Capturing Chinese

Lu Xun’s A Village Opera

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:43:13 +0000

Village Opera is my favorite story in Lu Xun’s Nahan. The story recreates scenes from a China that seems from a bygone era. Lu Xun talks fondly of his mother‘s village and describes his days when they took a boat to watch an opera from the river. For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun. Otherwise keep reading for a longer introduction to Village Opera.

Village Opera

社戏

Shè Xì

社戏 was first published in November 1922 in Shanghai’s Fiction Monthly (小说月报 Xiǎoshuō Yuèbào).

The story is an autobiographical story about Lǔ Xùn’s different experiences with Chinese opera. The story begins while Lǔ Xùn is living in Běijīng. His friend insists that Běijīng opera is the best and he must experience one. The cling and clang of the opera deafens Lǔ Xùn causing him to run out of opera house shortly afterward. He sees one more in Běijīng before bidding farewell to Chinese opera forever. He insists he is ill-suited for opera.

However, he remembers seeing a truly great opera when he was younger in his mother’s hometown, a small village near Shàoxīng (绍兴城). In the summers Lǔ Xùn spent time with his mother visiting her hometown. In this village all the people were related and surnamed, 鲁. Lǔ Xùn chose his pen name of 鲁迅 in honor of his mother whose maiden name was also 鲁.

In this village, Lǔ Xùn plays with the peasant children and catches shrimp with them. Every year the neighboring village held a village opera, a 社戏. Since this area around Shàoxīng is full of canals, much of the transportation was and still is done by boat. The children rent a boat for the evening and row 5 li (2.5 kilometers) to the neighboring town and watch the opera from their boat. After watching for a while, they get bored and begin rowing back home. Taking a break halfway from home, they steal some Arhat beans from one of the kid’s father’s fields and enjoy the snack on the boat in the middle of the river.

They arrive back to their village past midnight, where Lǔ Xùn’s mother is anxiously waiting for them. Looking back at this day, Lǔ Xùn can’t remember tasting better Arhat beans or experiencing a better opera.

Village Opera 社戏

Would you like to read this Chinese short story with pinyin, footnotes with definitions, historical summaries, and cultural references, as well as Chinese audio files of two native speakers, one male and one female, reading the story? Get your copy of Capturing Chinese today! See the Capturing Chinese Catalog

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Lu Xun’s Some Rabbits and a Cat

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:39:24 +0000

Some Rabbits and a Cat is another short and easy story by Lu Xun. For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

Rabbits and a Cat

兔和猫

Tù Hé Māo

兔和猫 was published in October 1922 in Běijīng’s Morning Post Supplement (晨报副刊 Chénbào Fùkān)

兔和猫 is about Third Missus, Lǔ Xùn’s sister-in-law, buying a couple of rabbits. The kids find the rabbits adorable and love to play with them. Since the rabbits begin eating the furniture and wall paper, Third Missus moves them into the courtyard under the mulberry tree. The rabbits manage to scare away the birds that come looking to eat some of the berries from the tree, but the family is most concerned with the neighborhood cat who likes to strut across the courtyard wall. Lǔ Xùn’s dog, “S,” is relied upon to guard the rabbits from this pesky feline.

A few days later, the two rabbits disappear. No one has seen them for quite some time and they begin to worry. However, the two rabbits return from their burrow along with a couple of baby rabbits. The children find this particularly entertaining.

A few days later the rabbits disappear again. The family worries after the rabbits don’t reappear for quite some time. Third Missus begins digging into their burrow in search of the rabbits, but only finds rabbit fur, a sure sign that the cat found them.

Third Missus checks a second, new burrow and there finds the two parent rabbits along with seven new baby rabbits. Not willing to take any more risks, she brings the whole bunch inside and raises the baby rabbits herself. Since the parent rabbits don’t seem to being doing a very good job, she makes sure that each of the baby rabbits gets their fair and equal share of the mother’s milk.

While the Third Missus focuses on tending to the rabbits, Lǔ Xùn has his eye on some potassium cyanide hoping to avenge the rabbits by poisoning the cat.

Lǔ Xùn wrote this story when he had a Russian poet, Vasily Eroshenko, who visited him in Běijīng. He also wrote A Comedy of Ducks (鸭的喜剧), which is more about his experience with the Russian poet.

Some Rabbits and a Cat 兔和猫

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Lu Xun’s A Comedy of Ducks

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:29:08 +0000

A Comedy of Ducks is an easy and short story to read. For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Comedy of Ducks

鸭的喜剧

Yā de Xǐjù

鸭的喜剧 was published in December 1922 in The Lady’s Magazine (妇女杂志 Fùnǚ Zázhì).

The story recalls the events of Lǔ Xùn’s guest from Russia, Vasily Eroshenko, living with Lǔ Xùn’s eldest younger brother, Zhōu Zùorén (also known as Zhòngmì), from 1922-1923. Since the Russian poet was blind, he relied heavily on his hearing for enjoyment. He spoke Russian, English, Japanese and was a master in the one world language, Esperanto. While he could not see, he got great satisfaction from hearing the different sounds around him which led him to buying a few animals for the Zhōu household. He was also an advocate of self-sufficiency, suggesting to have a garden and raise farm animals.

Reminiscing over his time spent in Burma, he complains Běijīng is too quiet with no animals about creating noise. Upon hearing from Lǔ Xùn that frogs are aplenty after a heavy rain, he goes out to buy tadpoles which he raises in a small pond. Next, a few chicks appear, coming from Zhòngmì’s room. The chicks gorge themselves on the courtyard lawn, but tend to eat too much and die frequently. Vasily Eroshenko actually wrote his only short story while in Běijīng about this called, The Tragedy of a Chick.

A lady selling ducklings comes by and Eroshenko is thrilled with the little animals and buys four of them. They quack about the compound, eat up the tadpoles from the pond, and slowly grow to maturity. By the time the ducklings are full grown, Eroshenko is already off to a conference on Esperanto in Finland. Lǔ Xùn not knowing his friend is going to return soon afterward writes this short story in his honor. Lǔ Xùn’s title for this story, A Comedy of Ducks (鸭的喜剧), contrasts with Eroshenko’s work, The Tragedy of Chick (鸡的悲剧)，which Lǔ Xùn had helped translate from Japanese into Chinese.

A Comedy of Ducks 鸭的喜剧

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Lu Xun’s The White Light

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:24:45 +0000

The White Light describes the life of a failed scholar. The story is similar to Kong Yiji. The main character is basically a nuisance to the family and continually searches for lost family gold. For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun. Otherwise keep reading for a longer introduction to The White Light.

The White Light

白光

Bái Guāng

白光 was published in July of 1922 in Shanghai’s Eastern Magazine (东方杂志, Dōngfāng Zázhì).

白光 begins with Chén Shìchéng (陈士成) staring at a list of names of candidates who successfully passed the district examination. After his sixteenth failure, Chén Shìchéng is understandably distraught. He drifts back home and sulks in disbelief. The other families in the same compound return to their rooms early recognizing the look on Chén Shìchéng’s face. Chén Shìchéng turns his disappointment into a search for a mythical buried treasure. Previous excavation attempts illustrate the frequent disappointments he has had over the years. A white light from the moon begins to shine onto his desk which he takes as a sign of the buried treasure’s location. He begins digging and digging only to unveil an old jaw bone.

A voice in his head tells him the treasure is not in this room, but is actually in the distant mountains. He rushes out through the city gates into the night only to wash up dead in a lake the next morning.

This story is based on one of Lǔ Xùn’s uncles, Zhōu Zǐjīng (周子京) who lived in the family compound in Shàoxīng (绍兴城) and helped teach Lǔ Xùn the classics in Lǔ Xùn’s younger years. He spent years studying for the civil service exam, yet repeatedly failed to pass. He was something of a nuisance in the family compound and did not contribute much except to teach the children the classics.

Lǔ Xùn’s uncle and Chén Shìchéng highlight one of the flaws in the civil service exam in feudal China. While the system prepared people very well in the classics of China, it also produced many people who never passed the exams, but yet had spent years and years in preparation. After their failure they lacked any other skills to support themselves and their families. Lǔ Xùn’s uncle eventually committed suicide by lighting himself on fire and jumping off a bridge into the water below. He died a few days later.

The White Light 白光

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Lu Xun’s Dragonboat Festival

admin — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:23:37 +0000

Dragonboat Holiday or Dragonboat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday falling on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is also called Double Fifth. The story is another story that closely follows Lu Xun’s own life. For an introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun. Otherwise keep reading for a longer introduction to Dragonboat Holiday.

Dragonboat Holiday

端午节

Duānwǔjié

端午节 was first published in September 1922 in Fiction Monthly (小说月报 Xiǎoshuō Yuèbào).

After the establishment of the Republic, life did not change very much at first. The overthrow of the Qing dynasty resulted in a Republic dominated by a military man, Yuán Shìkǎi (袁世凯), who did little to benefit the common people and improve government. In the story, the main character chooses the pet phrase, “差不多”meaning “not much different.” Given the historical context of the times, one can understand why he would feel this way. While the name of China changed, nothing much else did, causing Lǔ Xùn (known as Fāng Xuánchuò (方玄绰) in the story) to become disillusioned with the revolution and much else in life.

端午节 is Dragonboat Holiday in China and is a typical time to get paid and also to repay debts. The story is about the main character, Fāng Xuánchuò, not getting paid for his teaching position or his government position and what he does about it (not much). Basically his philosophy is to not do anything because everything will have the same result anyways. His family has to borrow from friends and relatives to make ends meet. After a mass demonstration, in which Fāng Xuánchuò did not participate, the government finally issues back pay to the teachers and officials. However, once the finance department has the checks to disperse, they refuse to issue to people like Fāng Xuánchuò who did not help in the protest. Fāng Xuánchuò refuses to beg for his check which he believes he already rightly deserves. Instead he goes to a good friend and asks for a temporary loan. While his friend congratulates him on not capitulating to the finance department’s demands, he quickly becomes incensed when he finds Fāng Xuánchuò is visiting only to ask for a loan. Fāng Xuánchuò can’t really blame his friend because he remembers doing the same thing. When he was still getting paid, someone came to ask him for a loan. Instead of helping out, Fāng Xuánchuò pretended he had no money to spare.

The backdrop of this story is based on actual events. The government did stop paying their workers, which escalated into a mass demonstration demanding back pay. On June 3rd, 1921 at Xīnhuámén (新华门), at the gate outside the government offices at Zhōngnánhǎi (中南海), 10,000 teachers and students took to the streets of Běijīng to demand their back pay before classes could resume. Several people were hurt, and the government eventually resumed pay for the teachers and government officials.

Dragonboat Festival 端午节

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Enjoy and 加油！

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Stories – Lu Xun’s Hometown

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:19:46 +0000

Hometown is a very nice story describing Lu Xun’s hometown. The story is one of Lu Xun’s brighter stories and truly enjoyable. If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

Hometown

故乡

Gùxiāng

故乡 was published in May 1921 in New Youth (新青年 Xīn Qīngnián).

After moving to Běijīng in 1912, Lǔ Xùn lived in the Shàoxīng club for a number of years. The Shàoxīng club was a hostel for those of similar geographic origins to live. In 1919, Lǔ Xùn purchased a large family compound for his family and his two brothers’ families in Běijīng. This story is about his trip back to Shàoxīng to sell the old family compound.

Upon arriving in his hometown, Lǔ Xùn sees a place little different from the one he left behind twenty years prior. The town is still a barren place with little signs of progress. However, at the slight mention of his childhood friend, Rùntǔ, Lǔ Xùn becomes nostalgic. He remembers the time his family was in charge of the large sacrifice for their clan’s ancestors and how they hired Rùntǔ’s father to help out. Lǔ Xùn and Rùntǔ became immediate friends and Lǔ Xùn was fascinated by Rùntǔ’s stories. Since Lǔ Xùn spent all his days inside the family compound studying the classics, Rùntǔ provided stories of a life Lǔ Xùn knew nothing about. Stories about trapping birds, guarding watermelons, fighting cha, and collecting shells by the shore.

Their childhood friendship proved hard to rekindle thirty years later. The wall between intellectual and farmer had grown and Lǔ Xùn found it hard to open up and share stories of the past with his friend. The past decades had been hard on Rùntǔ. Whether it be bandits, officials, or famine, something was always creating obstacles for Rùntǔ and making life difficult for him.

The day before the lunar new year Rùntǔ and others come to see Lǔ Xùn off as he sells their family home in Shàoxīng to prepare for their future in Běijīng. Lǔ Xùn lets Rùntǔ have his choice of his family’s belongings and Rùntǔ asks for the incense holder and candlesticks. While Lǔ Xùn slightly chuckles because Rùntǔ still worships idols, he can’t help but wonder whether his own hope for a better future is any different. His hope for better opportunities for his nephew and Rùntǔ’s son to be able to stay friends as they get older. He hopes there will be better opportunities for his nephew and Rùntǔ’s son and that they can remain friends as they grow older. His hope is no more tangible than the idols Rùntǔ worships.

Rùntǔ is based on an actual peasant from an area near Shàoxīng. His real name was 章运水 (Zhāng Yùnshuǐ) and the character Rùntǔ appears in several other pieces of Lǔ Xùn’s writing as well.

Hometown 故乡

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Enjoy and 加油！

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Stories – Lu Xun’s A Passing Storm

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:13:28 +0000

Here is another story about the crazy amount of trouble a hairstyle could cause in imperial Qing dynasty China and in the early years of the Republic of China. This week’s story is A Passing Storm, also translated as A Storm in a Teacup. If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Passing Storm

风波

Fēngbō

风波 was published in September 1920 in New Youth (新青年 Xīn Qīngnián).

Revolutionary China was filled with rebellions, revolutions, and on occasion reinstatement of the previous dynasty. These constantly changing environments put strain on the common people who found themselves in the middle of this power struggle. During the Qing dynasty, males had to wear a queue, which involved shaving the front half of the head and growing the back part long and braiding it. (See A Story About Hair for more information) During the Tàipíng Rebellion, the rebels grew out their hair in defiance of this law. The government troops would execute those who did not have the mandatory queue. The Tàipíngs would kill those with a queue for thinking they were loyal to the Qing dynasty. The common villager only stood to lose in this situation.

After the Qing dynasty was overthrown, queues were no longer mandatory but some loyal to the previous dynasty decided to keep them. This is when A Passing Storm takes place. Some of the villagers had cut their queue (or had them forcibly cut) while others preserved them by coiling them on top of their head. However the situation changed again on July 1, 1917 when the northwest troops supported by Zhāng Xūn (张勋) occupied Běijīng. Zhāng Xūn and his troops announced the restoration of the Qing Dynasty by reinstating the last emperor, Pǔyí (溥仪), onto the Dragon Throne. After twelve long days for the villagers Zhāng Xūn and his troops were defeated on July 12^th.

During this brief occupation of Beijing, the villagers worry whether or not they will have to begin wearing queues again. One character, Seventh Master Zhao, is a Qing loyalist and insists that Qī Jīn, who had his queue cut off in town, will face execution for being in violation of the law. Fighting breaks out as the villagers release their anxiety upon each other. Twelve days later, life resumes back to normal.

A Passing Storm 风波

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Enjoy and 加油！

Learn Chinese Through Stories – Lu Xun’s A Story about Hair

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:10:27 +0000

I never knew how much trouble hair could cause until I read this story by Lu Xun. Wow! How your hairstyle could affect your life so dramatically. To learn a bit about the hair style of Qing dynasty China check out this week’s story, A Story about Hair. If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Story About Hair

头发的故事

Tóufà de Gùshi

头发的故事 was first published in October 1920 in Shànghǎi’s New Journal of Current Affairs, the Lamp of Learning (时事新报·学灯 Shíshì Xīnbào·Xué Dēng).

In this story, Lǔ Xùn discusses his experiences with his hair. While the story’s main character is named Mr. N, the story is really about Lǔ Xùn’s own experiences and frustrations with hair.

Controlling people’s hair style has a long history in China. Not so long ago, shaving of the head was considered punishment for petty criminals. When the Manchus came to power and formed the Qing dynasty in 1644, they brought their unique hair styles with them. Men had to shave the front half of their head, while keeping the back half long and braided in a queue (辫子 biànzi). This imposed hair style met strong resistance in the first years of the Qing dynasty, but was eventually accepted and worn throughout China.

When Lǔ Xùn went to study abroad in Japan, he cut off his mandatory queue. While such an act would have been reactionary in China, the officials let the rules slide for foreign students. Upon returning to China though, he was the object of many people’s ridicule as he did not have a queue. He bought a fake queue in Shànghǎi, but decided not to wear it for fear of it falling off or worse being pulled off. Instead he wore western style clothes and sported a mustache, which earned him such nicknames as “fake foreign devil.” Even in Běijīng, Lǔ Xùn was ridiculed for lacking the proper hairstyle. Spending time out of the capital would only have been worse.

A Story About Hair 头发的故事

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Enjoy and 加油！

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Stories – Lu Xun’s A Small Incident

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:07:56 +0000

This week we would like to introduce A Small Incident. The story is very short and one of Lu Xun’s easier stories. If you haven’t dived into the stories yet, then start with this one. If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

A Small Incident

一件小事

Yí Jiàn Xiǎoshì

一件小事 was published in November of 1919 in Beijing’s Morning Post – Anniversary Commemorative Edition (晨报·周年纪念增刊 Chénbào·Zhōunián Jìniàn Zēngkān).

The story is about Lǔ Xùn traveling to work by rickshaw one morning in Beijing. While he has been working in Beijing for six years already, no important official affairs comes readily to mind. Instead he remembers clearly the morning his rickshaw driver hits a pedestrian causing her to fall and hurt herself. Lǔ Xùn doesn’t think the woman is seriously hurt and in any case no one saw it happen, so he thinks it best for the rickshaw man to just keep going. Otherwise, Lǔ Xùn might be late. Instead, the rickshaw driver gets out and helps the old woman find help at a police station. Seeing the generosity of the rickshaw driver to a complete stranger, Lǔ Xùn is dumbfounded and waits in the carriage until a police officer tells him he better get going.

Lǔ Xùn first moved to Beijing in 1912, during the first year of the republic. Like many people at the time, he held high hopes for the newly established republic founded by Sun Yat-sen (孙中山 Sūn Zhōngshān), but quickly became disillusioned as Yuán Shìkǎi (袁世凯), a man with military authority, usurped power and formed the republic in ways not much different from the Qing dynasty before him. The foreign powers of Japan and western Europe continued to encroach upon China’s sovereignty and Yuán Shìkǎi actually declared himself emperor near the end of his life. During this time, Lǔ Xùn served as an official in the Ministry of Education and was rather depressed about the state of affairs. This story takes place in 1917, six years after Lǔ Xùn moved from Nanjing to Beijing.

A Small Incident 一件小事

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!

Enjoy and 加油！

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Stories – Lu Xun’s Tomorrow

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:04:40 +0000

This week we would like to introduce Tomorrow, a sad, but very good story. If you missed the introduction to Lu Xun, then follow this link to An Introduction to Lu Xun.

Tomorrow

明天

Míngtiān

明天 was published in October 1919 in New Wave (新潮 Xīn Cháo).

The story is about a widow and her three year old son. After the death of her husband, she supports herself and her child by weaving on the loom. Recently, the child has contracted tuberculosis and is terribly ill. While the mother is not the smartest woman, she tries her best to save her child. She pulls supernatural bamboo slips (a Chinese superstition), makes a vow to Buddha, and gives the child his traditional Chinese medicine. After the passing of the night and the child showing no sign of improvement, she takes him to a traditional Chinese doctor who has four inch long fingernails. The doctor gives an esoteric diagnosis, claiming the child is suffering from fire overwhelming metal (see notes in story) and prescribes some medicine such as “preserve the infant’s life pills.” The prescription and the doctor visit cost the mother her savings and the child nevertheless dies shortly thereafter.

She sells some of her belongings and with the money holds a funeral for her deceased son. She buys a coffin, buries her son, and holds a dinner for all those who helped. After the sun sets and everyone goes home, the mother realizes she is now all alone with her loom. With the earlier passing of her husband and now her son, her home seems much too quiet.

As discussed in the preface to Nàhǎn, Lǔ Xùn was very critical of Chinese folk medicine. His father died in 1896 of an illness, likely to be tuberculosis, which Chinese medicine and doctors failed to treat. During his youth, he would pawn the family’s goods so that he could buy exotic and expensive Chinese herbs and medicines. The ingredients would be items such as sugar cane exposed to three frosts, and a pair of crickets who never had another mate. While these items proved difficult to procure, they did nothing for his father’s illness. He died after four years of the expensive medicine. His father’s death was Lǔ Xùn’s inspiration to study Western medicine in the first place (which he ended up quitting to pursue literature) and he always remained very skeptical of Chinese medicine.

Lǔ Xùn also discusses the flaws of Chinese medicine in his story, Medicine (药).

Tomorrow 明天

Sample the book before you buy! Get Your FREE Sample Chapter

Don’t take our word for it. Take yours. Download a FREE sample of “A Small Incident.”

Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xuns Nahan - Sample

Enjoy this free sample of Capturing Chinese Short Stories From Lu Xun's Nahan. Don't take our word that it's great, check it out for yourself. Audio files are also included!