Left hand palm lines

Author: Yu Guangzhong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Many readers first became acquainted with the poet Yu Guangzhong through the small stamp "Nostalgia" and grew up reciting his poems. Interestingly, Yu Guangzhong entered the literary world wearing the crown of a poet, yet he wrote mostly prose. Yu Guangzhong himself said, "I started writing prose almost ten years later than poetry. When I first began, I merely considered it 'poetry's leftovers.' It was an accidental growth, yet it eventually became a shade of its own, winning more readers." The recently published prose collection "Left-Handed Palm Lines" by Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House, which was "ordained" by Yu himself, fully proves his words. "Memory as Long as Railway Tracks" is one of Yu Guangzhong's famous prose works and is also very suitable for describing his creative career. From the first poem he wrote under Purple Mountain, his literary journey has spanned over fifty years, almost as long as railway tracks. Over these five decades, he traveled from the mainland to Taiwan and Hong Kong, not only becoming a renowned professor and scholar in Taiwan but also a celebrated poet, prose writer, and translator both in China and abroad. In his long creative career, he has written over 900 poems and nearly 200 prose pieces, including essays, sketches, short stories, and miscellaneous writings. For the convenience of readers, the editor has categorized and selected the works, dividing them into seven sections: "Years of Dandelions," "Opening Like Opening a Sesame Door," "With a Map in Hand," "The Realm of Humor," "The Sunless Home," "The Setting Sun and Old Sentiments," and "Pride and Contentment." These sections cover the representative works of Yu Guangzhong's fifty-year prose career, with a time span of selected works that is nearly as long as the number of recent and new works. This book can be considered the best among all "Yu selections" published in mainland China so far. Yu Guangzhong himself is very satisfied with this anthology. In his preface, he said, "This collection 'Left-Handed Palm Lines' includes over 50 works, ranging from short sketches of hundreds of words to lengthy masterpieces exceeding ten thousand words. There are purely lyrical essays, mixed narratives and discourses, prefaces to books he himself published, and outright academic papers. Regardless of length or style, it can be called a truly broad anthology." These prose works cover a wide range of topics—overseas experiences, reflections on reading, travels abroad, human relationships, nostalgia, and longing. The compiler, starting from the overall unity and diversity of Yu Guangzhong's prose creation, provides a comprehensive outline of this literary giant active in the world of contemporary Chinese literature. From his wandering days to his fame both at home and abroad, his life and heart's journey are vividly displayed, showcasing the multifaceted artistic talent of his prose writing. These prose and sketches, with their narrative, lyrical, and discursive styles, form a unique style. They are passionate, narrative, expansive in thought, perceptive in human affairs, and erudite in knowledge, making them a delightful read. Among contemporary writers, few are as accomplished as Yu Guangzhong, who writes poetry with his right hand and prose with his left. It's no wonder that the prose giant Liang Shiqiu highly praises him, calling him "unparalleled in his time." Yu Guangzhong was born in Nanjing and spent his unforgettable childhood there, making him a true "Nanjing radish." On the small white-walled, red-tiled roofs of the city, every time the sun set behind Purple Mountain, his youthful poetic heart would stir. His first poem was written "in response to the rolling shadows of the mountain ridges." No matter where he was, this Jianglin descendant, a wandering scholar, always cherished his hometown, Nanjing. A year ago, he expressed his wish to publish a work in his hometown to Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House, and now his wish has come true. He excitedly said, "Over the past ten years, my books have been published in all provinces of mainland China, but this is the first time in Jiangsu, especially in the Nanjing that gave me life, which brings me even greater joy." But the greatest joy belongs to the readers, as in this work, Yu Guangzhong has dedicated his best works. Yu himself jokingly calls poetry his right hand and prose his left hand. We are already familiar with his right hand; now, let us appreciate his left hand and see the palm lines of his left hand. The prose collection "Left-Handed Palm Lines," which gathers Yu's decades of prose creation and was "ordained" by him for publication, fully proves his words. This book is a "carefully selected" collection from Yu's entire prose works. It includes his main representative works from each period of his fifty-year prose career, from the earliest published works like "Tiger and Rose" and "Trip to Stone City" to the recent "Firefly Mountain Villa" and "Jianglin Descendant, Wandering Scholar." In terms of the time span of the selected works and the number of recent and new works, this book can be considered the best among all "Yu selections" published in mainland China so far.