Lin Yutang · Beijing Fog and Clouds (New Edition)

Author: Lin Yutang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: "Novel" means small stories. When there is nothing to do, you might as well sit down and listen. This book is neither defending the perfection of modern Chinese life nor exposing its evils. Therefore, it is entirely different from the many recent "dark" novels. It is neither praising the old-fashioned life nor defending the new-fashioned life. It simply narrates how contemporary Chinese men and women grow up, live, love, hate, quarrel, forgive, suffer, enjoy, develop certain habits, and form certain ways of thinking. Especially, in this mortal world where man proposes and God disposes, how they adapt to their living environment. —Lin Yutang, winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature, Pearl S. Buck, when recommending Lin Yutang as a candidate for the prize, said: "It is realistic and not ashamed of its truth. It is beautifully written, both serious and joyful, giving the correct understanding and evaluation of both ancient and modern China. I believe it is the most true, profound, comprehensive, and important work about China to date." In 1975, at the 40th session of the International PEN Congress in Vienna, Lin Yutang was elected as Vice President, and Mr. Chen Yuching delivered a speech: "Dr. Lin Yutang is like a living national monument." The renowned American Time magazine called Beijing Blues "highly likely to become a classic work on modern Chinese social reality."