{"product_id":"a-dictionary-of-maqiao-hardcover","title":"A Dictionary of Maqiao - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eShaogong Han\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJulia Lovell\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the most-talked about works of fiction to emerge from China in recent years, this novel about an urban youth \"displaced\" to a small village in rural China during the Cultural Revolution is a fictionalized portrait of the author's own experience as a young man. Han Shaogong was one of millions of students relocated from cities and towns to live and work alongside peasant farmers in an effort to create a classless society. Translated into English for the first time, Han's novel is an exciting experiment in form--structured as a dictionary of the Maqiao dialect--through which he seeks to understand and translate the local life and customs of his strange new home. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHan encounters an upside-down world among the people of Maqiao: a con man dupes his neighbors into thinking that he has found the fountain of youth by convincing them that his father is in fact his son; to be scientific\" is to be lazy; time and relationships are understood using the language of food and its preparation; and to die young is considered \"sweet,\" while the aged reckon their lives to be \"cheap.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs entries build one upon another, Han meditates on the ability of a \u003ci\u003ewaidi ren\u003c\/i\u003e (outsider) to represent the ways of life of another community. In this light, the Communist effort to control the language and history of a people whose words and past are bound together in ineluctably local ways emerges as an often comical, sometimes tragic exercise in miscommunication.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHan Shaogong is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and translator. He is author of \u003ci\u003eMoon Orchid\u003c\/i\u003e (1985), \u003ci\u003eBababa\u003c\/i\u003e (1985), \u003ci\u003eWomanwomanwoman\u003c\/i\u003e (1985), and \u003ci\u003eDeserted City\u003c\/i\u003e (1989). He is also former editor of the magazines \u003ci\u003eHainan Review\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFrontiers, \u003c\/i\u003e and is vice-chairman of the Hainan Writer's Association.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 400\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.95 x 9.22 x 6.32 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 02, 2003\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47454393041074,"sku":"9780231127448","price":72.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/f9f0a6ae5948acdf8a96c6e663a99157.webp?v=1778849966","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/a-dictionary-of-maqiao-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}