book of month

[mr. fanglang]

Just wondering, what is the book of the month for Jan?

[gato]

How about some Lu Xun stories? I recently bought some collections of stories and essays by him. Short stories should require less stamina than novels and therefore should be more realistic for a group effort.

Another advantage is that English translations of some of his stories are available on the net: http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/luxun-calltoarms.html

The Chinese originals can be found in these three books:

呐喊 http://gd.cnread.net/cnread1/mjfc/l/luxun/lh/index.html

彷徨 http://gd.cnread.net/cnread1/mjfc/l/luxun/ph/index.html

故事新编 http://gd.cnread.net/cnread1/mjfc/l/luxun/gxjb/index.html

3. A Madman's Diary

4. Kung I-chi

5. Medicine

6. Tomorrow

7. An Incident

8. Storm in a Teacup

9. My Old Home

10. The True Story of Ah Q

11. Village Opera

12. The New Year's Sacrifice

13. In the Wine Shop

14. A Happy Family

15. Soap

16. The Misanthrope

17. Regret for the Past

18. The Divorce

19. The Flight to the Moon

20. Forging the Swords

[wushijiao]

I'd be down for any Lu Xun short stories.

[imron]

Or if short stories are the go, you could try 天下无贼, which is a collection of short stories - the last one of which was what they based the recent film of the same name on.

[gato]

I was recommended Lu Xun's "祝福" to read first. I read about half of it before I was distracted and liked what I read so far. Want to try it?

http://gd.cnread.net/cnread1/mjfc/l/luxun/ph/001.htm

It is translated as "The New Year's Sacrifice."

http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/luxun-calltoarms.html#Newyear

As for creating vocab list, NJStar version 5.0 (even the free trial version) can do it automatically for you. Just select the text you want and choose "Word Annotation" under the "Tools" menu.

http://www.njstar.com/

[gato]

I just finished reading "祝福" that I mentioned in the above post, which is ironically appropriate since the story is set during a Chinese New Year. It's a great story, very poignant though understated.

One probably needs to know at least 2000 characters to read the story. Here is a glossary for some words and phrases I had to look up.

负疚【fùjiù】 feel apologetic; have a guilty conscience.

俨然【yǎnrán】 solemn; dignified; neatly arranged; just like.

雪褥

褥 [rù] cotton-padded mattress;

瑟瑟有声

瑟瑟【sèsè】 (of the wind) rustle.

百无聊赖【bǎiwúliáolài】 bored to death; bored stiff; overcome with boredom.

尘芥[塵-] ²chénjiè n. garbage; refuse

形骸【xínghái】 the human skeleton; the human body.

----------------------

然而在现世，则无聊生者不生，即使厌见者不见，为人为己，也还都不错。

然而【ráněr】 yet; but; however.

现世【xiànshì】 this life; lose face; be disgraced; bring shame on oneself.

无聊【wúliáo】 bored; senseless; silly; stupid.

即使【jíshǐ】 even; even if; even though.

不见【bùjiàn】 not see; not meet.

为人【wéirén】 behave; conduct oneself.

不错【bùcuò】 correct; right; not bad; pretty good.

-----------------------------

邻舍【línshè】 neighbour.

懈 [xiè] (懈怠 xièdài) slack, lax, sluggish

应酬【yìngchou】 have social intercourse with; treat with courtesy; dinner party.

寒暄【hánxuān】 exchange of conventional greetings.

沸反盈天 fèifǎnyíngtiān id. cause commotion; raise a rumpus

馋(F饞) [chán] gluttonous, greedy

倘许

倘 [tǎng] (倘若 tǎngruò) if, supposing

深山野坳

坳 [ào] col (depression in mountain range)

肯依

依 ³yī v. ①depend/count on ②comply with; agree; consent

异乎寻常【yìhūxúncháng】 unusual; extraordinary.

窟窿【kūlong】 hole; cavity; deficit; debt.

荸荠【bíqí】 water chest nut (Eleocharis tuberosa); the plant or its tuber.

檐 [yán] 屋檐 wūyán eaves

铺盖【pūgài】 bedding; bedclothes.

絮絮 ¹xùxù n. garrulity; drivel ◆r.f. indecisive

衔(F銜) [xián] hold in mouth; hold inside; rank; 军衔 military rank

凄巧 = 凑巧 (typo)

糟 [zāo] rotten; 糟糕 zāogāo bad luck! 糟踏 zāota waste, spoil

遭 [zāo] meet with disaster

捏 [niē] hold between the fingers; knead; fabricate

踌躇[躊-] chóuchú v. hesitate; dilly-dally

肩 [jiān] (肩膀 jiānbǎng) shoulder; (肩负 jiānfù) take on

祭祀【jìsì】 offer sacrifices to gods or ancestors.

讪讪 shànshàn r.f. embarrassed; ill at ease

疑惑【yíhuò】 feel uncertain; not be convinced.

宽恕【kuānshù】 forgive.

鄙薄【bǐbò】 despise; scorn.

怔怔 zhèngzhèng r.f. 〈topo.〉 blankly; dazedly

妄想【wàngxiǎng】 vain hope; wishful thinking.

衣襟【yījīn】 the one or two pieces making up the front of a Chinese jacket.

咀嚼赏鉴

咀嚼【jǔjué】 masticate; chew; mull over; ruminate; chew the cud.

赏鉴【shǎngjiàn】 appreciate (a work of art).

渣滓【zhāzǐ】 dregs; sediment; residue.

唾弃【tuòqì】 cast aside; spurn.

器皿【qìmǐn】 household utensils; containers esp. for use in the house.

拗 [ǎo] bend & break [ào] 拗口令 tongue-twister [niù] stubborn

蹙缩

蹙 [cù] pressed, cramped; knit (one's brows)

局促【júcù】 barrow; cramped; (of time) short; feel or show constraint.

阴司[陰-] ²yīnsī n. official in Hell ◆p.w. the nether world

阎罗大王

阎罗【Yánluó】 Yama; King of Hell.

大王【dàwáng】 king; magnate.

抵挡[-擋] dǐdǎng v. resist; ward off; keep out; check

捐 [juān] contribute; relinquish; tax

赎(F贖) [shú] redeem; ransom; atone; 赎买 shúmǎi redeem, buy out

执意不允许

执意【zhíyì】 insist on; be determined to; be bent on.

允许【yǔnxǔ】 permit; allow.

即传扬开去

传扬【chuányáng】 spread (from mouth to mouth).

窈陷

窈/窅 ³yǎo b.f. obscure; distant; deep; secluded

陷 [xiàn] pit, trap; cave in; 陷入 sink/fall into

胆怯【dǎnqiè】 timid; cowardly.

惴惴 zhuìzhuì r.f. afraid; fearful; apprehensive

穴 [xué] cave, hole; acupuncture point

伶俐【língli】 clever; bright; quick-witted.

疑虑[-慮] yílǜ* v. have misgivings/doubts | Xiàozhǎng duì xīn de rénxuǎn háiyǒu ∼. The Principal still has some doubts about the new candidate.

天地圣众

天地【tiāndì】 heaven and earth; world; universe; field of activity; scope of operation.

歆享

歆 [xīn] 歆慕 xīnmù admire; 歆羡 xīnxiàn adore

牲醴

牲 [shēng] 牺牲 xīshēng sacrifice; 牲口 beasts of burden

醴 [lǐ] (书) sweet wine

蹒跚【pánshān】 walk haltingly; limp; bobble.