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Remembering writer who found insight in adversity
By Ren Canran |
August 26, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
"THERE is no need to rush toward death. Death is something you won't miss, a holiday that will come sooner or later," wrote Shi Tiesheng in his well-known essay "The Temple of Earth and I," published in 1991.
Almost 20 years later, the "holiday" came for Shi. The writer died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 59 on December 31, 2010.
The death of Shi, whose works have been translated into many languages and published overseas, was a huge loss for Chinese literature.
A book entitled "Life: Folk Memory of Shi Tiesheng" was published in June to commemorate the writer. The 43 contributors include his family and friends, his nurse, schoolmates and literary, academic and media figures.
On August 17, the book was introduced to Shanghai readers at a memorial event that also attempted to reveal something about the real Shi.
"Tonight, Shi is with us," said Chen Cun, a famous Shanghai writer who attended the event.
Born in Beijing in 1951, Shi spent most of his life in the capital, near the Temple of Earth. At Tsinghua University High School he loved sports and excelled at hurdles, basketball and football.
In 1969 he was a zhiqing - an urban youth sent to a rural area, in Shi's case Shaanxi Province - during the "cultural revolution"(1966-76). While there, he lost the use of his legs and returned to Beijing.
"Confined to bed, Shi lost hope," said Sun Lizhe, a schoolmate and friend of the author.
"Shi had thoughts of death many times, but after considering death, decided to live bravely," Sun said.
Shi began writing, with death and suffering major themes. His first work was published in 1979 and his 1983 short story "My Faraway Clear Peaceful River" won the National Excellent Short Story Prize.
A sequel, "A Story of Rustication" was published in 1986. In 1980, Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang shot a short film called "Our Corner" based on a story by Shi. It was one of the first films by China's Fifth Generation of movie directors.
His 1985 novella "Like a Banjo String," about blind musicians, was the basis of the 1991 film "Life on a String" directed by renowned Fifth Generation filmmaker Chen Kaige.
Shi's collections of short stories include "My Faraway Clear Peaceful River" (1985) and "Sunday" (1988). A collection of English language translations of his short stories was published in 1991 as "Strings of Life."
His essay "The Temple of Earth and I" takes as its subject his lonely wheeled trips around the Temple of Earth. The essay is considered by many as one of the best examples of Chinese prose of the 20th century. It has inspired and moved tens of thousands of Chinese people and features in Chinese school textbooks.
Well-known Chinese writer Han Shaogong said: "The publication of this essay alone made 1991 a good harvest year for Chinese literature."
In 1996, Shi's novel "Notes on Principles" was published. In selecting it as a notable work of Chinese literature since 1949, Professor Shelley W Chan of Wittenberg University, in Ohio, the United States, said "Notes on Principles" was similar to but better than "Soul Mountain" by Nobel Prize-winner Gao Xingjian.
In 1998, Shi's kidneys began to fail and he required dialysis three times a week. However, he was determined to continue writing.
"He once said: 'My profession is illness. My part-time job is writing'," Sun recalled. "It is self-mockery, but you can see how hard it was for him to write so many significant works in the face of adversity."
Shi later received the Lao She Literature Prize for "Fragments Written at the Hiatus of Sickness" (2002). In 2006 he published "My Sojourn in Ding Yi" about an immortal spirit that inhabits the bodies of a succession of people.
"Shi did not earn much money from writing, but his works were the result of deep thought, unlike most Chinese writers of his time," said Wang Anyi, vice chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association, who had a written correspondence with Shi for years.
"Physically constrained and facing death almost daily, his perception was highly spiritual and his view of life clearer than that of most people. This could explain why his works were so influential," added Wang.
"Although confined to a wheelchair, Shi's kindness and thoughtfulness gave him a better insight and a wider view of life than most people," said Yue Jianyi, executive editor of "Life: Folk Memory of Shi Tiesheng."
"We want more people to know about Shi's life and spirit through this book," added Yue.
Almost 20 years later, the "holiday" came for Shi. The writer died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 59 on December 31, 2010.
The death of Shi, whose works have been translated into many languages and published overseas, was a huge loss for Chinese literature.
A book entitled "Life: Folk Memory of Shi Tiesheng" was published in June to commemorate the writer. The 43 contributors include his family and friends, his nurse, schoolmates and literary, academic and media figures.
On August 17, the book was introduced to Shanghai readers at a memorial event that also attempted to reveal something about the real Shi.
"Tonight, Shi is with us," said Chen Cun, a famous Shanghai writer who attended the event.
Born in Beijing in 1951, Shi spent most of his life in the capital, near the Temple of Earth. At Tsinghua University High School he loved sports and excelled at hurdles, basketball and football.
In 1969 he was a zhiqing - an urban youth sent to a rural area, in Shi's case Shaanxi Province - during the "cultural revolution"(1966-76). While there, he lost the use of his legs and returned to Beijing.
"Confined to bed, Shi lost hope," said Sun Lizhe, a schoolmate and friend of the author.
"Shi had thoughts of death many times, but after considering death, decided to live bravely," Sun said.
Shi began writing, with death and suffering major themes. His first work was published in 1979 and his 1983 short story "My Faraway Clear Peaceful River" won the National Excellent Short Story Prize.
A sequel, "A Story of Rustication" was published in 1986. In 1980, Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang shot a short film called "Our Corner" based on a story by Shi. It was one of the first films by China's Fifth Generation of movie directors.
His 1985 novella "Like a Banjo String," about blind musicians, was the basis of the 1991 film "Life on a String" directed by renowned Fifth Generation filmmaker Chen Kaige.
Shi's collections of short stories include "My Faraway Clear Peaceful River" (1985) and "Sunday" (1988). A collection of English language translations of his short stories was published in 1991 as "Strings of Life."
His essay "The Temple of Earth and I" takes as its subject his lonely wheeled trips around the Temple of Earth. The essay is considered by many as one of the best examples of Chinese prose of the 20th century. It has inspired and moved tens of thousands of Chinese people and features in Chinese school textbooks.
Well-known Chinese writer Han Shaogong said: "The publication of this essay alone made 1991 a good harvest year for Chinese literature."
In 1996, Shi's novel "Notes on Principles" was published. In selecting it as a notable work of Chinese literature since 1949, Professor Shelley W Chan of Wittenberg University, in Ohio, the United States, said "Notes on Principles" was similar to but better than "Soul Mountain" by Nobel Prize-winner Gao Xingjian.
In 1998, Shi's kidneys began to fail and he required dialysis three times a week. However, he was determined to continue writing.
"He once said: 'My profession is illness. My part-time job is writing'," Sun recalled. "It is self-mockery, but you can see how hard it was for him to write so many significant works in the face of adversity."
Shi later received the Lao She Literature Prize for "Fragments Written at the Hiatus of Sickness" (2002). In 2006 he published "My Sojourn in Ding Yi" about an immortal spirit that inhabits the bodies of a succession of people.
"Shi did not earn much money from writing, but his works were the result of deep thought, unlike most Chinese writers of his time," said Wang Anyi, vice chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association, who had a written correspondence with Shi for years.
"Physically constrained and facing death almost daily, his perception was highly spiritual and his view of life clearer than that of most people. This could explain why his works were so influential," added Wang.
"Although confined to a wheelchair, Shi's kindness and thoughtfulness gave him a better insight and a wider view of life than most people," said Yue Jianyi, executive editor of "Life: Folk Memory of Shi Tiesheng."
"We want more people to know about Shi's life and spirit through this book," added Yue.
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