow a Chinese saying, is "small as a sparrow but has all the vital organs" of a good story. Loud Sparrows offers a comprehensive introduction to a unique literary genre that has revolutionized world literature.
Loud Sparrows is a spirited collection of ninety-one short-shorts written by Chinese authors over the past three decades. Presenting diverse voices and perspectives by writers both well known and new to the art, the stories are culled from newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and personal collections. Their subjects range from the mundane to the sublime and illuminate everything from humanist ideals to traditional virtues to the material benefits of a commercialized society. The anthology is organized into thematic categories such as Change, Creatures, (In)fidelities, Grooming, Governance, Nourishment, and Weirdness, and includes notes to better understand the genre. Each section is introduced by an original piece of flash fiction written by Howard Goldblatt.
The short-short, to borrow a Chinese saying, is "small as a sparrow but has all the vital organs" of a good story. Loud Sparrows offers a comprehensive introduction to a unique literary genre that has revolutionized world literature.
Beautiful and thought-provoking. Los Angeles Times
The pieces are varied, lively, often charming, and occasionally brilliant. Perry Link, New York Review of Books
It's well worth dipping into (repeatedly). The Complete Review
Beautiful and thought-provoking... A breeze of aesthetic freedom flows through all of them, making them fun to read. Susan Salter, Los Angeles Times
Funny, touching, intriguing and sometimes very beautifully... They are tiny vignettes of Chinese life in all its entire chaotic splendour. Jenny Niven, Time Out Beijing
Loud Sparrows is a delightful collection of short-shorts. Steve Noyes, The Vancouver Sun
Foreword, by Bei Dao
Introduction
I. Grooming
A Lover’s Ear, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Mothballs, by Chen Kehua
A Shaved Head, by Wang Meng
Lover, by Chen Kehua
Losing the Feet, by Zhong Jufang
Fad, by Zhang Zheng
II. Change
Wrong Number, by Liu Yichang
Learning to Talk, by Wang Meng
A Seat, by Liu Guofang
Self-Murder, by Cai Nan
Last Stop, Mongkok, by Che Zhengxuan
Parting, by Wang Kuishan
The Beat, by Liu Xinwu
III. Choices
“Left” with No Chance, by Chang Gang
Sunday Morning, by Xi Xi
Jailbreak, by Ku Ling
A Cup of Tea, by Yu Yingmao
In the Haystack, by Cao Naiqian
Returning Home on a Stormy Night, by He Weiping
Tied Together by Fate, by Chen Huiying
IV. Governance
The Busy Secretary, by Zhan Jing
Cloth Shoes, by Ah Cheng
Promotion Report, by Chen Hengchu
Purchase Request for a Kettle, by Xu Shijie
A Capable Man Can’t Handle a Small Case, by Liu Jing
Ears, by Sun Xuemin
V. Games
What’s Up, Lao Cao? , by Chen Shixu
General, by Liu Jianchao
Number Eight, by Wu Yimin
Observe, by Ah Cheng
Confinement, by Yuan Bingfa
Here’s How the Flu Spreads, by Qin Yong
The Upholder of Unity, by Wang Meng
VI. Controversy
A Tail, by Wang Zengqi
Black Hen, White Hen, by Ji Dongliang
My One Comment Too Many, by Yi Ming
Gan Xiaocao’s Bamboo Pole, by Deng Hongwei
Right to the Heart of the Matter, by Wang Meng
Sexual Harassment, by Lin Li-chun
VII. Anticipations
Bed-Wetting, by Zhang Jishu
The Principle of Rebound, by Xu Haiwei
Accidental Confidante, by Bai Xiaoyi
Matching Sets, by Wei Jinshu
Home, by Xiu Xiangming
Rendez-vous, by Si Li
VIII. Creatures
Cat, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Pets, by Ah Cheng
Sea Turtle, by Zhang Kangkang
Flies, by Yuan Qiongqiong
The Crow and the Fox, by Liang Dazhi
Waiting for a Windfall, by Wang Yanyan
Little Stray Cat, by Zhong Ling
IX. Sharing
Division, by Zhou Rui
Postcards, by Ye Si
The Cycle, by Ah Cheng
Black Umbrella, by Yi Ruofen
Small-Hands Chen, by Wang Zengqi
It Was the Pumpkin That Brought Me Here, by Luo Feng
In-Law, by Cao Naiqian
X. (In)Fidelities
Elope, by Fu Aimao
Frenchie, by Ai Ya
Hickey, by Ku Ling
Horse Talk, by Mo Yan
A Family Catastrophe, by Ku Ling
Hatred, by Ah Cheng
Confession of a Photographer, by Ku Ling
XI. Nourishment
Good Wine, by Chen Hui
Chimney Smoke, by Ah Cheng
0 Café, by Ku Ling
The Bus Stop and Haws-sicles, by Zhou Rui
Granny Drunkard, by Feng Jicai
Tea Scum, by Ling Dingnian
XII. Weirdness
Disputatiasis, by Wang Meng
The Features-Column Editor’s Daydream, by Liu Yichang
Death Dream, by Ku Ling
Empty Seat, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Little, Little, Little, Little, Little . . . , by Wang Meng
Strange Encounter, by Mo Yan
XIII. ?
An Explosion in the Living Room, by Bai Xiaoyi
Going Home, by Ai Ya
It Looks as If . . . , by Teng Gang
Not Seen, by Yuan Qiongqiong
My Wife Finally Goes Camping, by Lin Ji
Contemplating Water, by Zhong Ling
XIV. Elegy
Father, by Yuan Qiongqiong
A Knock at the Door, by Lin Jinlan
Grandpa Pothook, by Cao Naiqian
Killer Well, by Zhong Ling
Looking Back at Life at the Moment of Death, by Cai Nan
An Encounter with General Zhou, by Chi Zijian
XV. Looking Backward and Looking Ahead
The Look, by Li Zuchen
Notes
About the Authors
Introduction
I. Grooming
A Lover’s Ear, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Mothballs, by Chen Kehua
A Shaved Head, by Wang Meng
Lover, by Chen Kehua
Losing the Feet, by Zhong Jufang
Fad, by Zhang Zheng
II. Change
Wrong Number, by Liu Yichang
Learning to Talk, by Wang Meng
A Seat, by Liu Guofang
Self-Murder, by Cai Nan
Last Stop, Mongkok, by Che Zhengxuan
Parting, by Wang Kuishan
The Beat, by Liu Xinwu
III. Choices
“Left” with No Chance, by Chang Gang
Sunday Morning, by Xi Xi
Jailbreak, by Ku Ling
A Cup of Tea, by Yu Yingmao
In the Haystack, by Cao Naiqian
Returning Home on a Stormy Night, by He Weiping
Tied Together by Fate, by Chen Huiying
IV. Governance
The Busy Secretary, by Zhan Jing
Cloth Shoes, by Ah Cheng
Promotion Report, by Chen Hengchu
Purchase Request for a Kettle, by Xu Shijie
A Capable Man Can’t Handle a Small Case, by Liu Jing
Ears, by Sun Xuemin
V. Games
What’s Up, Lao Cao? , by Chen Shixu
General, by Liu Jianchao
Number Eight, by Wu Yimin
Observe, by Ah Cheng
Confinement, by Yuan Bingfa
Here’s How the Flu Spreads, by Qin Yong
The Upholder of Unity, by Wang Meng
VI. Controversy
A Tail, by Wang Zengqi
Black Hen, White Hen, by Ji Dongliang
My One Comment Too Many, by Yi Ming
Gan Xiaocao’s Bamboo Pole, by Deng Hongwei
Right to the Heart of the Matter, by Wang Meng
Sexual Harassment, by Lin Li-chun
VII. Anticipations
Bed-Wetting, by Zhang Jishu
The Principle of Rebound, by Xu Haiwei
Accidental Confidante, by Bai Xiaoyi
Matching Sets, by Wei Jinshu
Home, by Xiu Xiangming
Rendez-vous, by Si Li
VIII. Creatures
Cat, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Pets, by Ah Cheng
Sea Turtle, by Zhang Kangkang
Flies, by Yuan Qiongqiong
The Crow and the Fox, by Liang Dazhi
Waiting for a Windfall, by Wang Yanyan
Little Stray Cat, by Zhong Ling
IX. Sharing
Division, by Zhou Rui
Postcards, by Ye Si
The Cycle, by Ah Cheng
Black Umbrella, by Yi Ruofen
Small-Hands Chen, by Wang Zengqi
It Was the Pumpkin That Brought Me Here, by Luo Feng
In-Law, by Cao Naiqian
X. (In)Fidelities
Elope, by Fu Aimao
Frenchie, by Ai Ya
Hickey, by Ku Ling
Horse Talk, by Mo Yan
A Family Catastrophe, by Ku Ling
Hatred, by Ah Cheng
Confession of a Photographer, by Ku Ling
XI. Nourishment
Good Wine, by Chen Hui
Chimney Smoke, by Ah Cheng
0 Café, by Ku Ling
The Bus Stop and Haws-sicles, by Zhou Rui
Granny Drunkard, by Feng Jicai
Tea Scum, by Ling Dingnian
XII. Weirdness
Disputatiasis, by Wang Meng
The Features-Column Editor’s Daydream, by Liu Yichang
Death Dream, by Ku Ling
Empty Seat, by Yuan Qiongqiong
Little, Little, Little, Little, Little . . . , by Wang Meng
Strange Encounter, by Mo Yan
XIII. ?
An Explosion in the Living Room, by Bai Xiaoyi
Going Home, by Ai Ya
It Looks as If . . . , by Teng Gang
Not Seen, by Yuan Qiongqiong
My Wife Finally Goes Camping, by Lin Ji
Contemplating Water, by Zhong Ling
XIV. Elegy
Father, by Yuan Qiongqiong
A Knock at the Door, by Lin Jinlan
Grandpa Pothook, by Cao Naiqian
Killer Well, by Zhong Ling
Looking Back at Life at the Moment of Death, by Cai Nan
An Encounter with General Zhou, by Chi Zijian
XV. Looking Backward and Looking Ahead
The Look, by Li Zuchen
Notes
About the Authors