Midnight

by Mao Dun

《子夜》，原名《夕阳》，以1930年5至6月间半封建、半殖民地的旧上海为背景，刻画了包括商人、军人、知识青年、交际花、遗老、工人等各阶层人物，展示了20世纪30年代旧中国社会生活的广阔画卷。在军阀混战、工人罢工的恶劣形势下，吴荪甫虽然竭力振兴民族工业，加紧压迫工人，大搞公债投机，但在对手赵伯韬强大的经济牵制下，最终一败涂地，彻底破产。
半个多世纪以来，《子夜》不仅在中国拥有广泛的读者，且被译成英、德、俄、日等十几种文字，产生了广泛的国际影响。

Genres: China, Fiction, Chinese Literature, Historical Fiction, Classics, Historical

588 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Mao Dun (4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981) was the pen name of Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing), a 20th-century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and the Minister of Culture of People's Republic of China (1949–65). He is one of the most celebrated left-wing realist novelists of modern China. His most famous works are Ziye, a novel depicting life in cosmopolitan Shanghai, and Spring Silkworms. He also wrote many short stories.

He adopted "Mao Dun" (Chinese: 矛盾), meaning "contradiction", as his pen name to express the tension in the conflicting revolutionary ideology in China in the unstable 1920s. His friend Ye Shengtao changed the first character from 矛 to 茅, which literally means "thatch".

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Minuit", qui est mal écrit et traduit de façon excentrique, est un calvaire à lire. Parut en 1933 comme "La condition humaine" d'André Malraux, il traite le même sujet; c'est-à-dire la lutte des révolutionnaires communistes dans la région de Shanghai sous la République de Chine. La maison d'édition Robert Laffont a possiblement raison de dire que "Minuit" le chef-d'œuvre du roman chinois". On y trouve un analyse marxiste brillante de la bourgeoisie industrielle chinoise pendant les années 1920 et 1930.
Mao Dun réussit très bien dans son but d'expliquer pourquoi il n'y a jamais eu une classe industrielle en Chine capable de diriger l'état. L'impuissance des industriels chinoise ne se conformait pas au modèle marxiste de l'histoire et une explication s'imposait. Hélas, il faut absolument s'intéresser à cette question pour trouver le moindre plaisir dans ce roman.
Dans mon cas l'intérêt était grand et l'exposé de l'auteur me plaisait énormément.
D'abord la République était en guerre constante avec les communistes, le Kuomintang et des coalition des chefs militaires provinciaux. L'industrie souffrait énormément dans ce contexte. La République imposait lourdement afin de subvenir à ses dépenses militaires. On détruisait des usines et d'autres avoirs des compagnies au cours des batailles.
En même temps les pouvoir occidentaux (la Grande Bretagne, les É-U, la France, et l'Allemagne) percevaient les droits de douanes. Ils mettaient des tarifs qui favorisaient les importations au détriment des manufacturiers chinoise. La république accordaient des monopoles aux compagnies étrangères. Les firmes manufacturières ne trouvaient pas de financement parce que les banques chinoises voulaient prêter uniquement sur des terriens. Finalement, les syndicats faisaient des grèves dans les usines. Quand ils ne pouvaient pas trouver du financement, les industriels se lançaient dans de jeu dangereux de spéculer à la bourse sur les bons d'emprunt de la République.
"Minuit" raconte l'histoire d'un industriel intègre Wou Souen-Fou qui essaie de rentabiliser huit filatures de soie et en même temps fonder une banque industrielle qui allait servir uniquement les entreprises manufacturières. Après une lutte héroïque Wou Souen-Fou va échouer dans ses projets à cause des grèves et des pertes à la bourse de bons d'emprunt. La description des actions et stratégies employées dans la spéculation boursière est excellente.
La grande faiblesse du roman se trouvent avec personnages. Premièrement, il y en a trop. On trouve cinquante-deux noms sur la liste de personnages fournit par l'éditeur ce qui est trop. En plus, il y des noms qui manquent sur la liste. Les descriptions des personnages sont superficielles et l'auteur oublie souvent d'expliquer leurs mobiles.
La traduction cause des ennuis aussi. Sur la couverture on annonce que les événements se déroulent à "Shangai" mais dans le texte on écrit "Changhaï". Les boulettes de viande deviennent des raviolis. Les policiers en turban dans le quartier Britannique sont identifiés comme étant des hindous mais en réalité ils étaient des Sikh. Le plus sérieux est que le mot "Comprador" qui était employé pour une compagnie en Chine qui agissait comme agent pour une compagnie étrangère est traduit avec le mot "accapareur"

Pour un communiste, Mao Dun est très généreux envers les industriels chinois. Ils étaient des hommes doués qui voulaient le bien pour le pays. Cependant les circonstances historiques ne leur n'ont pas permis de joueur le rôle qui leur incombait. Malheureusement le roman comme œuvre littéraire ne fonctionne pas du tout.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mao Duns "Shanghai im Zwielicht" ist eines der zentralen Werke der klassischen Moderne der chinesischen Literatur. Wenn es hier bei Goodreads kaum Leser gefunden hat, so dürfte das daran liegen, das kommunistische Autoren aus China ausser Mode gekommen sind. Am Werk selbst dürfte es nicht liegen.

"Shanghai im Zwielicht" ist einer der ersten Romane im europäischen Stil und orientiert sich in Komposition und Stil - soweit man das bei einer Übersetzung aus dem chinesischen beurteilen kann - dabei deutlich an französischen Vorbildern, insbesondere an Zolas "Germinal". Die Übersetzung ist gelungen. Der Roman liest sich flüssig und vermittelt interessante Einblicke in das vorrevolutionäre Shanghai der 20er Jahre. Dabei verwebt der Autor geschickt drei Themenkomplexe: 1. Im Vordergrund stehen die Spekulationen von Kaufleuten, die einerseits mit Leerverkäufen an der Börse spekulieren, was spannend und durchaus realitätsnah geschildert wird und andererseits mit Streiks und Aufruhr in ihren Betrieben zu kämpfen haben. Letzteres wird für einen kommunistischen Autor vergleichsweise realitätsnahe und sogar mit einer gewissen Sympathie für die Sachzwänge des Unternehmers geschildert. 2. Den Kontrast zwischen den eher mittelalterlichen Strukturen auf dem Land und der Moderne in der Stadt mit Autos und Hochhäusern , sowie 3. den Sitten der alten Generation - modern im Geschäft aber altmodisch in familiärer und sexueller Hinsicht - und der neuen Generation - offen für Bildung und Liebesheiraten.

An dieser weiten Themenwahl scheitert dann aber auch das Buch. Es ist schlechterdings zu breit angelegt, um den vielen Charakteren genügend Tiefe zu verleihen. Selbst die Hauptprotagonisten erscheinen nur auf wenigen Seiten und dann wird schon zum nächsten Thema gewechselt. Dadurch können die vielen guten Ansätze und interessanten Probleme nicht wirklich aufgelöst werden.

Insoweit typisch für ein Frühwerk und immer noch um längen besser als die meisten Pearl S. Buck Romane über China.

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big, baggy socialist realist novel of Shanghai at its appalling and brilliant interwar peak; despite its avowedly Marxist politics (this other Mao would later be a long-serving Minister of Culture in the PRC) it always turns up in nostalgic books about Old Shanghai for its descriptions of a decadent capitalist metropolis, all neon, skyscrapers and people yelling at each other in stock exchanges. It's very much about the modern city but is straightforwardly naturalistic, mostly concentrating on Chinese businessmen trying to escape the trap of comprador capitalism and failing, with shorter passages on their wives and mistresses, and on those below, ordinary workers, foremen, scabs, spies and Communists, adding up to the usual Chinese novel cast-of-far-too-many. Stodgy in places and very long, but ripe for rediscovery. Also features an early and prescient depiction of Trotskyists as Sex People.

[Mitja Rupnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mao Dun's second novella deals with a very turbulent time in China - the 1930s. It is very intricate in its depiction of the rich and poor life of the people in Shanghai, and captures the Zeitgeist of xenophobia, doubt and conflicting ideologies in minute detail. It reminds me of the Tale of the Three Kingdoms, where three warlords (here depicted by industrialists and their concerns) enter ever-changing, frail alliances only to lose all in the end to another party. There are multiple subplots that are left unexplored, each worthy of their own novel, as the industrialists have to deal with dissent in their own families and companies due to the turbulent political climate. It is a very enjoyable book - fans of intrigue should consider giving it a read.

[Zizhu Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overall reading experience is not bad, but the unfamiliarity of some economic terms like long position, short position and things related to bonds may lead to difficulty in getting immersed in the story at the beginning, but as reading goes on, there are still a lot of things that are quite touching.
The part I like most is the battle between the mill-owner Wu Sunfu, supervisor Tu Weiyue and workers. It is very novel to me that the novel depicts the strike from the perspective of the capitalist instead of from the grass-roots. Wu, as a determined, to some extent good fair manager, has to reduce the pay of workers because of deficit. His action is even rationalized when cutting wages, lowering the costs have been connected with developing national industry in the competition with foreign products. Tu is also a witty man who tries to use ploy to get workers back to work other than through violence, which makes him quite outstanding comparing with loads of craven simple-minded less capable men around him. Despite that Wu and Tu who are not portrayed as total oppressors, the author still makes workers' strikes reasonable and justifiable to readers. The shabby places those grisettes live, their requirements for satisfying basic needs, all contrast sharply with young people in the upper class who live an idle sybaritic and sentimental life. Considering the actions of both sides, boss and workers, have certain justification, how come Wu's industry is dragged to abject failure in the end? This triggers the readers to think more about the nature of China's society especially the economic traits at that time.
Wu Sunfu's battles with workers and a comprador (person who acts as an agent for foreign organizations to engage in economic activities) Zhao Botao serve as two overt lines in this novel, but behind them, there are also two powers that seem covert while exist all the time. One is the power of the communist party which hasn't played a major role yet in the city, but its rising influence and strength can already be sensed by leading workers to go on strikes and taking over of some rural areas. The other that stands behind Zhao Botao is the outside forces. Even the corporation of Wu Sunfu has to seek help from foreign companies to sustain in the end. Foreign products flood into the Chinese market and crowd out national businesses, which probably is the basic reason of Wu's failure.
Another aspect that I like about Midnight is that the novel portrayed multiple representative figures in the transitional era when China was transforming from a traditional imperial system to a modern nation-state. Grandpa Wu at the beginning of the story has already become a symbol of the declining feudal system. Hui Fang, who has been strongly influenced by Grandpa Wu, feels lonely, repressed and lost after living in Shanghai, this titillating city, and experiencing the intimacy between men and women. The exquisite description of Hui Fang's feeling is pretty impressive and her affection for Fan Bowen who seems to inherit the temperament of ancient poets is not groundless. Feng Yunqing, who accumulated his money by loan-sharking to peasants, grabbing their lands and collecting rents, feels like a fish out of water when driven to the relentless-changing bond market. Zhou Zhongwei, who laughs a lot, is just like another A Q (a character in the renowned Chinese author Lu Xun's novel who is famous for self-delusion). Zheng Xintuo, a student who studied abroad and was heavily influenced by Anarchism, believes in hedonism and finds China hopeless. People young and old, in varied positions, with different cultural and historical imprints, are exhibited in this novel, forming an all-rounded picture of Shanghai in the 1930s.
In all, as for readers who are interested in Shanghai China in the 1930s, especially the economic state and the psychological characteristics of people from different classes, Midnight might be a good choice.

[Qingyang · Rating 3 out of 5]

公债场的部分我看的有点云里雾里，人物也很多，线很杂，但描写很生动，也让我了解了1930年前后上海的景象。

首先是通过小说了解到的历史事件
1. 共产党试图推翻国民党，在中国各地有组织的占领城市
2. 工人被压榨，罢工。有很大一部分工人是共产党，所以群众运动反映的是两个问题：人权问题和政治问题。
3. 资产阶级（如吴荪甫）玩公债场

这部小说的男性人物大多有权有钱，社会是父权社会。比如三爷，他对权、钱、面子的执着使他刚愎自用，不惜用压榨工人来挽救公债场上的局面。他不想低人一等，于是在受气后撒气的对象就是他的妻子，女仆等。

女性角色更加刻版化些（或许当时的女性就是这样吧，父权社会的产物），小说里的女性被物化（乳房屁股的描写），被利用（冯云卿让自己的女儿去勾引赵。交际花徐曼丽接受自己的物化，认为美色是她的武器）

文中有许多对笑的描写，吴三爷的狞笑，狂笑，或许都是对时局悲凉的掩盖。
除了笑以外，雷和雨也是时局动荡的象征。转瞬即逝的太阳，浓浓的乌云，电闪雷鸣，倾盆大雨。。。

[Jennifer]

I remember reading this when I lived in China. My edition is published by Foreign Language Press, Peking. Printed in the PRC.

[Ali]

soft want to read b/c we read the first chapter for hist and it was crazy lmao

[Lee Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

“中国的小说家，善于写的农民，不善于写工厂。”茅盾的子夜，就算是一部标志的作品，读后也觉得鸡肋一般，毫不精彩。
《子夜》不是通俗小说，不是爽文，因为他让读者纠结。电视剧《大染房》或者受到了子夜的影响，起码人名参考了《子夜》。但是《大染房》讨巧，虽然六爷的大华印染厂也毁于一旦，但那是在日军侵华的逼迫下。应该说深刻不如《子夜》但在讨巧读者上抓住了读者的心。如茅盾自述，两者都想告诉读者一个道理：国家太弱个人太强是要吃亏的。但是茅盾太现实，吴荪莆一位有野心的实业家，但他刚愎自用、野心大过他的野心、知人用人一般，最后姐夫杜竹斋都背叛了他。这种人物设计总的来说是不讨喜的，但是相当现实深刻。像陈六子那种简直就是神了。
应该说《子夜》里没有绝对的坏人，也没有的完美的好人。如果归因，当然可以归因到帝国主义对旧中国的剥削。但在《子夜》却是一个遥远的幽灵。《子夜》不是革命文学，社会主义文学，他是中国民族文学而已。里面写的工人与企业家的斗争写的很纠结，或者说很不革命。（苏伦与玛金在开完会后，想骗她困觉这段到是精彩极了）但是我们要说的是，工厂破产了，吴老板还可以避暑，工人呢？（茅盾写得还是很真实的，像秦仲义（老舍《茶馆》）那种彻底破产者恐怕有夸张的成分）。
人物设计的最好的还是吴老太爷，吴老太爷可是当年维新党呢。哪知一看大上海的红男绿女，立刻就呜呼了。

[Hqwxyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

意料之外的好看。也意料之外的能与现实挂钩。

[Justanearthling · Rating 2 out of 5]

可以看出有些野心但草草了事。

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book and I think it was primarily the translation, the book deserves a more modern translation and a cast of characters to help keep track. The book in many ways reminded of The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai by Han Banqing, which was much better translated. Mao Dun of course was under many restraints in writing this book at the time that he did write it an I wonder why he did not re-write it later on from his Communists point of view, to make it more realistic from his prospective which is one the problems the book has...and I will admit to lots of skimming through out the book...