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The artisans : a vanishing Chinese village / Shen Fuyu ; translated by Jeremy Tiang.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Chinese Publisher: New York : Astra House, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: 239 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781662600753
  • 1662600755
Uniform titles:
  • Jiang ren. English
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
The bricklayer -- The bamboo-weaver -- The tofu-maker -- The lantern-maker -- The carpenter -- The barber -- The pot-mender -- The sculptor -- The gardener -- The blacksmith -- The jack-of-all-trades -- The tailor -- The schoolteacher -- The scale operator -- The weaver -- Endings.
Summary: "Born in Shen Village in Southeast China, Shen Fuyu grew up in a family of farmers. Years later, Shen, now a writer, returned to his hometown to capture the village's rich history in the face of industrialization. Through his own childhood memories and those of his ancestors, Shen resurrects the working life of Shen Village through interlinked stories of fifteen artisans as their lives intersect over the course of a century"--Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 951.136 S546 Available 33111010809958
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Evoking Studs Terkel, Shen Fuyu delivers a rollicking deep dive into working life in a small village in rural China, tracing the last 100 years of history.

Born in Shen Village in Southeast China, Shen Fuyu grew up in a family of farmers. Years later, Shen, now a writer, returned to his hometown to capture the village's rich history in the face of industrialization.

Through his own childhood memories and those of his ancestors, Shen resurrects the working life of Shen Village through interlinked stories of fifteen artisans as their lives intersect over the course of a century. While Shen's view of his hometown and his heritage is tinged with nostalgia, he does not romanticize it. Nor does he sugarcoat the backbreaking difficulty of life in rural China, but he still captures its small satisfactions and joys of loving one's work with a great deal of care.

In an acerbic, earthy and unsparing style that swings from poignancy to comedy, sometimes within a single paragraph, Shen evokes the spirits of these workers--a bamboo-weaver and his beloved bull, a carpenter's magical saw, the deserter who became the village lantern-maker and a rebellious woman who beats up her own kidnapper.

A reflection on the vicissitudes of small-town life during the epic shift from agricultural to industrial civilization, The Artisans vividly details the hardships, friendships and communal mythmaking of a disappearing community.

In English, translated from the Chinese.

Translation of: Jiangren.

"Originally published in the Chinese language as Jiangren by Insight Media, China South Publishing & Media Group, 2015."--Title page verso.

"Born in Shen Village in Southeast China, Shen Fuyu grew up in a family of farmers. Years later, Shen, now a writer, returned to his hometown to capture the village's rich history in the face of industrialization. Through his own childhood memories and those of his ancestors, Shen resurrects the working life of Shen Village through interlinked stories of fifteen artisans as their lives intersect over the course of a century"--Provided by publisher.

The bricklayer -- The bamboo-weaver -- The tofu-maker -- The lantern-maker -- The carpenter -- The barber -- The pot-mender -- The sculptor -- The gardener -- The blacksmith -- The jack-of-all-trades -- The tailor -- The schoolteacher -- The scale operator -- The weaver -- Endings.

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