Yu Hua

Yu was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, on 3 April 1960. Yu Hua's parents worked as doctors, so his family lived in a hospital compound across from the mortuary. His childhood proximity to death shaped his later works. He practiced dentistry for five years before turning to fiction writing in 1983 because he didn't like "looking into people's mouths the whole day." For Yu Hua, the Cultural Revolution took place from the ages of seven to seventeen. Yu Hua is interested in the interplay of diverse meaning constructions, particularly between imagination and reality. He was born in Hangzhou, but he spent his formative years in the Wuyuan Township in Haiyan, a small town that has been thought to be fairly monotonous, but much of Yu Hua's writing uses it as the setting behind his characters. Yu Hua has stated that writing makes him feel like he is going back to Haiyan; thus, many of Yu Hua's writing uses Haiyan as a story setting. After failing to enter the university, Yu Hua took a one-year program to become a dentist. He was a dentist for 6 years but then started writing more seriously when he grew bored of that lifestyle. Yu Hua has stated that his writing has been heavily influenced by both Franz Kafka and Yasunari Kawabata, among others. He stated that by reading Kawabata's work, he understood that the point of writing was to show human feelings. However, there is also a deep connection that Yu Hua has with his country and its history. His writing reflects that. In an interview with The New Yorker, he stated that, "My writing is always changing, because my country is always changing, and this inevitably affects my views and feelings about things." Yu Hua's personal life was heavily influenced by the changes that China has gone through, which is perhaps why many of his early texts often portray the world as cold and ruthless, marked by graphic descriptions of physical violence and bodily mutilation. In recent years, Yu Hua has dedicated many of his works about China itself, both aimed at China and East Asia, and then also the Western world. He also writes a monthly column for The New York Times in which he describes issues about China. Many of his writings have been known for their violence, but he is also known for some of his more intimate style. For example, he stated in an interview that the book "To Live" addresses "the cruelty and violence of the Cultural Revolution," but that he also has "milder stories" like "The Boy in Twilight." One of the key aspects of his writing is in dealing with the absurd. In an interview, he stated that "I am a realistic writer, and if my stories are often absurd, that's simply because they are a projection of absurd realities." As China has changed, he has started writing about the absurdities that come with it. In answering the criticisms that his writing is too violent, he responds that he is reflecting what he sees in reality, stating that "violence has long existed in my subconscious." == Writing style, themes and avant-garde ==

Themes Heavily inspired and affected by the Cultural Revolution, the Civil War and Cultural Revolution, When he began focusing on more chaotic themes in Brothers, Yu Hua admitted his belief that despite his past modeling after Kafka's novels, "the essential nature of writing was to free yourself. If the great masters can unfetter themselves, why can't we?" The linguistic humour of Yu Hua's novels is gray humour in extreme contrast, a kind of zero-degree emotional narration, and this humour often receives a surprisingly effective expression. He creates humour mainly through the context, the situation, the context of the times, and the national cultural tradition. He has been influenced by music, with a particular interest in classical, and the narrative structure of music; in fact, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant uses techniques borrowed from Yue opera's style. He constantly draws from musical works when he composes his novels, using the characteristics of musical language to enrich his writing, thus making his fictional language full of musical rhythms, which is closely related to Yu Hua's musical literacy and musical hobbies. He also gained inspiration for his literary creation from musical pieces. For example, repetition of words is a narrative style Yu Hua favours. It is an important method for him to portray his characters' character traits and psychological changes, achieving a focused and concise language expression through the clever use of repetitive language techniques. Avant-garde Yu Hua is a contemporary avant-garde writer formally introduced to the literary world with the publication of "On the Road at Eighteen". This short story takes pains to highlight what the narrator sees, thinks and feels in moments of confusion and cruelty. It describes the feeling that the world has shredded its own integrity, and thus unveils a broken traditional view of reality based on surrealism. Among avant-garde novelists, Yu Hua is often noted for combining elements of the absurd with depictions of violence to explore questions related to humanism. His writing is characterized by a precise and restrained style. Rather than presenting an idealized vision of happiness, his work frequently examines the contrast between outward appearances of ordinary life and more complex inner experiences. In doing so, his novels depart from some traditional narrative approaches and aesthetic conventions, contributing to developments in contemporary Chinese literature. ==Works==

Note: titles have been translated into English from the original Mandarin Chinese. Short story collections Originally published in literary journals, these stories were subsequently anthologized in different collections in both Taiwan and mainland China. The most complete collection of his stories to date is ''I Don't Have My Own Name (2017), including 21 stories. It features his most notable short stories such as "Leaving Home at Eighteen", "Classical Love", "World Like Mist", "The Past and the Punishments", "1986", "Blood and Plum Blossoms", "The Death of a Landlord", and "Boy in the Twilight" along with 13 other works. Other anthologies with these works include The April 3rd Incident (2018), translated by Allan H. Barr; The Past and the Punishments (1996), translated by Andrew F. Jones; Boy in the Twilight (2014), translated by Allan H. Barr; On the Road at Eighteen (1991); Summer Typhoon (1993); Shudder (1995); and the three volumes of Yu Hua's Collected Works'' (1994), among others. The formatting and style of Yu Hua's first published level can be described as a "serpentine, episodic collection of anecdotes forming a kind of Maoist-era kinderscenen." • To Live (1993): An exaggerated realist fiction depicts the protagonist Xu Fugui has been constantly suffering in his life. Yu Hua's breakthrough novel follows the transformation of a landlord's spoiled son witnessing the brutality and hardships of the Civil War and Cultural Revolution. The body of the book is formatted by the main character, Fugui, recounting his story to an unnamed narrator in the 1980s, while the story itself takes place between the Second-Sino Japanese War until the death of his last remaining relative. In order of appearance, his relatives are his parents, his wife Jiazhen, daughter Fengxia, son Youqing, son-in-law Erxi, and his only grandchild Kugen who is the last to die. Over the events of the book that follows the historical timeline of China under rule of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, which lead to the many deaths in Fu Gui's family as they experience poverty, illness, and the malpractice of medicine. The novel was originally banned in China due to its exaggerated realism writing style but was later named one of that nation's most influential books. • Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995) follows a struggling cart-pusher and portrays the hardships of life under the leadership of Mao's China. Xu Sanguan, the cart-pusher, partakes in the illicit act of selling his blood to support his dysfunctional family during a period of famine from the Cultural Revolution. As the story develops, Xu Sanguan must put aside his bitterness towards his wife Xu Yulan and the illegitimate son she gave birth to, Yile, under the guise that he was Xu Sanguan's child. The title Chronicle of a Blood Merchant refers to China's Plasma Economy that took place in the years that Yu Hua was writing his sophomore novel. • Brothers (2005): Described as "an epic and wildly unhinged black comedy of modern Chinese society running amok", Brothers consists of two volumes following the childhood of two step-brothers during the Cultural Revolution and life in post-Mao, capitalist China. The protagonist Yang Fei died at the age of forty-one without adequate money for a burial plot, is left to aimlessly roam the afterworld as a ghost. Over the course of seven days, he encounters the souls of friends, family and acquaintances who died before him. Through the narrative and experience of the deceased, the novel exposes the cruel and corrupt realities, such as men disguised in females in prostitution, violent demolition, post-disaster concealment of the death toll, the hospital disposes of dead babies as medical wastes, etc. While other facets of human rights that are encroached during Yang Fei's exploration of limbo are police brutality, the violence of the sex industry, suicide, and the forced evictions of those suffering from poverty by the government. Other facets of human rights that are encroached during Yang Fei's exploration of limbo are police brutality, the violence of the sex industry, suicide, and the forced evictions of those suffering from poverty by the government. Essays • China in Ten Words (2011): In a collection of ten essays, titled after a word he has deemed representative of the culture and politics of modern China, Yu Hua describes a "morally compromised nation," contrasting the Cultural Revolution events with post-Mao China's rapid developments and even discussing the origins of current events and the 1989 pro-democracy protest; Yu Hua did not publish the Chinese version of the essays novel in China. The ten words are "People", "Leader", "Reading", "Writing", "Lu Xun", "Revolution", "Disparity", "Grassroots", "Copycat", and "Bamboozle". Using these words, Yu Hua conducts a recollection of historical and cultural events that have made China what it is today, intermixed with autobiographical accounts of growing up during the Cultural Revolution. Each essay explains why the titular term is particular in order to further understand a controversial China. Yu Hua states that this work is "to bring together observation, analysis, and personal anecdote" for a critique of contemporary China. == Political views ==

Cultural Revolution Most of Yu Hua's novels are centred around the Cultural Revolution, either as the setting, a contextual reference, or as a literary device. Yu Hua was born in 1960, and his childhood memories are the Cultural Revolution. Yu Hua said, "My novel creation is closely related to childhood and juveniles." Yu Hua's description of the Cultural Revolution is indifferent, no matter whether it is describing violence or death. For example, the novel To Live uses an objective narrative style to describe the suffering of the Cultural Revolution. In Brothers, Yu Hua directly talks about what happened to a family during the Cultural Revolution. In these books, we can understand the harm of the Cultural Revolution to human nature and clearly understand the mistakes made during the Cultural Revolution. ==Reception==

Yu Hua is regarded as one of the greatest living Chinese writers. The University of California, Irvine, professor of History, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, wrote, "When people ask me to suggest a novel dealing with the rise and rule of China's Communist Party, I point them toward To Live, which is available in a lively translation by Michael Berry and presents pivotal stages of revolutionary history from the perspective of everyman characters, or Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, which has similar virtues and a slightly larger quotient of humor". ==Awards==

Yu Hua received the Grinzane Cavour Prize as his first award in 1998 for his novel To Live. Four years later, Yu Hua became the first Chinese writer to receive the James Joyce Award (2002). Originally published in 1993, To Live was then published in English in 2003 That same year, Yu Hua was awarded the Barnes & Noble Discovery Great New Writers Award (2004) which was also shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize ==TV and film adaptations==

Four of Yu Hua's works have screen adaptations. To Live (1994) was directed by the highly esteemed Zhang Yimou, with Yu Hua himself participating in screenwriting. Though the screenplay was greatly altered it was still banned upon initial release. However, To Live swept awards at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. There are some notable changes within the narrative. One stark difference is Fugui's career being in shadow puppetry rather than farming. Another great contrast is the death of Youqing being from a car accident involving himself and the Magistrate Chunsheng. The same novel was adapted by Zhu Zheng as a television drama in 2003, named after the protagonist "Fu Gui". The movie and novel emphasize two ways of "living" through exposing harsh realities underneath the facade of life and pondering the significance of existing. The television adaptation followed the tragedies in the original storyline more closely, avoiding the casting of big names in order to effectively portray the simplicity of civilian life in revolution era China. Each have their own virtues, but the public seems to prefer the movie. In 2015, Chronicles of a Blood Merchant was adapted into a Korean language film, both directed by and starring actor Ha Jung-woo. A film adaptation of Yun Hua's Mistakes by the River directed by Wei Shujun, Only the River Flows, was released in 2023. ==References==