To Live/活着

To Live (simplified Chinese: 活着; traditional Chinese: 活著; pinyin: Huózhe) is a novel written by Chinese novelist Yu Hua in 1993. It describes the struggles endured by the son of a wealthy land-owner, Fugui, while historical events caused and extended by the Chinese Revolution are fundamentally altering the nature of Chinese society. The contrast between his pre-revolutionary status as a selfish rich idler who (literally) travels on the shoulders of the downtrodden and his post-revolutionary status as a persecuted peasant is stark.

To Live is one of the most representative works by Yu Hua, which is also considered as the signal of his creative transformation in literature, from avant-garde fiction to literary realism. The story begins with the narrator traveling through the countryside to collect folk songs and local legends and hears an old peasant’s life story, which encompasses many significant historical events in China. Over the course of the story, the main character, Xu Fugui, witnesses the death of his family members and loved ones. The literature techniques Yu Hua applies in the story reveal both the struggles and hope of the ordinaries aroused sympathy and recognition from the public when it was published.

《活着》讲述了在大时代背景下，随着内战、三反五反、大跃进、“文化大革命”等社会变革，徐福贵的人生和家庭不断经受着苦难，到了最后所有亲人都先后离他而去，仅剩下年老的他和一头老牛相依为命。小说以普通、平实的故事情节讲述了在急剧变革的时代中福贵的不幸遭遇和坎坷命运，在冷静的笔触中展现了生命的意义和存在的价值，揭示了命运的无奈，与生活的不可捉摸。