/lit/ - Literature

but finally, 10 years after marriage, she became pregnant. The relationship between Hikaru improved by this news, and gradually they feel close each other. Now readers think, well, their love story begins at last --- and of course, no. She dies immediately after delivery. If the author alive I am pretty sure she’s got a lot of furious letter from readers ‘’how come you killed her !!!’’ I also wanted to send such letter but unfortunately the author was already dead 1000 years ago. If I can write cartoon I would make some love-comedy story featuring Aoi as a landlord, Hikaru as its boarding student and sell that cartoon at Ariake. Because I like her.

Her Name is Aoi, 4 years older than our hero Hikaru, and married him when she was 16. She was born as a daughter of the highest minister, super-rich father. Having noble, elegant appearance, being intelligent and well educated, and sophisticated – almost impeccable princess she was. And of course she was proud. As a result, she had every necessary features of ‘’Tsundere’’ girl.

She couldn’t be frank to her husband, although she loved him. But our hero, stupid Hikaru, cannot understand how attractive Tsundere girl is and says ‘’somehow she’s annoying. Let’s go to other girl’’—so he seldom went back home. How come ? It is supposed to be the ideal setting of Tsundere love story. It should be like this ;first the girl looked cold but reduging the distance gradually, and get her smile finally. But the author Murasaki didn’t let the story go as it should be. The more the husband leave home often, the more Aoi got hurt and cannot be frank to him. Poor girl indeed.

>bought amazon kindle
>downloaded ''The Human Comedy'' of Balzac from kindle store by $3
>started from the beginning
>having read for 1 hour

and found this notion;
''Time left in book: 397hours 15min''

wat

finished in 1007 AD, written by Murasaki-Shikibu, who was a court lady working under the Empress in those days.

Have you ever tried ? Anyone who finished it ?

>>4531730
That's good thing of such board. we can share what we like. I hope people here have interest in Chinese literature,too.

>>4531700
Thank you for your information. I've never heard the name of Birezan and I googled now to find his work have never been translated to japanese. It's challenging but feel like trying his book.

>>4531667

I recognize Tanizaki is the best author in modern Japanese literature, far better than Natsume.

細雪(Sasame yuki/Makioka Sisters) and 春琴抄(Shunkin sho/A portrait of Shunkin ) are masterpiece of course, but I also like 吉野葛(Yoshino kuzu/Arrowroot)、蓼食う虫(Tade kuu mushi/Some Prefer Nettles)、刺青(Shisei/The Tattooer)、少将滋幹の母(Captain Shigemoto's Mother). I believe those are worth reading. Actually I want to add ''manji'' to here, but I doubt it can be published in Europe.

In contrast I'm not an enthusiastic reader of Mishima. 仮面の告白(confession of a mask) was relatively alright though.

>>4531660
Originally I loved Thomas Mann and, umm, to be honest Nietzche when I was teenager so I took German as my second foreign language in my college. Those german books are bought in those days on the purpose of learning German with my favorite literature.

Although I learned German like that for quite long time, my German is still hard to say fluent.

>>4531657
Chinese poems are generally very practical, always stand on real life. They don't play in fantasy (also there's some exception like QuYuan). So when they express about their cordial pleasure of meeting old friend, or their sadness of saying goodbye, its words really touches to my heart.

But I also sometimes feel like flying in the sky of Greece and smell its aether, which Chinese poet never describe. I like both. And I wish you to enjoy both, friend.

>>4531560
this is my desk. I took this photo just now.

I like that poet who died in Tuebingen as much as Dufu.

Nishida used to be very famous and well read among college students, but is seldom read in these days. I also tried his ''善の研究'' once and found it doesn't make sense at all to me. Even Kant, the notorious bad writer, is still much easier and reasonable to me. (if not that much worse as Hegel.)

>>4531606
I'd say, Dogen (1200-1253AD). He is Buddhist monk who learned Zen in China and came back to Japan to be founder of one of the biggest Zen sect in Japan.

He wrote a beautiful book ''Shobo-Genzo正法眼蔵'' to explain what is ''Satori'', the ultimate destination of Zen.

I don't know it can be categolized as philosophy, strictly speaking, but it is written in very beautiful japanese (I don't know whether he really got satori, but at least I am sure he was genius on literature), and with his outstanding talent of writing and effort, he tried to explain something cannot be explained by words. Although it's very difficult to understand even in Japanese, but I like to read it and enjoy the author's beautiful mind.

>>4531594
In Japan there is several domestic sites which translates and introduces 4chan's posting and comment to Japanese. Usually you Westerners praise Japan a lot and speak ill of Korea and China, at least according to the translated and edited version on that site.

>>4531572
China-Japan relationship's counterpart in Europe is for example, Rome-England I assume.

Their languages are different, but Japan/England got a lot of vocabulary from China/Rome. There used to be great difference of civilization-level in ancient era, and still Chinese/Roman literature is recognized as cannon in Japan/England.

>>4531568
I see that book in seven-eleven next to my apartment. Although I didn't open it, I was quite surprised how many Japanese are cheered up by Nietzche's words.

>>4531566
>goodreads
To be honest I have never heard about ''goodreads''. Today is my first day to come this site.

>visiting China
I'd like to if I have time. And I want to see sceneries described in my favorite Chinese songs and poems. So I hope communist China protect those site as much as possible, though scenery around Baiticheng(白帝城) is already sunk under the dam.

>>4531562
lel
rivers. please understand. I am Japanese.

>>4531548
Yes we just say number;
''りんご一つ(an apple)’’/’’りんご三つ(three apples)’’

we don't distinguish singular and plural in terms of grammar, so it's a bit hard to pay attention to that. Maybe my operating-system is always Japanese even when I write English.

The most popular Chinese poem here in Japan is
杜甫Dufu's ''春望 Chungwang, the Spring View''.

国破山河在 城春草木深
感時花濺涙 恨別鳥心驚
烽火連三月 家書抵萬金
白頭掻更短 渾欲不勝簪

It's great piece indeed, but there's also some specific reason; the first line of this poem, ''The realm is destroyed, yet the mountains and livers abide" touched to old generation of Japanese. Because they literally experienced that scene in 1945.

>>4531474
I've already given up using plural properly.
It's too difficult for us Japanese.

>>4531467
Compared to other Chinese popular novel such as ''Journey to the West'' ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and ''Water Margin'', 紅楼夢 is much less popular here, and I have never seen someone like that novel around me. To be honest I also stopped reading after just finising the first 3 or 4 chapters. I doubted it's going be more interesting after that.

The earliest collection, Shijing, I just read through it to pertain basic knowledge to understand later Chinese poem. Some of them are able to understand, but frankly most of them are too difficult for me because its each Chinese Character's meaning is already much different from what we know. So the way of understanding is often different in each researchers.

Songs of Chu, which we call 楚辞, is really fantastic. For me it is almost miracle that they had such a great peace already in 3rd century BC. Although it is generally accepted that Chinese poem reached its culmination in 8th century, I have many favorite poem from Han dynasty to Nanbeizhao era. Especially Tao Yuanming !

Here's another my favorite Libai's quatrain.

李白乗舟将欲行 (李白舟に乗りて将に行かんと欲す)
忽聞岸上踏歌声 (忽ち聞く岸上踏歌の声)
桃花潭水深千尺 (桃花潭水深さ千尺なるも)
不及王倫送我情 (及ばず王倫我を送るの情に)

Libai gets into a small boat -- he is on the point of starting.
Suddenly he hears footsteps on the bank and the sound of singing.
The Peach-Flower Pool is a thousand feet deep,
Yet it is not deeper than the emotion of Wanglun as he takes leave of me.

It is said that he was always on the journey, and whenever he arrived at a village, he stayed its liquor shop for a while. He was welcomed because he was already well known poet and respected from people.

This poem is made probably impromptu, when he left a village by boat and found the master of liquar shop, Wanglun, singing on the bank to say good bye to him. I can imagine clearly the scene and I really love it.

>>4531278
Totally agreed. Whenever I read Libai's poem I feel like having alcohol. I like to read his 月下独酌(yuexia duzhuo) as drinking Sake.

>>4531246
I see. Our ''canon'' also includes a few famous tragedies of Shakespeare, and representative British and American Literature such as ''Pride and Prejudice'' or ''Moby Dick''. But it seems Chinese Lit is something we don't share in common.

We are supposed to read
''論語 Lun-Yu'', words of Confucian,
''庄子 Zhuang-Zi'' words of Zhuangzi,
''孫子 Sun-zi'' the book of strategy,
''史記 Siqi'', Chinese ancient history book by SimaQian
''唐詩選 Tangshizhuan'', Anthology of poem in Tang Dynasty era.

Those are recognized as a part of canon here.