Echo considers this an uplifting story filled with patriotism and self-sacrifice. "Everyone who is Chinese reads it this way," she insists, warding off the collective groans of our foreign contingent, who read it as a decidedly less optimistic critique of our collective indifference to poverty and human suffering.Whatever your interpretation of the ending, there's no question it's a great short story. It's publication cemented the reputation of Bing Xin as one of the best female novelists in 20th century China, and it remains an inspiration to charitable works to this day, with its name most recently having been adopted by a Baidu charity program which distributes books and school supplies to underprivileged children in rural parts of China.
henning
said on September 29, 2008
With that litte story you made this Cologne fall day start on a blue note before I even knew you cold and dark it was about to get...
trevelyan
said on September 30, 2008
but it's upbeat henning, right Echo?The interpretation seems to hinge on whether the father was killed or whether he voluntarily disappeared out of fear he'd been exposed. The mainstream Chinese view seems to be that he was a CCP soldier. But it's strange that the others are referred to as Communist members while he is just "the carpenter".I think the story suggests he was just a messenger unlucky enough to be caught and killed in the political crossfire. That reading makes the final sentence a lot more cutting, and punctures any expectation thing will get better for the family.
brett
said on September 30, 2008
I can see it both ways. Very sad if they've been lying to the young girl about her father though.
brett
said on September 30, 2008
Here's the full story too:
这是十几年以前的事了。
在一个春节前一天的下午，我到重庆郊外去看一位朋友。她住在那个乡村的乡公所楼上。走上一段阴暗的反反的楼梯，进到一间有一张方桌和几张竹凳、墙上装着一架电话的屋子，再进去就是我的朋友的房间，和外间只隔一幅布帘。她不在家，窗前桌上留着一张条子，说是她临时有事出去，叫我等着她。
我在她桌前坐下，随手拿起一张报纸来看，忽然听见外屋板门吱地一声开了。过了一会，又听见有人在挪动那竹凳子。我掀开帘子，看见一个小姑娘，只有八九岁光景，瘦瘦的苍白的脸，冻得发紫的嘴唇，头发很短，穿一身很破旧的衣裤，光脚穿一双草鞋，正在登上竹凳想去摘墙上的听话器，看见我似乎吃了一惊，把手缩了回来。我问她：“你要打电话吗？”她一面爬下竹凳，一面点头说：“我要×× 医院，找胡大夫，我妈妈刚才吐了许多血！”我问：“你知道××医院的电话号码吗？”她摇了摇头说：“我正想问电话局……”我赶紧从机旁的电话本子里找到医院的号码，就又问她：“找到了大夫，我请他到谁家去呢？”她说：“你只要说王春林家里病了，她就会来的。”
我把电话打通了，她感激地谢了我，回头就走。我拉住她问：“你的家远吗？” 她指着窗外说：“就在山窝那棵大黄果树下面，一下子就走到的。”说着就登、登、登地下楼去了。
我又回到屋里去，把报纸前前后后都看完了，又拿起一本《唐诗三百首》来，看了一半，天色越发阴暗了，我的朋友还不回来。我无聊地站了起来，望着窗外浓雾里迷茫的山景，看到那棵黄果树下面的小屋，忽然想去探望那个小姑娘和她生病的妈妈。我下楼在门口买了几个大红的桔子，塞在手提袋里，顺着歪斜不平的石板路，走到那小屋的门口。
我轻轻地扣着板门，发出清脆的
weijin
said on November 4, 2008
Vocab video:
marco64
said on November 4, 2008
@weijin - just a quick note to say these videos are great. really enjoying them. thx.
Barnaby
said on February 17, 2009
In the Lessons section, I find 'the fix' really useful for learning new vocab . . . any chance of doing it for the short stories too? :)
trevelyan
said on February 17, 2009
@barnaby - absolutely. we should go over the archive and get the fix done for these earlier pieces. thanks for the reminder.
nadasax
said on May 23, 2009
为什么一些短故事有pdf，但是别短故事没有？
Echo
said on May 23, 2009
@nadasax,
Checking with David, will get back to you soon.
Thanks !
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
Short Stories
said on May 24, 2009
@nadasax - pdf corrected. with early lessons like this, the issue was usually with our pdf production code at time of publication. most of these problems have since been corrected, so I've regenerated the pdf. i'll arrange a content sweep to look for these next week. in the meantime, if you notice a lesson that's missing one but should have one send an email and we'll get it fixed.
You
said on October 12, 2009
hey. thanks for this. i loved the story alot! :)
Echo
said on October 13, 2009
@You,
欢迎你来到泡泡中文！这个故事很好，我自己也很喜欢 :)
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
Short Stories
said on May 23, 2010
@bob_trenwith,I'm looking into these problems now. The PDFs are custom-generated for logged-in users depending on their preferences (simplified/traditional/pinyin, etc.). This is why upgrades to the system can seemingly affect older lessons. As far as the system is concerned, if the PDF has successfully been produced in the past it exists.The issue with this lesson, and I'm guessing with the others you've reported is related to the treatment of pinyin. I'm looking into the issue now and will post again when I've got something to report. Thanks for the alert.--david
MAC.JAMIE
said on October 12, 2013
Presumably Jiang Jieshi and his party took her father away, and probably mistreated her rotten, influding the mother,but she still seems very strong and has a real feeling of 'dajia'. So this is a great story for Communist ethic of togetherness or communal solidarity. And even guerilla intelligence, from the way she so adroitedly fixes up the makeshift lamp. The hazily-lit but optimistic path us of course a metaphor for the future of Communism.So it is very patriotic, and I feel this is the only way to read it. In those times, indifference to poverty was surely much more extreme. But the story is precisely about one mans desire to help the poor, and how he is repaid in kind. It shouldnt be read as collective indifference to poverty.I echo Echo's interpretation. Even if Im English. The mothers illness is related to this beating, and the mountain hospital, subtly hinting at Norman Bethune.
