Written on the Edge of Life

Author: Qian Zhongshu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-05-01
Features: Compared to the vast academic works of Mr. Qian Zhongshu, his essays and novels are relatively few yet exquisite. Written on the Margins of Life is a collection of essays by Mr. Qian Zhongshu, written in the 1940s. Mr. Qian modestly described these essays as mere marginal notes in old Chinese books, filling the gaps in this great book of life. The book was compiled and edited by Ms. Yang Jiang and first published by Shanghai Kaiping Bookstore in 1941. After half a century, it was reissued as a standalone volume. Though thin, it serves as a complement to bookshelves and travel. Life is said to be a great book. If life is truly like this, then most of us can only be considered book critics. With the skills of a critic, we need to read only a few pages before launching into a flood of comments, finishing a book review and submitting it. However, there are also people in the world who do not read books with the purpose of writing reviews or introductions. They have the leisurely and unhurried attitude of amateur readers, browsing without haste. Whenever they have an opinion, they jot down a few words or a question mark or exclamation mark in the margins, like the marginal notes in old Chinese books or footnotes in foreign books. These scattered reflections are not conclusions about the entire book. Because they are written at random, they may contradict each other in sequence, or their words may be too harsh. They are too lazy to care, after all, it’s just for leisure, unlike critics who bear the important mission of guiding readers and instructing authors. Who has the ability and patience to do those things? If life is a great book, then the following essays can only be considered as written on the margins of life. This book is truly vast! It’s not easy to read through it at once, and even the margins where it has been written still leave much to be filled.