yueni (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
yueni) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
a_reader_is_me2009-09-13 01:25 pm
yueni) wrote in a_reader_is_me2009-09-13 01:25 pm
Entry tags:
Thinking of Beiping by Lao She
Title: 想北平 Thinking of Beiping
Author: 老舍 (Lao She)
Number of Pages: 2
Genre: Non-fiction; Short Story
Book Number/Goal: 8 of 16 for the year; 2 of 8 for the language requirement
My Rating: 4/5
Review: A couple notes: Lao She (老舍) is not the author's real name, it's a pen name. The Beiping in the title is another name for Beijing. It was called that name from 1928-1949, after which it became Beijing. Beiping (北平) means Peace of the North, or Northern Peace. Beijing (北京) means Northern Capital.
I really liked this short story, because it was told from the point of view of an "old Beijinger" (老北京), a native son of Beijing, so he didn't look at the city the way I look at it. I've lived in Beijing for over a year now, and while I think I appreciate it, I don't see it how somebody who has grown up in the city does. I see the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square as if they are foreign and yet familiar. He sees the smaller things, the small alleyways of his childhood, the wide empty places, the parks, the air one breathes. There's a really childlike feel to the prose, and it's really steeped in a sense of nostalgia and longing. I liked it a lot.
Author: 老舍 (Lao She)
Number of Pages: 2
Genre: Non-fiction; Short Story
Book Number/Goal: 8 of 16 for the year; 2 of 8 for the language requirement
My Rating: 4/5
Review: A couple notes: Lao She (老舍) is not the author's real name, it's a pen name. The Beiping in the title is another name for Beijing. It was called that name from 1928-1949, after which it became Beijing. Beiping (北平) means Peace of the North, or Northern Peace. Beijing (北京) means Northern Capital.
I really liked this short story, because it was told from the point of view of an "old Beijinger" (老北京), a native son of Beijing, so he didn't look at the city the way I look at it. I've lived in Beijing for over a year now, and while I think I appreciate it, I don't see it how somebody who has grown up in the city does. I see the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square as if they are foreign and yet familiar. He sees the smaller things, the small alleyways of his childhood, the wide empty places, the parks, the air one breathes. There's a really childlike feel to the prose, and it's really steeped in a sense of nostalgia and longing. I liked it a lot.