Six Records of a Floating Life [B1818]

1983 PB translation of the Chinese 1809 original, 162-pages, in nice clean condition. Six Records of a Floating Life (1809) is an extraordinary blend of autobiography, love story and social document written by a man who was educated as a scholar but earned his living as a civil servant and art dealer. In this intimate memoir, Shen Fu recounts the domestic and romantic joys of his marriage to Yün, the beautiful and artistic girl he fell in love with as a child. He also describes other incidents of his life, including how his beloved wife obtained a courtesan for him and reflects on his travels through China. Shen Fu's exquisite memoir shows six parallel 'layers' of one man's life, loves and career, with revealing glimpses into Chinese society of the Ch'ing Dynasty.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Whimsical, silly, often hilarious. Read like an authentically ancient Chinese slice of life novel. I was surprised by how familiar and tender the world was, despite being set during the Qing dynasty. Many imaginative, singular moments in here that I will pocket forever."; "I can't say this was a thrilling or fun read, but there is something really extraordinary about reading about the life of a regular guy from several hundred years ago talking about his life, describing the Chinese countryside and accurately talking about his culture, which had been literate and bureaucratic for thousands of years by that point."; "Memoirs from shen fu, a scholarly, somewhat inept, & hapless member of the lower gentry in qing dynasty China. He writes most intimately about his tender relationship with his wife Yun, who is really his intellectual equal & who i really love. Their love of poetry & drinking games & their tragedy in poverty, illness, & the strictures of traditional Confucian society are really touching. Structured non-linearly, it's a shame that we only have four out of the six records (two were lost over time). I was in tears over Yun's death, something constantly looming throughout the memoirs."