Old floating clouds
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Description
Book Introduction
The most experimental and powerful novel by Chan Xue, a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the most translated Chinese female writer abroad, "Old Clouds" has been published by Open Books.
This novel, one of Chan Xue's early works, is a work that is deeply imbued with Chan Xue's unique personality and distinctive colors, and became the cornerstone of Chan Xue's literary world.
"Old Clouds" centers around two couples living next door, and uses poetic language to describe the daily lives of the people around them, their strange relationships, and the dreamlike and grotesque landscapes.
This novel, which speaks of human alienation and hatred, and the futility and absurdity of life, presents readers with a unique reading experience through sensory depictions and unconventional narratives.
This novel, one of Chan Xue's early works, is a work that is deeply imbued with Chan Xue's unique personality and distinctive colors, and became the cornerstone of Chan Xue's literary world.
"Old Clouds" centers around two couples living next door, and uses poetic language to describe the daily lives of the people around them, their strange relationships, and the dreamlike and grotesque landscapes.
This novel, which speaks of human alienation and hatred, and the futility and absurdity of life, presents readers with a unique reading experience through sensory depictions and unconventional narratives.
index
Old floating clouds
Translator's Note - An extreme imagination of the cruelty and ugliness of human nature.
Translator's Note - An extreme imagination of the cruelty and ugliness of human nature.
Detailed image
Into the book
“The flowers of the paper mulberry tree have all fallen, so the foul smell will soon disappear,” she continued in an uncharacteristically sharp voice.
"It's clear that someone lost something and went looking for it among the fallen flowers.
I found countless footprints… … .
But did the flower fall in the rain, or did it bloom but then fall of its own accord, unable to bear the weight? After the mulberry tree at the entrance began to bear red fruit in the dead of night, her insides became increasingly parched.
She would always pat my stomach and say playful things.
"There are reeds growing in here."
--- p.13
"It's clear that someone lost something and went looking for it among the fallen flowers.
I found countless footprints… … .
But did the flower fall in the rain, or did it bloom but then, unable to bear the weight, fall of its own accord? As I wandered around the room late at night, I saw the moon hanging over the treetop.
It was just like a ball of tan yarn… … .」
--- p.20
“When you first saw me, I became just like you.
The two of us were like twin sisters, and we talked almost exactly the same.
When I woke up from a dream and tossed and turned, I heard you tossing and turning in bed too.
You probably woke up from your dream at that very moment.
That dream might have been coincidentally the same as my dream.
--- p.48
He listened to every sound.
I could hear the birds chirping in the trees, pecking at the red berries one by one and dropping them to the ground.
He remembered the cricket she had spoken of, dead, exhausted in body and mind.
What would that cricket's final cry have been like? I wish I could have heard it.
He had been waiting for a very long time for the fruits on the tree to turn red.
Because I told her that when the tree was full of red berries, everyone would be able to sleep comfortably.
--- p.65
The reason they always laughed at others was because they were afraid of themselves.
They pretended to find something funny and surprising enough to surprise people, as if they were afraid of being exposed.
--- pp.70-71
The sun was beating down hard outside, but it was dark even though it was broad daylight.
In her memory, the day was always dark, and the oak tree and the small house were always sunk into the bottom of that darkness.
Mosquitoes and bugs were singing a stuffy song inside the tightly closed house.
The brightly shining day existed only in the past.
--- p.79
“No matter what they say or do, they do it all very neatly and excellently.
But I am nothing.
It's getting worse and worse.
No matter how hard you try to imitate others, you won't make any progress.
I stood by the office window all day, pretending to be lost in thought, but all I got was a broken leg.
Actually, I'm definitely decided.
"So I can live like this, as a nobody."
--- pp.83-84
At dusk, countless small sounds would always ring out, making it very noisy and unsettling.
Behind all this, a great and irresistible destruction was approaching.
"It's clear that someone lost something and went looking for it among the fallen flowers.
I found countless footprints… … .
But did the flower fall in the rain, or did it bloom but then fall of its own accord, unable to bear the weight? After the mulberry tree at the entrance began to bear red fruit in the dead of night, her insides became increasingly parched.
She would always pat my stomach and say playful things.
"There are reeds growing in here."
--- p.13
"It's clear that someone lost something and went looking for it among the fallen flowers.
I found countless footprints… … .
But did the flower fall in the rain, or did it bloom but then, unable to bear the weight, fall of its own accord? As I wandered around the room late at night, I saw the moon hanging over the treetop.
It was just like a ball of tan yarn… … .」
--- p.20
“When you first saw me, I became just like you.
The two of us were like twin sisters, and we talked almost exactly the same.
When I woke up from a dream and tossed and turned, I heard you tossing and turning in bed too.
You probably woke up from your dream at that very moment.
That dream might have been coincidentally the same as my dream.
--- p.48
He listened to every sound.
I could hear the birds chirping in the trees, pecking at the red berries one by one and dropping them to the ground.
He remembered the cricket she had spoken of, dead, exhausted in body and mind.
What would that cricket's final cry have been like? I wish I could have heard it.
He had been waiting for a very long time for the fruits on the tree to turn red.
Because I told her that when the tree was full of red berries, everyone would be able to sleep comfortably.
--- p.65
The reason they always laughed at others was because they were afraid of themselves.
They pretended to find something funny and surprising enough to surprise people, as if they were afraid of being exposed.
--- pp.70-71
The sun was beating down hard outside, but it was dark even though it was broad daylight.
In her memory, the day was always dark, and the oak tree and the small house were always sunk into the bottom of that darkness.
Mosquitoes and bugs were singing a stuffy song inside the tightly closed house.
The brightly shining day existed only in the past.
--- p.79
“No matter what they say or do, they do it all very neatly and excellently.
But I am nothing.
It's getting worse and worse.
No matter how hard you try to imitate others, you won't make any progress.
I stood by the office window all day, pretending to be lost in thought, but all I got was a broken leg.
Actually, I'm definitely decided.
"So I can live like this, as a nobody."
--- pp.83-84
At dusk, countless small sounds would always ring out, making it very noisy and unsettling.
Behind all this, a great and irresistible destruction was approaching.
--- p.138
Publisher's Review
Strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
It will awaken an unfamiliar sense
Introduction to the world of Chan-she's literature
The novella "Old Clouds" by Chan Xue, the most translated Chinese female writer overseas and a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year, has been published by Open Books.
This work, one of Chan Xue's early works, can be said to be a cornerstone in forming Chan Xue's literary world, as it clearly displays the author's unique personality and distinctive color.
This novel, which particularly stands out for its delicate imagery that stimulates the five senses, awakens the reader's dormant senses, providing a truly unique reading experience.
Chan Xue's unique artistic world, which simultaneously depicts the beautiful as ugly and makes the ugliness an aesthetic object, is a masterpiece that melts the flow of consciousness and image depiction that crosses between dreams and reality, and the absurdity of human nature and life into a single abstract painting.
An unsettling landscape, a nightmarish daily life
A world where all boundaries have collapsed
"Old Clouds" is a story that unfolds through the everyday anecdotes of two neighboring couples and the people around them.
In front of the house where the couple lives, a tall mulberry tree stands, and on the tree, large white flowers are in full bloom, giving off a fragrant scent.
The novel begins with Geongsanwoo trampling on the flowers that have fallen to the ground, soaked in rainwater, while his neighbor, Shiruhwa, watches them through the bars of the window.
The characters in the novel are both anxious and wary of being watched and attacked, while simultaneously watching each other.
They defend themselves by “sticking iron skewers” in doors and watch over neighbors by “hanging mirrors on trees.”
The characters in this work are mostly referred to as “he” or “she” rather than by their names.
Because of this, it is difficult to distinguish between characters, so it takes quite a while to digest the story.
The events that occur are also parallel and multi-layered, and the time and order are ambiguous.
The place Chan Xue describes in “Old Clouds” is a world where the boundaries of everything are blurred.
The boundaries between people and people, people and animals, reality and dreams, truth and illusion are scattered like clouds.
"Old Clouds" is a nightmarish tale that unfolds in a hazy season when flowers emit a terrible fragrance, and among the sleepless street people.
A landscape of the end of the world written in poetic language
Why Chanshae now?
Because of its unique narrative style, "Old Clouds" is considered one of Chan Xue's most experimental and difficult novels.
The year 1986, when this work was first published, marked a time when modern Chinese literature was finally liberated from a long period of extreme politicization and regained its lost unique literary value.
And Chan Xue's experimental writing is evaluated to have opened a new horizon for contemporary Chinese literature.
The depiction of human ugliness and the harsh environment in "Old Clouds" reflects the violent era of the Cultural Revolution, a time of extreme surveillance and irrationality.
One critic called Chan Xue's novel a "landscape painting of the end of the world."
There is no love in this novel, only hatred, resentment, emptiness, and disconnection.
Although this work may be difficult for readers, this world will not be unfamiliar.
Because human alienation, hatred, nihilism, and helplessness are problems that we all sympathize with, and perhaps even more serious, in the present where we live.
Our daily lives are never safe.
Great works that are not bound by time and place are called classics.
This is why this novel, written decades ago in another country, is still valuable to us, and why Chan Xue is considered an important writer.
A word from the translator
In Chan Xue's early works, unlike his later works, one can hardly find the warmth and beauty of human nature.
Regarding this, a Chinese scholar said, “In literature, you cannot find a writer who expresses reality with such an ugly attitude and obsession that people find it difficult to tolerate.
(……) The real story of the individual and the environment, the individual and others, and the individual and the self is depicted as a description of hell.
Readers must find a glimmer of light in this hellish situation.
He expressed his thoughts, saying, “Perhaps this is a scene from the end of the world.”
Indeed, in this work, the author highlights a vast and universal evil through the various human relationships that make up our daily lives, such as couples and neighbors, fathers and mothers, government, coworkers and friends.
Our daily lives are never peaceful or safe.
Because we are already caught in a web of jealousy, resentment, suspicion, anger, indifference, and oppression.
This is the human condition.
It will awaken an unfamiliar sense
Introduction to the world of Chan-she's literature
The novella "Old Clouds" by Chan Xue, the most translated Chinese female writer overseas and a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year, has been published by Open Books.
This work, one of Chan Xue's early works, can be said to be a cornerstone in forming Chan Xue's literary world, as it clearly displays the author's unique personality and distinctive color.
This novel, which particularly stands out for its delicate imagery that stimulates the five senses, awakens the reader's dormant senses, providing a truly unique reading experience.
Chan Xue's unique artistic world, which simultaneously depicts the beautiful as ugly and makes the ugliness an aesthetic object, is a masterpiece that melts the flow of consciousness and image depiction that crosses between dreams and reality, and the absurdity of human nature and life into a single abstract painting.
An unsettling landscape, a nightmarish daily life
A world where all boundaries have collapsed
"Old Clouds" is a story that unfolds through the everyday anecdotes of two neighboring couples and the people around them.
In front of the house where the couple lives, a tall mulberry tree stands, and on the tree, large white flowers are in full bloom, giving off a fragrant scent.
The novel begins with Geongsanwoo trampling on the flowers that have fallen to the ground, soaked in rainwater, while his neighbor, Shiruhwa, watches them through the bars of the window.
The characters in the novel are both anxious and wary of being watched and attacked, while simultaneously watching each other.
They defend themselves by “sticking iron skewers” in doors and watch over neighbors by “hanging mirrors on trees.”
The characters in this work are mostly referred to as “he” or “she” rather than by their names.
Because of this, it is difficult to distinguish between characters, so it takes quite a while to digest the story.
The events that occur are also parallel and multi-layered, and the time and order are ambiguous.
The place Chan Xue describes in “Old Clouds” is a world where the boundaries of everything are blurred.
The boundaries between people and people, people and animals, reality and dreams, truth and illusion are scattered like clouds.
"Old Clouds" is a nightmarish tale that unfolds in a hazy season when flowers emit a terrible fragrance, and among the sleepless street people.
A landscape of the end of the world written in poetic language
Why Chanshae now?
Because of its unique narrative style, "Old Clouds" is considered one of Chan Xue's most experimental and difficult novels.
The year 1986, when this work was first published, marked a time when modern Chinese literature was finally liberated from a long period of extreme politicization and regained its lost unique literary value.
And Chan Xue's experimental writing is evaluated to have opened a new horizon for contemporary Chinese literature.
The depiction of human ugliness and the harsh environment in "Old Clouds" reflects the violent era of the Cultural Revolution, a time of extreme surveillance and irrationality.
One critic called Chan Xue's novel a "landscape painting of the end of the world."
There is no love in this novel, only hatred, resentment, emptiness, and disconnection.
Although this work may be difficult for readers, this world will not be unfamiliar.
Because human alienation, hatred, nihilism, and helplessness are problems that we all sympathize with, and perhaps even more serious, in the present where we live.
Our daily lives are never safe.
Great works that are not bound by time and place are called classics.
This is why this novel, written decades ago in another country, is still valuable to us, and why Chan Xue is considered an important writer.
A word from the translator
In Chan Xue's early works, unlike his later works, one can hardly find the warmth and beauty of human nature.
Regarding this, a Chinese scholar said, “In literature, you cannot find a writer who expresses reality with such an ugly attitude and obsession that people find it difficult to tolerate.
(……) The real story of the individual and the environment, the individual and others, and the individual and the self is depicted as a description of hell.
Readers must find a glimmer of light in this hellish situation.
He expressed his thoughts, saying, “Perhaps this is a scene from the end of the world.”
Indeed, in this work, the author highlights a vast and universal evil through the various human relationships that make up our daily lives, such as couples and neighbors, fathers and mothers, government, coworkers and friends.
Our daily lives are never peaceful or safe.
Because we are already caught in a web of jealousy, resentment, suspicion, anger, indifference, and oppression.
This is the human condition.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: November 25, 2025
- Format: Paperback book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 192 pages | 258g | 120*188*17mm
- ISBN13: 9788932925479
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