China's Great Contemporary Literature 1

To Live (Alive, 活着), one of the writer Yu Hua's (余华) masterpieces (代表作), narrates the sufferings of Xu Fugui (徐福贵) in the context of an era that witnessed the civil war (内战), Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns (三反五反运动), the Great Leap Forward (大跃进), the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命) and several other social changes. Xu Fugui and his family continued to suffer through to the end. In fact, all relative left him successively, leaving only the old man and an old cow to live together. As such, "To Live" tells the story of a person's life. This is a life testimony of an old man who has experienced the vicissitudes and sufferings of the world. It is a drama that interprets the sufferings of life. The novel's narrator "I" gained a leisurely career when he, at a young age, went to the countryside to discover folk songs. In that just arrived summer season, "I" met the old man named Fugui, and listened to him talk about his bumpy life experiences. Yu Hua won the French Order of Arts and Literature (法国艺术及文学勋章) award for this novel in March 2004.



The book has 10 chapters in the following order:

Chapter 1: Destroyed Family Property (第一章：纨绔成性，败光家产)

Chapter 2: Father's death, Mother's Illness (第二章：父亲去世，母亲病重)

Chapter 3: Arrested into the City (第三章：进城被抓)

Chapter 4: Two Years in the Army (第四章：参军两年)

Chapter 5: Going Home (第五章：回家)

Chapter 6: Land Reforms (第六章：土地改革，逃过一劫)

Chapter 7: Fengxia was Sold (第七章：凤霞被卖)

Chapter 8: Chronic Illness (第八章：公社煮铁，家珍病重 )

Chapter 9: Youqing's Death (第九章：有庆去世)

Chapter 10: Fengxia's Family is Gone (第十章：凤霞一家三口的结局)



The current book volume, China's Great Contemporary Literature 1, is a Level 5 Chinese reading practice book. It would introduce you to the famous Chinese novel To Live (活着). The new volume in China's Great Contemporary Literature (中国当代文学, 精简版) includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin Romanization. With over 1000 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the reading series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3/4/5/6) to understand China as well as practice Chinese reading fast.