Yu Hua
Encyclopedia
Yu Hua is a Chinese
author
, born April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou
, Zhejiang
province. He practiced dentistry
for five years and later turned to fiction writing in 1983 because he didn't like "looking into people’s mouths the whole day." Writing allowed him to be more creative and flexible. He grew up during the Cultural Revolution
and many of his stories and novels are marked by this experience. One of the distinctive characteristics of his work is his penchant for detailed descriptions of brutal violence.
Yu Hua has written four novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His most important novels are Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
and To Live
. The latter novel was adapted for film by Zhang Yimou
. Because the film was banned in China, it instantly made the novel a bestseller and Yu Hua a worldwide celebrity. His novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.
Novels
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, born April 3, 1960 in Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province. He practiced dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
for five years and later turned to fiction writing in 1983 because he didn't like "looking into people’s mouths the whole day." Writing allowed him to be more creative and flexible. He grew up during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
and many of his stories and novels are marked by this experience. One of the distinctive characteristics of his work is his penchant for detailed descriptions of brutal violence.
Yu Hua has written four novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His most important novels are Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant is a novel published by Chinese writer Yu Hua in 1995. It is his second published novel after To Live. It is the story of a man, Xu Sanguan, who sells his blood over the years in an attempt to improve the lives of himself and his family...
and To Live
To Live
To Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
. The latter novel was adapted for film by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
. Because the film was banned in China, it instantly made the novel a bestseller and Yu Hua a worldwide celebrity. His novels have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, Serbian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Malayalam.
Works
Short Stories- Leaving Home at EighteenLeaving Home at EighteenLeaving at Home at Eighteen is a short story by Yu Hua.-Plot:The narrator of the story is on a road traveling by foot, searching for an inn. The people in the previous hamlet had told him to keep walking until he found one. But he has been walking for hours and is starting to worry...
(十八岁出门远行, Shíbā Suì Chūmén Yuǎnxíng) - The Past and the Punishments: Eight Stories ISBN 0-8248-1817-2 for: Translator Andrew F. Jones. University of Hawaii PressUniversity of Hawaii PressThe University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
, 1996.- Blood and Plum BlossomsBlood and Plum BlossomsBlood and Plum Blossoms is a short story by Chinese writer Yu Hua, first published in 1989, that is an unconventional parody of the classic martial arts novel....
(鮮血梅花, Xiānxuè Méihuā) - Classical LoveClassical LoveClassical Love is a short story by Chinese writer Yu Hua, that is an unconventional parody of the classic scholar and beauty novel style.-References:...
- Blood and Plum Blossoms
- World Like Mist: Eight Stories (Shi shi ru yan) ISBN 986-7691-37-7
- China in Ten Words (Shige cihui zhong de zhongguo, translated from the Chinese by Allan H. Barr, 2011) ISBN-13: 978-0-307-37935-1
Novels
- To LiveTo LiveTo Live is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994, starring Ge You, Gong Li, and produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and ERA International. It is based on the novel of the same name by Yu Hua. Having achieved international success with his previous films , director Zhang Yimou's To Live...
(1992) (活着, Huózhe) ISBN 1-4000-3186-9 - Chronicle of a Blood MerchantChronicle of a Blood MerchantChronicle of a Blood Merchant is a novel published by Chinese writer Yu Hua in 1995. It is his second published novel after To Live. It is the story of a man, Xu Sanguan, who sells his blood over the years in an attempt to improve the lives of himself and his family...
(许三观卖血记, Xǔ Sānguān Mài Xuè Jì) (1995) ISBN 1-4000-3185-0 - Cries in the Drizzle (在细雨中呼喊, Zaixiyuzhong Huhan) (2003) ISBN 978-0-307-27999-6
- BrothersBrothers (2005 novel)Brothers is a novel by the Chinese author Yu Hua which was published in 2005. The book was translated into English and Spanish in 2009, and into Brazilian Portuguese in 2010....
(兄弟, Xiōng Dì) (2005) shortlisted at the 2008 Man Asian Literary PrizeMan Asian Literary PrizeThe Man Asian Literary Prize, founded in 2007, is an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year...
Further reading
- Chinese Writers on Writing featuring Yu Hua. Ed. Arthur SzeArthur SzeArthur Sze is a second-generation Chinese American poet.-Background:Sze was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of eight books of poetry...
. (Trinity University Press, 2010).