Flowers of Literature Series - Selected Prose of Luo Dagon

Author: Luo Dagon & Du Ling (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: This "Contemporary Prose Series" is a part of the "Hundred Flowers Prose Series." It selects renowned and outstanding works of prose writers after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, organized into individual volumes dedicated to each author. The selected authors are all famous prose writers of that era, and the works are carefully chosen to reflect the development of each author's prose writing. Each volume includes an introductory essay of over 10,000 words, providing a brief introduction to the author's life and analyzing and evaluating their artistic characteristics, creative development, and influence, in conjunction with the selected works. The selected works are annotated with their original publication sources and dates as much as possible; necessary annotations are also provided for particularly difficult passages.
Luo Dagon, originally named Luo Dagang, was born on May 21, 1909, in Changtang Village, Xiling County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, into a declining bureaucratic landlord family. His ancestors were officials who passed down poetry and books through generations, and they also operated several salt evaporation ponds. However, by the time his grandfather took over, due to his eccentric personality from a young age and his obsession with the "I Ching," he neither studied for the imperial examinations nor managed the family's affairs, instead taking the title of "Yixian" (Retired Immortal). This ultimately led to the family's decline and increasing hardship.
His father, though a child prodigy who passed the county-level exams at a very young age, had his dreams of advancing through the imperial examination system shattered by the "abolition of the imperial examinations" movement. At the time, local scholars in his hometown had two main options after the abolition: either become a "Shaoxing master" (a renowned local official), or study abroad, specifically in Japan. His father managed to save money to study in Japan, where he attended the Department of Biology at Waseda University for five years before returning to teach at middle schools in Shaoxing and Hangzhou.
Although Luo Dagon was the "eldest son of the eldest son" in this declining family, his father's misfortune and the resulting irritability, authoritarianism, and suppression made his childhood unhappy, often filled with fear of his father's frequent beatings. However, his grandmother's kindness and tranquility, his mother's gentleness and love, along with the beautiful mountains and waters of his hometown, provided him with strong protection and enough warmth, shaping him into a sensitive and straightforward personality from a young age.