It is one of the most poetic novels I have read in recent years, the language flows with the story, I can only believe that the original Chinese is as lovely s the English translation. The buildup to the inevitably tragic conclusion (the novel'. So special. When we (finally) are introduced to the main character, there is nothing compelling us to have strong feelings about her (either positive or negative). Song of Eternal Sorrow. Song Of Unending Sorrow. I really don't know how to rate this because this is the book I'm working on for my uni dissertation. That ends chapter one. It is a story of love, dance, war, death, and happy ever after. Despite that, some exceptionally acute and sometimes very humorous descriptions of the unspoken emotional lives of the characters. Be the first to ask a question about The Song of Everlasting Sorrow. Sounds so dramatic but it was very surreal and unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Set in post-World War II Shanghai, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow follows the adventures of Wang Qiyao, a girl born of the longtong, the crowded, labyrinthine alleys of Shanghai's working-class neighborhoods.Infatuated with the glitz and glamour of 1940s Hollywood, Wang Qiyao seeks fame in the Miss Shanghai beauty pageant, and this fleeting moment of stardom becomes the pinnacle of her life. This is an incredible novel, impressionistic and episodic. Hidden from the world, with grace favoured by heaven, is a fresh beauty from the Yang family. Some years ago there's a movie based on this novel, but I never am interested enough to watch it, and I don't think I'll be interested enough to read the book any time soon. Wang Anyi is apparently one of the more critically acclaimed authors in the Chinese-speaking-world. . Sounds so dramatic but it was very surreal and unlike anything I've ever experienced before. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (长恨歌) is a true story about a tragic love between a Chinese emperor and his wife Yang Yuhuai, known as one of the four most beautiful women in Chinese history. He followed the example of his two predecessors, Taizong (r.626-649 CE) and the empress Wu Zetian(r.690-704 CE) in reforming the laws, streamlining the bureaucracy, and providing for the people. wow!!! Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. One cannot quite say that it is apolitical, for the political context is always the white noise humming just outside the Shanghai apartments, restaurants, and shops where Wang Qiyao, whose life this novel traces, and her array of lovers, friends, and family mix and mingle over a perio. Perhaps not quite as good as its reputation would lead one to believe, but the novel has some real strengths. Set in post-World War II Shanghai, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow follows the adventures of Wang Qiyao, a girl born of the longtong, the crowded, labyrinthine alleys … A wonderful, funny, sad, beautiful, ugly ,heartbreaking, heartwarming story of Wang Qiyao and Shanghai from 1940's to the 1980's. The book reads more like a chronicle of Wan. The novel traces the fortunes and tragedies of Wang Qiyao, who wins second prize in a late 1940s Shanghai beauty pageant, becomes the mistress of an army colonel, and after his death lives a greatly diminished life in Shanghai, always on the edge of history but unbound by its strictures she lives for fashion and the pleasures of her past. Daily Life in Ancient China. . I would want to read it again, if not all, at least some paragraphs. I think it is truly the best book to be called "the novel of Shanghai". Towards the end of the book you see how the whole book has been crafted to underline the more philosophical point it makes - definitely worth a re-read. Splendid translation of a fine novel, way to go Michael Berry and Susan Chan Egan! The Song of Everlasting Sorrow is a dance drama of Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) style adapted from a famous poem. Wang Anyi's novel is not a page-turner but it is a brilliantly nuanced and highly emotional story of one woman who spans the old Shanghai and the new and who is both a terrible victim of the past and someone whose power over others derives in large measure from the values of that earlier era that she personifies so well. Song of Everlasting Sorrow (Poem) Posted on September 2, 2014 by misyel — 1 Comment The historical dance drama with the same title staged in Huaqing Hotspring (Xi’an, China) is based on this poem by Po Chü-Yi (772-846AD) Article. The portrayals of the city are beautifully written, and the author does not just explore relationships between couples but also between groups of three and four, with emotionally intelligent narration. Once more I've read a Chinese novel that I just couldn't get into. She is working and singing at the same time without being bothered about her surroundings. In love and in friendship with each other, they are beset by imbalances of beauty, class and education, and life experience, and must navigate the rivalries and complexities these imbalances entail. The introduction actually included some translation notes about stylistic things that were done to make it easy for English speakers to read, which was quite interesting to think about. No one could bring out the true DNA of Shanghai without loving it from bottom of heart. I couldn't feel much empathy for her either. But I loved it a lot, I felt like I lived in it. I didn't read it to enjoy it nor judge it, hence why it's so hard to form an opinion of my own. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai is unquestionably the most acclaimed novel by one of China's most well-known authors. As a result of the Cultural Revolution, she was not permitted to continue her education beyond the junior high school level. He states that he chose songs that were important for the souls of black folk, and that he had inherited from his youth. Why did she say that?" In some ways, it reminds me of Gone with the Wind - a sort of sweeping historical drama condensed into the everyday life of one person. With such an unlikeable protagonist, the book screams out with the need for other characters to invest in but alas, they are flat, underdeveloped and are all discarded with in the same manner that Wang Qiyao herself throws them to the side. As she was raised deep in her boudoir, no one knew her beauty. Wang Anyi is apparently one of the more critically acclaimed authors in the Chinese-speaking-world. . Despite that, some exceptionally acute and sometimes very humorous descriptions of the unspoken emotional lives of the characters. Over 1,000 years ago, it was in the Huaqing Pool that Tang Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei, aka Yang Yuhuan, once bathed. I'm sad that I have to return to this to the library, it's like $70 for me to buy my own copy o__o. I read this while I was in Shanghai, and it was really, really wonderful. by Columbia University Press. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. The Chinese novel, if I may generalise, is too one dimensional to my taste. Think a Chinese Zola -- an epic novel of social change revolving around the life of a single woman, from her youth in the glittering heyday of Paris-of-the-East Shanghai, to the tumult of the Deng Xiaoping era. This book is both well-written and well-crafted. Dappled sunlight, decorous beneath the dazzling Shanghai mornings, the dull, drudgery of pale, putrid the alleyways between the longtang apartments, the gentle fall of sunlight on a quiet afternoon, the evanescent moonlight, briefly illuminating the beauty of a woman whose life has been worn out beneath the weight of innumerable sorrows; moon-light and sun-light set the stage for the life of Wang Qiyao. With. This alone should be a ringing enough endorsement. Series. Where the book falls down is its inability to engage the reader and make them willing to invest into the characters themselves. … However, underneath the glitter lies an immense blanket of darkness – these are the longtang of Shanghai.”, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai by Wang Anyi opens with exquisite descriptions of Shanghai and its distinct and mysterious longtang - neighborhoods that are as much a character as Wang Qiyao, a former beauty queen whose life has gone sadly awry. Left: Emperor Xuanzong enjoying the cool air produced by maids in summer Anyi’s most important novels Changhen ge (The Song of Everlasting Sorrow 长恨歌) to examine how knowledge of these Buddhist influences deepens our understanding of the novel’s meaning, and assists the novel’s message to reach a broader audience. The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai, firsts translated by Eileen Chang and revised and edited by Eva Hung. The novel traces the fortunes and tragedies of Wang Qiyao, who wins second prize in a late 1940s Shanghai beauty pageant, becomes the mistress of an army colonel, and after his death lives a greatly diminished life in Shanghai, always on the edge of history but unbound by its strictures she lives for fashion and the pleasures of her past. When Wang However, because it follows one person throughout so many different changes, both individually and societally, time almost takes on a life of its own, enhanced by the life of the city and its changes. Well worth the read. The emperor neglected the world from that moment, Summary In the Afterthought, Du Bois explains why he chose to begin every chapter with a Sorrow Song. Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world today. The Song of the Spring. Welcome back. According to some historians, the month of April is actually named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, by way of the Romans.... Set in post-World War II Shanghai, "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" follows the adventures of Wang Qiyao, a girl born of the "longtong," the crowded, labyrinthine alleys of Shanghai's working-class neighborhoods. Autoplay Next Video. The romance of old Shanghai, a world of class, taste, and style . Review Summary: A great well ... Eternal Tears of Sorrow have been around for a while, mind, but they kind of disappeared off the face of the earth after 2001's A Virgin And A Whore. The Emperor of China longed for a beauty able to topple the empire. Nowadays, the fascinating poem has been adapted to a historical drama with one prelude and ten scenes, telling the love story in four parts: Falling in Love, The … Not long later, Crowley heard about the entire court of the Tang dynasty working their arses off to get a chubby lady some delicate fruits to enjoy. Translators' Notes and Acknowledgments The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Afterword, by Michael Berry. We’d love your help. yields to the vulgarity and coarseness of a new and more democratic world. The quarrel of the sparrows in the eaves, The full round moon and the star-laden sky, And the loud song of the ever-singing leaves, Had hid away earth's old and weary cry. Song of Everlasting Sorrow. I SHOULD have been able to get into this novel because it talked about the struggles of a woman protagonist. . Dappled sunlight, decorous beneath the dazzling Shanghai mornings, the dull, drudgery of pale, putrid the alleyways between the longtang apartments, the gentle fall of sunlight on a quiet afternoon, the evanescent moonlight, briefly illuminating the beauty of a woman whose life has been worn out beneath the weight of innumerable sorrows; moon-light and sun-light set the stage for the life of Wang Qiyao, whose flame flickers out, slowly and indecorously, whose dreams fall apart one by one, whose wounds, often self-inflicted, serve to sever her from the brief happiness and hope she feels as an adolescent. wow!!! Wang Oiyao, comes together with people, only to drive them away in the end, unaware of her impact on others as her country is on its people. The writing is just so beautiful. Trying to read this is torture. so this is how life is!!!!! China's Emperor, craving beauty that might shake an empire, Was on the throne for many years, searching, never finding, Till a little child of the Yang clan, hardly even grown, Bred in an inner chamber, with no one knowing her, But with graces granted by heaven and not to be concealed, Pretty women can't have happy ending easily. It’s like I’m missing an inside joke and I don’t what the heck I should do about it. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow follows Wang Qiyao's life in Shanghai from her days as a young girl during World War II through the 1980s. Despite many years of reign he could not fulfill his desire. In fact, none of the characters were well developed. Great piece of modern literature, but I'll need a more light hearted read after this. As day turns into night and the city lights up, these dots and lines begin to glimmer. The book reads more like a chronicle of Wang Qiyao's life and it is not always interesting. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published but also a world of sexual exploitation . The narrative arc itself was pretty meandering - it definitely progresses, but without any rush or a clear goal. Wang Anyi can go into long lucubrations on life in Shanghai or let the story flow, but always with a sense of poetry which pervades the whole book, staring with its title, taken from an old Chinese poem. Wang Anyi's beautifully textured novel fits the bill. This literary fiction is translated from a Chinese work. Where it stood out to me the most was at the beginning of chapters where the narrative was less like prose and more like p. This book was another one that felt like a translation, not in a bad way, but just noticeably different than how sentences and paragraphs are typically constructed by native English speakers. This book was another one that felt like a translation, not in a bad way, but just noticeably different than how sentences and paragraphs are typically constructed by native English speakers. Refresh and try again. I'm sad that I have to return to this to the library, it's like $70 for me to buy my own copy o__o. I lived on the exact road that Wang Anyi was writing about, and it just made me feel like ! Cite This Work. Why did she do that? “But do not look down on even the most minute of things; for with the coming of daybreak, even the tiniest particles of dust in this world sing and dance in the sunlight.”, “Being extra nice to someone can be a form of manipulation--kindness is an exercise of power in its own right.”, Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Books of April. As for the plot, there is no defined beginning, middle, and end. Character Analysis Long Legs - Zhang Yonghong's boyfriend in the end of the novel - His grandfather was the famous Soy Sauce King known throughout Shanghai--Long Legs was the legal heir to his estate -"The way Long Legs threw his money around was astonishing. Reading it is like sitting at the shore and watching waves refract. . The Song of Everlasting Regret by Bai Juyi, translated from Chinese by Wikisource Composed by Bai Juyi in the year 806, The Song of Everlasting Regret (or Sorrow) details the events surrounding the death of the lady Yang Guifei during the Anshi Rebellion in 755. It is hard not to love and hate Wang Qiyao, but in the end it is love for her that won out for me. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Like other readers, I found the book difficult to truly enjoy. Initially married to one of the emperor’s sons, Yang so enamored the emperor that he usurped the prince’s place and got the kid a different wife. 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