Chronicle of A Blood Merchant by Yu Hua - why I love this novel.

In this video I discuss Chronicle of A Blood Merchant by Yu Hua. Yu Hua was born in 1960 and grew up during the cultural revolution in China. He was a dentist for a while before becoming a full time writer. Today he is one of the most popular Chinese novelists. His most famous novel is To Live and he also wrote a book titled China in 10 words, about his observations and experiences of China’s recent history. Chronicle of A Blood Merchant is made into a South Korean movie in 2014.
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[@ednalopez5034]

Thanks for your time and work. Yes to Videos about Chinese Literature so as to understand more their thoughts and way of living as a country and from the Authors /characters perspective. Your channel is Addictive.

[@jamescolbourne8298]

I finished this book today and loved it. Thank you very much for the recommendation. And keep up the great work.

[@andrewdunbar828]

I would love to see more videos on Chinese novels as it's a literary world unknown to me even thought I've spent a year or more travelling there. In fact I'd love to see more videos on novels from Asian cultures beyond Japan. Japan has so many well known authors from many eras and in many genres, but it's very hard to think of a single novelist from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam. Even India, all the novelists with Indian names that spring to mind seem to be British. There must be novels written originally in languages such as Hindi or Tamil surely? I'd also be interested in authors from other Chinese cultures such as Taiwan and Hong Kong.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thanks Andrew! There are a few reasons, I think economic development and literature kind of go hand-in-hand (not always though). Japan grew economically and so did its literary culture. I have reviewed books from Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, but not Mongolia and Myanmar yet simply because it is hard to get an English copy. I think one of the reasons most booktubers (I include myself too) don't cover books from less-known literary cultures is that there is little appetite out there so you're punished by algorthm with very few views. I will dedicate the next two videos on Chinese literature. I have already read a number of books from China.

[@andrewdunbar828]

@@Fiction_Beast Great stuff! In my travels I notice that some countries are full of bookshops and some have none. In Latin America the countries with at least one well known novel don't necessarily match which ones have had good economies over the recent century. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam have tons of bookshops. Malaysia not so much and when you do find them the novels are either English or Chinese and not much Malay besides pulp romance that I saw and basically nothing in Tamil. Now Thailand has bookshops full of Thai books and a fairly decent economy, but I know nothing of their literature. Mongolia also had books aplenty and people reading the, including in Inner Mongolia in China. I have to look for some of your videos on the countries you've covered that I haven't yet watched!

[@pinkitydinkity6550]

As a Mongolian, can confirm our literature is really cool if u dig deep but resources aren’t really common and even hard for me to find as a local Mongolian sometimes due to less demand etc. Hope it gets better and stay curious!

[@sinking5258]

great video!keep go on🥰

[@donaldkelly3983]

My knowledge of Chinese fiction is small, but I plan on starting the Story of the Stone soon.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Great! Would love to hear your thoughts on it. It's one of the greatest Chinese novels of all time.

[@brunofranco4416]

This is a very common theme in chinese literature. A very confucian theme is family/community first, individuality second or third. If you look at classic novels, they are basically about this collectivist mentality.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Spot on. Confucian philosophy has had a massive impact on China, Japan and Korea. Even the current regime is moving more towards Confucian doctrines.

[@aphoonalfy]

@@Fiction_Beast i dont think they have ever veered away from it, have they?

[@Fiction_Beast]

In the early communist revolution days the communist party actively tried to dismantle the Confucian hierarchies and values. But now the party elite are using Confucian hierarchy to cement themselves.

[@sharontheodore8216]

This is such a sweet and heart touching story. It was not a spoiler to know what the protagonist will decide re his illegitimate son. It was predictable, not only because there are movies made along the same line but also because being human means exactly that. I have read every single book by Anchee Min, a Chinese who grew up in the States and who wrote extensively about the sufferings and injustices resulting from communist China through depicting the simple life of Chinese families. I like her books because she uses a lot of local proverbs and adages to reflect Chinese wisdom. Thank you so much.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Yu Hua is a great storyteller so he’s becoming one of my favorite authors.

[@yadunandan4227]

I would like to try this authors works , which would you suggest i start with the one mentioned in this video or to live by the same author

[@lipshaha7411]

I read this novel and 'Brothers' in Korean. The Chronicle of a Blood Merchant was very interesting, but 'Brothers' is also a masterpiece. The Great Leap Forward Movement and the Cultural Revolution, which often appear in Chinese novels, must have given the Chinese a tremendous ordeal. I commend the Chinese people for overcoming the ordeal and developing themselves. As a great power that has always been at the center of history, I hope that China will become not only the economy but also the center of true world culture and peace.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thank you for sharing. i have not read Brothers, now I want to read it.

[@Homeopathe]

Yes, make more videos

[@Reza090]

Thanks man.