The Story of Men and Women -- Appreciation of Japanese Classical Literature

Author: (Japanese) Nakaguchi Nakami, translated by Zhang Longmei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The two works introduced in this book, The Tale of Genji and The Collection of Stories of the Past and the Present, are representative classical works of Japan. Especially The Tale of Genji, it is listed as one of the world's great masterpieces. However, works from the year 1000 AD are already difficult for modern Japanese to read. Not only is there a linguistic barrier between ancient and modern times, but also the large number of characters and the long length of the works all add to the difficulty of reading. However, the story itself is quite interesting and offers profound insights into love and life. Therefore, the author began to think about a way to help modern people fully appreciate the charm of The Tale of Genji. This method focuses on the dialogues between male and female characters to simplify relationships and highlight the plot. After refining this content, it can be universally applicable in everyone's daily life, and the effect is guaranteed not to be bad. The other work, The Collection of Stories of the Past and the Present, is a collection of 1,040 short stories from around the year 1100 AD, including many Chinese stories. In this book, it mainly introduces the bold and spirited female characters who share similarities with modern women. In ancient Japan, there were also women who were no less bold and strong than modern Chinese women. As for their charm, please try to savor it through the original text. Sincerely hope this book can become a starting point for everyone to understand Japan and enhance friendly relations between neighboring countries. The national character of the Japanese at their core has similarities with the Chinese, but also differences. Hope each side can discover something. Additionally, to facilitate its use in classical grammar courses on Japanese literature and Japanese language at Chinese universities, the book includes the essence of the original text for each story at the end.