Üç Kral

by Ah Cheng, Zhong Acheng, 锺阿城

Çağdaş Çin edebiyatının yaşayan ustalarından A Cheng’in “Satranç Kralı”, “Ağaç Kralı” ve “Çocuk Kralı” başlıklı üç uzun öyküsünden oluşuyor Üç Kral. Nobel ödüllü yazar Mo Yan’in açıkça “o benim idolüm” sözleriyle selamladığı Cheng bu üç öyküsünde okuru devrim yıllarına götürüyor.

Mao’nun gerçekleştirdiği büyük devrimden kısa süre sonra, Çin’de de tıpkı başka ülkelerdekine benzer “mektepten memlekete” hareketi gerçekleştirilmiş ve Çinlilerin “Eğitimli Gençler” adını verdikleri lise seviyesine kadar eğitim almış gençler, yeni idealleri gerçekleştirmek ve çağdaş Çin’i inşa etmek üzere kırsal bölgelere giderler. Görevleri bellidir, köylülerle beraber dağda veya tarlada çalışan Eğitimli Gençler aynı zamanda onlara yeni Çin devletinin ideallerini öğretecekler ve bulundukları bölgeleri bayındır hale getireceklerdir. Tabii kadim kültürle yetişmiş halk da Eğitimli Gençler’e yeni şeyleri öğretmekten geri durmayacaktır…

Bizzat kendisi de Eğitimli Gençler arasında bulunan ve Çin’in farklı kırsal bölgelerinde görev alan A Cheng, Üç Kral isimli kitabında birinci elden tanıklıklarını üç olağanüstü öyküyle aktarıyor. Çağdaş ile gelenekselin, mistik ile bilimselin, hayal ile rasyonelin bir araya geldiğinde yaratacağı kamaşmayı tüm çıplaklığıyla yazıya dökerken, Çinli yazarların ona neden “usta” dediklerini gözler önüne seriyor.

“Hiçbir eserim A Cheng’in ‘Satranç Kralı’ adlı öyküsüyle kıyaslanamaz bile.”
Mo Yan

Genres: China, Fiction, Short Stories, Chinese Literature, Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Ah Cheng, born in Beijing in 1949, is the pen name of Zhong Acheng (simplified Chinese: 钟阿城; traditional Chinese: 鍾阿城; pinyin: Zhōng Āchéng). An accomplished fiction writer, painter, and screenwriter (for internationally renowned Taiwanese director, Hou Xiaoxian), Ah Cheng spent the Cultural Revolution years in a small village in Inner Mongolia where he painted the sheep and grasslands, and on a State Farm bordering Yunnan province and Laos. During the 1980s he came to prominence as a member of the “primitive” or “seeking roots” literary movement. He has lived in several countries including the US, often not writing for long periods and working various jobs such as fixing bicycles and house painting. In 1992 he received the Italian Nonino International Prize for his literary achievements, which includes a travel journal, Venetian Diary. He lives in the outskirts of Beijing.

Reviews

[Vladys Kovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read The King of Trees. Will now look for the other two novellas.
The King of Trees is an excellent novella about disrupting of human connection with nature, which inevitably leads to death. The events are set during the time of Cultural revolution in China. The absurdity of events and actions magnifies the effect of the story on the reader.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is fantastic.
All three novellas are extremely touching.
This goes to my “ favourites “ shelf.

The following is my review for The King of Chess:

“Only he whose soul is in turmoil, forced to live in an epoch where war, violence and ideological tyranny threaten the life of every individual, and the most precious substance in that life, the freedom of the soul, can know how much courage, sincerity and resolve are required to remain faithful to his inner self in these times of the herd’s rampancy. “- Zweig ( from his biography on Montaigne)

The protagonist (Wang Yisheng )of Ah Cheng’s debut novella, The King of Chess, has in his possession the courage, sincerity and resolve Zweig talks about in his biography of Montaigne, even though Wang is probably unaware of this himself.
I can also see him as someone whom Zhuangzi would look at with a big approving smile.
I LOVE this character, as well as Ah-Cheng’s novella.

A brief summary of the plot ( warning for mild spoilers) :
The story of The King of Chess takes place at the height of The Cultural Revolution, when the “educated urban youths”( 知青）are sent to remote villages, where the living condition is horrible and food meagre.
Both the narrator and Wang are among those youngsters, and they soon form a close bond.
Ah Cheng might have left traces himself in narrator, as the narrator is well-acquainted with world literature and talks about Balzac’s works. Balzac is one of the authors Ah Cheng loves and read as a teenager before he himself was sent to work in the villages as an educated urban youth.
Very different from the narrator is Wang, the protagonist, who has both a huge passion and talent for chess as well as a very worldly obsession for food, who knows next to nothing about literature. He also comes across as very naive when it comes to interpersonal relationships, and possesses an almost childlike innocence. Wang is also somewhat well-known for his chess skills in school.
Wang pesters the narrator for a chess game on the train, while not exactly interested in Chess, the narrator does take a liking to Wang.
Wang and the narrator are assigned to two different locations that are quite far from each other, yet, Wang, in search of a worthy rival in chess, goes to visit the narrator and befriends the other youngsters in the village.
After witnessing how great Wang’s talent is in chess, all the youngsters encourage Wang to partake a local chess tournament.
However, because Wang has missed too much work by wandering around seeking people to play chess with, he is not allowed to take the time off to take part in the tournament. Yet, winning the title doesn’t mean much to Wang. What he wants has always been to play.
So he plays.
The novella culminates in Wang playing against nine other top players, and winning.

This is very simple and straightforward story.
A story written with touching sincerity.
However, it’s also a story that’s very layered in its themes.
First of all, Wang serves as an exemplar of one who maintains inner peace in the mass hysteria that is the Cultural Revolution. His naivety might have helped, but I believe his holding on to the love of his mom and his love for chess are the what spare himself from being engulfed by the mania. Viewing from a humanistic lens ( I can’t help but making this association, having been reading about Montaigne and humanists in general this year), he has achieved the “human connection “ and the intellectual freedom ( symbolized by chess?)the humanists treasure.
Secondly, Wang’s obsession with food, especially when juxtaposed with his passion for chess is also interesting. Actually, his is more than a simple obsession, the way he treats eating and food can even be called pious. However, his obsession is different from the that of a food connoisseur. He is obsessed with food because he has been poor and understands hunger. This can be interpreted as an indictment of the era, but more importantly, I think this “ worldliness” is essential , it fleshes out the Wang’s character, it also makes the readers think about how basic materialistic fulfillment is essential to our inner peace and spiritual freedom.
Last but not least, there is an undercurrent of Taoist message through out the novella. As can be seen in the discussion of the chess techniques, but probably more so in the character of Wang himself.

This is one of the rare books that set in the cultural revolution era yet remain hopeful in its tone, there is even a note of heroism towards the end of the novella.
Wang deserves to be called a hero.
Because Zweig is right.
It does take so much to remain innocent and “remain faithful to his inner self in these times of the herd’s rampancy.”

This novella would be a perfect companion read for Chess Story by Zweig. Vice versa.

“夜黑黑的，伸手不见五指。王一生已经睡死。我却还似乎耳边人声嚷动，眼前火把通明，山民们铁了脸，肩着柴禾林中走，咿咿呀呀地唱。我笑起来，想：不做俗人，哪儿会知道这般乐趣？家破人亡，平了头每日荷锄，却自有真人生在里面，识到了，即是幸，即是福。衣食是本，自有人类，就是每日在忙这个。可囿在其中，终于还不太像人。倦意渐渐上来，就拥了幕布，沉沉睡去。”

[Yasemin Macar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çin edebiyatından Kültür Devrimi'ni konu alan kitaplara o kadar alışmışım ki içeriğine bakmadığım için yine aynı konular diye düşünmüştüm. Ama karşımda sonrasında geçen hatta bu üç uzun öyküye konu olmuş Eğitimli Gençler'e gençliğinde dahil olmuş yazarın kaleminden keyifle okuyoruz.
Kitapta üç uzun öykü var. İlki Satranç Kralı; en çok sevdiğim buydu herhalde kitapta. Hatta karakterin satranç sevgisini Shansa'nın Go Oyuncusu kitabındaki karaktere de benzettim. Bu hikaye ödüllü bir hikayeymiş ve Mo Yan'ın da hayran kaldığı bir öyküymüş. Sonra Ağaç Kralı adlı öykü vardı ve o da çok etkileyiciydi. Ağaçların ruhu olduğuna inanılırken devrim için tüm ağaçların kesilip yerine tarlalar yapıp yeni agaçlar dikeceklerine inanmaları çok acımasızcaydı hatta tüm ormanı yakmaları. Son hikaye Çocuk Kral ise ilk kez öğretmenlik yapacak olanları hatta ilk dersini hatırlayan öğretmenlerin yüreğini dağlayacak çok güzel bir hikaye😍

Tüm hikayelerin ortak noktasıysa bilgi ve eğitimde belirli seviye gelen gençlerin ülkeyi kalkındırmak için küçük köylere ve kasabalara gönderilip buralardaki insanları eğitmeleri ele alınmış. Her şeyin sınırlı sayıda olduğu kıtlığın yaşandığı ve savaşı atlatmış bir ülkede devrimle her şeyin üstesinden geleceklerine inanarak hareket etmeleri çok ilginçti. Zengin ve köklü bir ailede doğmak ve ayrıcalıklı olmak burda da vardı fakat kötü niyetle kullanılmaması iyiydi. Çöp toplayan bir yaşlı amcanın satranç ile ilgili her şeyi bilip okuması ve tüm stratejileri bilmesi kadim Çin'in "Dört Eski'sini okuması ve taoizmi yaşamla birleştirip Wang Yisheng'e öğretilerle anlatması çok güzeldi.

"Güç fırsatla ilgilidir. Hamle yapılmazsa satranç oynanamaz. Ancak rakip hareket ettiği sürece güç kazanır ve kolayca yönlendirilebilir. Ustalık ivmesini kazanman çok zordur, bunun için zarar vermen gerekir. Onun bir taşı kaybetmesini sağla ya da kendi taşını kaybet. Önce yönlendir veya zayıf noktasını bul, girmesini engelle ve güç kazan. O sırada sakın öldürücü zarar verme çünkü duruma göre gücün değişecektir. Güç, güç ile ilgilidir; güç gücü içerir, küçük güç yönlendirir, büyük güç içererek dönüştürür; kök köke bağlanınca başkaları da çaresiz kalır."

Hayatta satranç gibi değil mi?

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

伤痕文学 refresh ❤️ really lovely & creative & magical while still honest

[Stephen Durrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each of Ah Cheng's three novellas, included in this edition under the title "The King of Trees," is a first-person narrative told by an educated youth who has been "sent down" to work in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. What sets them apart from so much literature depicting the same period is that the terrible political chaos of the time forms a backdrop rather than the central focus of the narratives. Moreover, Ah Cheng in each novella engages and utilizes themes and images from the Chinese tradition. Both "The King of Trees" and "The King of Chess" can be regarded as rereadings of Daoism in a modern setting. The large and useless but profoundly symbolic tree in the first story is drawn directly from "Zhuangzi." But however much this tree is admired, unlike its Zhuangzian antecedent, it does not escape the ideology of progress and a tragic desire to eradicate the past. The second story, about a young man who pursues perfection through chess, draws upon the "Zhuangzi" image of the impassive figure who has through concentration merged with the Dao. Ah Cheng's third novella, in which a young student copies an entire dictionary, uses the Confucian emphasis upon intense study and recasts it in a poor village where any written text, other than propaganda, is a precious commodity. These stories are all told in a direct, engaging manner and are deeply moving. For anyone tired of the uniformly political tone of so much modern Chinese literature, this Ah Cheng collection will bring relief.

[Matteo Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, in realtà.
1° considearazione: La trilogia di Acheng, in cui ci vengono raccontate tre storie di tre "re" diversi, grazie a uno stile magnificamente semplice e cristallino, ci schiude alla Cina impegnata nella Rivoluzione culturale. Le vite di questi "re" (parola il cui significato varia da storia a storia) sono quelle di gente comune che, per quanto coinvolta e, suo malgrado e a modo suo, partecipe di quella Rivoluzione culturale che ha cercato di "pulire il vecchiume", non ha dimenticato il passato, attingendone ancora, talvolta con una punta di nostalgia, lezioni che il nuovo regime non ha intenzione di recuperare, tutto attento a creare un "nuovo corso".
Ciò che scaturisce dalla penna di Acheng sono così storie che danno conto di "vite minime" (per citare il titolo di un'altra sua opera), tratteggiate con maestria, che non possono non far dire, per riprendere le parole dell'io narrante de "Il re degli scacchi": «Eppure qui c'è della gente vera che è una gioia ed una fortuna aver conosciuto».

2° considerazione: In questi tre racconti – “Il re degli alberi”, “Il re dei bambini” e “Il re degli scacchi” – Acheng, attraverso le storie di questi “re” – e quando parla di “re”, come scrive Alfredo Giuliani nell’Introduzione, Acheng parla di un «re poveraccio, ricco soltanto dei significati che si porta addosso o acquista col proprio agire, […] un individuo che forse non sa di pensare e di agire per tutti, uno che interpreta la verità delle cose.» –, ci racconta delle vicende che vedono coinvolti studenti e contadini nel corso della Rivoluzione Culturale e dello scontro tra tradizione e modernità, tra credenze popolari e convinzioni legate all’ideologia politica professata da Mao. Ciò di cui ci racconta Acheng è la difficoltà di comprendere qual è il mondo nel quale ci si trova e, soprattutto, come si possa resistere di fronte a tale (davvero incomprensibile) mondo andato in pezzi; come egli stesso ebbe a dire nel 1992 per esprimere l’idea di fondo dei tre racconti che compongono “La trilogia dei re”: «come può un uomo conservare la propria forza mentre va in frantumi il mondo che gli sta intorno».
Se è vero che, come afferma ancora Acheng nella Nota all’edizione italiana de “Il re degli alberi”, «rispetto alla vita, la verità è l’esperienza», non c’è dubbio che ciò di cui hanno fatto esperienza i cinesi durante la Rivoluzione Culturale (e il suo post) sono state cose che «gli stessi cinesi considerano fantastiche». Non stupisce allora che, come aggiunge successivamente Acheng, «quando il Partito chiede ai cosiddetti scrittori di perseverare nel «realismo socialista» – dato che secondo me la realtà del socialismo cinese è l’assurdo –, basterebbe descrivere realisticamente l’assurdo per ottenere la realtà». Ebbene, ciò che vi troverete a leggere in questi racconti-favole è l’assurdo che diviene realtà oppure, ancora, la realtà che, rimanendo tale, si foggia sull’assurdo.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the time of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, or any revolution or war in this matter, there are always ones that had to be pulled away from the old world. The masters of their own fields all pulled into the tide of a new revolution. Sometimes some brave souls survived and fought against this revolution, but there are many who lost. Who can survive in this revolution becomes less of who is the one with the truth, but more of the one with the most power. Traditions all revolutionized, but some masters still survive. And they are the ones talked about in this book. A very interesting book.

[belisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

oldukça yavan, düz bir anlatımı var ama hiç bilmediğim bir hayatı tarif ettiği için fazla sıkılmadım...

[Babe Gladwaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

这是我第一次读阿城的小说，他的文字平实动人，凝练有力，笔触极快，给人极强的画面感。《树王》是对自然对生命的敬畏，我们不曾见过真正的火，根本就不知道何为毁灭，更不知何为新生。《棋王》的主题是物质追求和精神追求，活着的意义。《孩子王》关于教育问题，让我想到了很多。我想到冯内古特的小说《唱给塞尔玛的歌》和电影《死亡诗社》《放牛班的春天》。这些好的老师有一个共同点，他们的教育是雕琢灵魂，是与学生之间的灵魂的共鸣。教育是一棵树摇动另一棵树，一朵云推动另一朵云，一个灵魂唤醒另一个灵魂。很遗憾，当今中国的教育仍然是让人绝望。

[v · Rating 3 out of 5]

These three Ah Cheng novellas of the Cultural Revolution take a light and meditative touch. For some "educated youth," who experienced relative privation but not the utter horrors you read in much other contemporary Chinese fiction, this was a formative period open to both nostalgia and exploration, and that's where Ah Cheng goes. In these stories, educated youth who are sent to labor in the northern mountains encounter mysterious characters, and these characters by their passivity and foolishness reveal deeper philosophies of life that stand outside and potentially subvert the cruel ideology of the day. Imbued with Daoist ideas like the Way and inaction, the stories are also rich with meaningful characters, symbols, and developments. Is such fiction bound to be impermanent, blithe, and wispy, leaving little lasting impression however beautiful? Hard for me to say. I find "The King of Trees" resonates most deeply of the three.

My home was gone, my family had been destroyed, and with cropped hair I carried a mattock day in and day out. And yet this in itself contained a true human life.

[lukoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

之前看韩少功觉得“革命意识”的气息太浓厚，以至于对“寻根文学”都有少许疑惑。因为关注八十年代看了阿城，可谓震撼，将人物人世刻画得如此饱满和鲜活。每一篇里面都涉及了太多的主题，都值得再读和思考。

[mela✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficilmente rimango delusa da romanzi cinesi contemporanei e anche questa raccolta di tre novelle o racconti brevi non fa eccezione.
A partire dalla propria esperienza personale, l'autore ci racconta della Cina post rivoluzione culturale e lo fa attraverso delle storie di vita "semplice" ma dal forte impatto.
Ho amato soprattutto i primi due racconti, "il re degli alberi" e "il re dei bambini".

[Andra-Mihaela Sovar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The 3 novellas contained in this book are a direct representation of the author's courage in writing about what is truly important: morals,principles, and how to live your life during the Cultural Revolution in China.
I see way Ah Cheng is celebrated so much.

I will give my ranking in order of enjoyment and impact for the 3 stories: "The King of Trees", "The Chess Master" and "The King of Children".
For each one of them, we follow throught the eyes of an unnamed narrator an important figure to the comunity/people in the area where the action happens. In "The King of Trees", Xiao Geda is a mangnificent main character who's silence speaks loudly against the disrespect for nature and old traditions, and also against the belief of productive/useful things seen through the lens of the political party in power. The brainwashing of the young intelectuals are sooo evident in these pages in the form of Li Li and the narrator's colleagues. I loved learning about Xiao Geda's past, and I beleive it was very beneficial in showing that not all against your ideas are outsiders or have completely different set of values, but they can be just like you, only unfortunate in their lives. Truly powerful ending.

"The Chess Master" gave me a sense of pride in the fact that , no matter what we adopt in the future as society, we will always respect talent and celebrate it as unique and important.
Wang Yisheng is the quintessential player. He solely cares about one thing and disregards everything else about everyone else. This is a refreshing view, freeing and more open to discourse, bare of rules of conduct, status and polite facade. He is humble and prideful, his relentless search for the perfect game and quite shame of his background a sincere and fragile thing to see.
I absolutely loved the last scene where he meets the last oponent...a truly moving scene.

After those 2 amazing works,"The King of Children" is somewhat different by comparison. Here, for the first time, the narrator plays the key role. His connection to Wang Qitong and his son, Wang Fu, creates anticipation in the reader; something that I don't think the author necessary wanted.(especially when nothing I presumed happened)
The problems the author highlights about the education in that time are front and center in the narrative, but they also struggle with Wang Fu's story. I think some more pages would have created balance and solidified who exactly is the king in this story.Overall, we can think that both the narrator and Wang Qitong are the king..both caring and working earnestly for the future generation, but we also don't have a lasting impression through the kids (in the other stories, the side characters grow respect and admiration for the king)

In conclusion, "The Three Kings" is a beautifull collection of novellas talking about what the communist regime in China wanted people to forget: "Four Old Things " (old ideas, old culture, old habits,old customs) and how that translated to the young intelectuals (the forefront of this movement).

Enjoy

[John Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other reviewers have done a good job of describing the cultural/historical setting of the three stories and their main themes and characters. I’ll just add that the feel of the stories is very distinctive and, really, unlike anything I can remember reading before. They remind me of Chinese ink paintings that present boldly characterized figures against very sparsely sketched backgrounds. And for all their ostensible concreteness there is something rarefied about them that makes them seem more like parables or allegories than realistic narratives, however much truth or fiction they may contain.

All three center on heroic characters – an almost superhumanly strong ex-soldier in King of Trees, a precocious child who copies an entire dictionary in King of Children, and an eccentric chess genius in King of Chess. In each story the narrator becomes increasingly fascinated with the central character and befriends him and gets to know him. The relationships that develop are not particularly complex or nuanced, but they’re primary elements of the stories, while all others are at best secondary (including a relationship, evidently romantic, between the narrator and a female teacher in The King of Children).

Of the three stories The King of Chess is definitely the best. In fact I believe it’s counted as a major work of Modern Chinese literature. The author’s language is said to be unusual and interesting. I don’t know how well the New Directions translation conveys this quality, but it is certainly readable, and the edition gives you a great story and two more that are worth reading.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

These novellas seem to express a deep longing for some kind of feudal/imperial past ("King"), or at least for the potential for there to be "kings" even at times of great leveling. It is class A science fiction.

King of Trees and King of Children are okay. The critiques of the state's inability to modernize the ruralfolk (blind industrial ground-clearing in the former, formalistic classroom education in the latter) are well-taken, I suppose. They ask the question of whether or how the old Daoist classics, which valorize and idealize the rustic and the natural, speak to contemporary issues.

I like the King of Chess a lot, mainly because it gives the narrator an opportunity to talk to a subaltern about food and literary interpretations of eating.

It is a strange Cultural Revolution literature that is not interested in madness, irony, trauma, violence, hierarchy, revolution. It takes comfort in a contemplative vision of life's absurdity and of simple pleasures.

The afterword is neat. It talks about Zhong Acheng's life story, his imitation of a Daoist hermit, and his linguistic amalgamation of revolutionary slogan and classical idiom.

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 nuvele geniale in care sunt descrise capacitatea omului de a evolua. Am rezonat foarte mult cu Regele Copiilor datorita trecutului meu dar si experientei ca si professor de engleza in China. M-a impresionat la lacrimi determinarea si ambitia lui Wang Fu pentru cunoastere cat si admiratia pentru tatal lui.
Regele Copacilor, o nuvela care se axeaza pe legatura dintre om si natura. Atat Regele Copacilor, copacul, cat si Regele Copacilor, Xiao Geda, ajung in final sa dispara lasand loc altor “copaci folositori”.
Toate 3 nuvele au in comun determinarea omului de a evolua, de a-si depasi conditia umila prin folosirea intelectului.

[Elena R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Su uno sfondo umile, contadino, nella Cina post rivoluzione culturale si sviluppano le storie di tre "re" così diversi ma simili nella loro semplice grandezza. Tutti e tre i personaggi vivono una sorta di sfida, di riscatto dalla loro posizione sociale umile e limitata. Solo uno dei tre riesce a riscattarsi e a vincere la più grande partita della sua vita (il re degli scacchi) , lo sforzo degli altri due viene stroncato, ma lascia il segno in quelli che ne sono stati testimoni.

[Phuong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Semplice e bello

[0027_r · Rating 4 out of 5]

三个故事均以文革为背景，带着特定的时代特征。但那几个看上去似乎有些怪异的人物和他们那朴素而珍贵的品质却是永恒的。
不造作 有些细节超自然 安静地讲着故事 引人入胜。

[Brian Shih · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original Chinese version was brilliant- loved it.

[Roxana Cosmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

ce

[Tessa Nadir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah Cheng este un scriitor contemporan fiind de asemenea scenarist, poet si pictor. In copilarie el si parintii sai au avut de suferit din cauza regimului maoist. A debutat in 1984 cu nuvela "Regele sahului" in Revista Literara din Shanghai. A fost un imens succes declansand o adevarata "febra a Cheng".
Colectia de fata contine 3 nuvele despre eroi care se ridica deasupra conditiei lor alegand sa fie de partea moralitatii. Din toate 3 putem trage pretioase invataminte.

Prima este Qi Wang - "Regele Sahului":
Este o poveste de pe vremea Revolutiei Culturale din China sub regimul lui Mao Zedong. Naratiunea se face la persoana intai din perspectiva unui tanar intelectual( Zi Qing) ce ramane orfan si este deportat din orasul natal pentru a presta munca la o ferma dintr-un sat. In tren spre destinatie cunoaste un individ controversat, mare impatimit de sah, poreclit 'Nebunul'. Acesta se folosea de sah pentru a uita de tristetile si neajunsurile vietii sale:
"Tristetea, hm, asta-i un moft pentru intelectuali, mama lor! Noi, astialalti, nu avem tristeti, cel mult ceva nefericiri. Si cum sa le alini, daca nu jucand sah."
Nuvela merita citita, este extrem de frumoasa, iar pe langa mesajele pozitive pe care le transmite contine o gramada de informatii despre daoism, yin-yang, qi, dar si strategii de sah si multe alte invataminte despre viata in general. Daca cititorul prinde macar 50% din aceste lucruri este castigat.

Cea de-a doua este Haizi Wang - "Regele Copacilor":
O nuvela ce infatiseaza tot aceeasi perioada a Revolutiei Culturale, cand tinerii intelectuali sunt trimisi la munca fizica. De data aceasta naratorul cunoaste un baiat, cu caracter deosebit, ce tine la copacii de pe un munte opunandu-se defrisarii acestora. Mi s-a parut extrem de stupida munca la care erau pusi tinerii si anume sa taie toti copacii de pe un munte si sa replanteze altii. Iar cei taiati nici macar nu erau folositi la ceva ci arsi.
O poveste cu final tragic, la fel de plina de invataminte, insa totusi prima mi-a placut mai mult.

Ultima este Shu Wang - "Regele copiilor":
Aceasta cuprinde povestea unor elevi din aceeasi perioada. Naratorul, sleit de munca fizica de pe camp, este trimis sa predea la o scoala. Avand anumite calitati de pedagog, insa fara experienta, el este stangaci in fata clasei.
Wang Fu, un elev cu personalitate, ii va preda o lectie de viata.
Un text agreabil, insa piesa de rezistenta ramane tot "Regele sahului".

In concluzie avem de-a face, in opinia mea, cu o colectie de texte valoroase care isi transmit invatamintele prin puterea exemplului. Sunt simple, fara insistenta, fara judecata si usor de citit. Consider ca avem nevoie din cand in cand si de asemenea lecturi, mai ales in zilele noastre in care lumea se indreapta cu pasi repezi spre o totala amoralitate si haos.

[Cristi Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three novellas about the cultural revolution during Communist Maoist regime in China.

The collection contains three novellas centered on similar ideas – celebration of simple life and old customs, and also about how, although the Cultural Revolution is trying to erase China’s imperialist past, the “kings” still exist. Sometimes they are not that obvious; they hide in the most ordinary of places, in their attempt to survive the almost apocalyptical erasure of an entire nation’s identity.

The Chess Master - written from the perspective of an unnamed narrator, the story focuses on Wang Yisheng and his motivations in wanting to become a chess master. 3/5

The King of Trees - my favorite in the collection; some students are sent to a mountain to cut down all the trees, in order to plant “more useful” trees. When they get there, they see a large and ancient tree on top of the mountain – the King of the Trees. Although the villagers tell them that cutting down the King of the Trees will lead to disaster and death, the students spend four days cutting at its trunk, trying to emulate the new cultural ideas that all that’s old must disappear to make way for the new. 4/5

The King of Children - about a man’s first teaching days, when he realizes how the communist education system deprives children of the most basic education. 4/5

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Considering that all three stories center around educated youth sent into the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, and that they were well received even in official channels in China, I half-expected to have to peel through a layer of political whitewash to find the essence of the stories. Instead, Ah Cheng offers three gentle yet uncompromising slices of life in the work camps, each of which questions the motivations behind their assignments--clearing mountains of every last "useless" tree, rote education, and more.

What makes this book so moving is the characters, presented so large on the page, filled with warmth and the kinds of motivations, doubts, and petty squabbling that anyone can relate to in such a setting. Without engaging in philosophizing, each character grapples with the ethical basis of the tasks at hand, and that makes them deeply human.

The translator set herself a difficult task, as she mentions in her notes. She wanted to make the stories readable to people who are not knowledgeable about Chinese history, philosophy, and literature, while wanting to preserve Ah Cheng's tight, expressive prose. The result is not fluid, modern English idiom. It reads like a translation. But that only makes the sentences inhabit the page with more power.

[Luca Caristo · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10... Peak
It's very rare that a book makes me cry, this is one of them.

I understand its an English translation, so perhaps some meaning is lost from its Mandarin version, but regardless the book is still 10/10 in English. Tbh I think the translation may have made it more enjoyable, adding a unique voice whereby serious/profound things are said so casually. I suppose its a good representation of reality. True, there are times when metaphors and other figures of language are lost on me either because of translation or because I lacked the cultural knowledge, but that didn't matter since the book was so rich anyway -- its like earning $999 instead of a thousand dollars.

The stories contain the entire spectra of human emotions, humour, joy, sadness, anger etc which I guess also allows it to transcend cultural barriers. Moreover, the writing is so entertaining, creative and at times, accidentally profound; little trinkets of wisdom scattered throughout the book.

Reading the King of Trees, I realised something: I wished I was Knotty, but I know I'm Li Li, (hopefully I can mature a bit more to become like Knotty).

The King of Chess was fun and entertaining

The King of Children was fun and poignant

The King of Trees was fun, poignant, profound and at the end... it had a bit of a kick to it.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had previously read one of these three novellas - The King of Chess, The King of Trees, and The King of Children, and have seen films (one of which I'm subtitling) based on two of them. They were iconic novels written in 1980s China. The three novellas all take place in the Cultural Revolution, among the 'educated youth' (typically just high school students) sent to the countryside to help 'construct the borderlands' and be 're-educated' by the peasants. Rereading them now has reminded me of their richness and the subtle brilliance of Ah Cheng's writing and observation of human nature and society. Truly magnificent, and not a little Daoist.

Bonnie MacDougall has translated these under the title The King of Trees: Three Novellas, if you can't read them in the original Chinese. (I haven't read the translation, so can't comment, but she has had a lot of experience in translating writers of that generation.)

[Maria Ti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gânduri inițiale, vor fi completate.

🎋 O colecție de trei povești care subliniază gândirea comunistă. Decât să studieze și să-și lărgească orizonturile, tinerii erau trimiși să muncească în alte zone ale țării.

🎋 Gândurile proprii sunt periculoase. Aflăm din ultima povestioară, a Regelui Copiilor, unde naratorul încearcă să îi învețe pe copii să citească și să se exprime în scris. Naratorul nu este un promotor al semi-analfabetismului și se învață pe sine, în timp ce-i învață pe ceilalți. Finalul este așa cum vă așteptați.

🎋 Dacă tai un copac, retează-i rădăcinile. Cel puțin asta ne transmite cea dea doua povestioară. Cred că a fost și cea care m-a înfuriat cel mai tare. La drept vorbind, nu toate lucrurile vechi sunt meschine sau fără rost.

[Giacomo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letto in traduzione italiana, per ovvi motivi vista la mia completa ignoranza del cinese. La versione è scorrevole con momenti di creazione interessanti, ma è chiaro (dagli sforzi del traduttore e dal minimalismo narrativo) che la peculiarità di Acheng deve trovarsi nella sua prosa piuttosto che nelle sue trame esigue non solo di avvenimenti ma anche di dimensione interiore.

Rimane una lettura scorrevole e interessante, squarcio su una Cina a noi inconsueta, piena di speranze per un futuro un po’ più istruito e nutrito ma ancora nel cuore delle tensioni, repressioni ed errori della Rivoluzione Culturale.

[Yanyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

阿城盛名在外我早就听说了，他的代表作“三王”之一的《棋王》就在这本精选集的第一篇。

感觉第一篇就把我给折服了。

就是他哪写得特别好或者哪句话讲述了什么深刻的道理，你说不出来，可读完以后，文章里的细节就一直反复在你的脑海里像放电影一样播放，余音绕梁大概说的就是这种感觉吧。其中让我印象很深刻的是王一生吃饭，只能说阿城对细节的描述真是太厉害了；还有最后王一生像绝世高手般在“光明顶”与众人决战的场面，我看的时候简直呼吸都不敢太用力，怕吵到他。

王一生的角色如此丰满，其中包含两个东西：吃和棋。王一生对食物那是极其简单的实用主义——只是为了满足生理的需要，吃而不馋；而对棋，则是妥妥的理想主义无误了——那是他发自内心的热爱与追求，是他生命存在的意义。

王一生是幸福的，他是个有理想的人、脱离了低级趣味的人，对自己忠实而坚定。毕竟有些人终其一生都找不到自己的理想、自己想做的事。

王一生是非常幸福的，因为他的棋不需要借助其他东西，在他的脑袋里就可以下。与此同时，也许“书王”无书、“花王”无花、“戏王”无戏......被深深困在现实泥潭里不得动弹。

[Andreea Astefanei · Rating 4 out of 5]

O poveste frumoasă despre transcenderea realității cu ajutorul artei sau a șahului;
O poveste frumoasă despre reclădirea lumii prin foc, după o nouă ordine;
O poveste frumoasă despre ce înseamnă cu adevărat educația - parcurgerea mecanică a unui manual sau grija la ce se sădește în mintea celuilalt.
Trei povești prin care se critică regimul și noua societate