Loud Sparrows: Contemporary Chinese Short-Shorts(Weatherhead Books on Asia)

Extremely short stories-known as short-shorts-have become a global phenomenon, but nowhere have they been embraced as enthusiastically as in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The form's artistic and aesthetic freedoms allow authors to capture the tone, texture, and chaos of their rapidly changing societies in infinitely inventive ways. Fragments and contingencies reveal unofficial histories, undocumented memories, and the trials of everyday individuals, and the genre's lean format is a welcome antidote to a culture characterized by rampant excess. Loud Sparrows is a spirited collection of ninety-one short-shorts written by Chinese authors over the past three decades. Presenting diverse voices and perspectives by writers both well known and new to the art, the stories are culled from newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and personal collections. Their subjects range from the mundane to the sublime and illuminate everything from humanist ideals to traditional virtues to the material benefits of a commercialized society. The anthology is organized into thematic categories such as Change, Creatures, (In)fidelities, Grooming, Governance, Nourishment, and Weirdness, and includes notes to better understand the genre. Each section is introduced by an original piece of flash fiction written by Howard Goldblatt. The short-short, to borrow a Chinese saying, is "small as a sparrow but has all the vital organs" of a good story. Loud Sparrows offers a comprehensive introduction to a unique literary genre that has revolutionized world literature.

Table of Contents:
Foreword, by Bei Dao Introduction I. Grooming A Lover’s Ear, by Yuan Qiongqiong Mothballs, by Chen Kehua A Shaved Head, by Wang Meng Lover, by Chen Kehua Losing the Feet, by Zhong Jufang Fad, by Zhang Zheng II. Change Wrong Number, by Liu Yichang Learning to Talk, by Wang Meng A Seat, by Liu Guofang Self-Murder, by Cai Nan Last Stop, Mongkok, by Che Zhengxuan Parting, by Wang Kuishan The Beat, by Liu Xinwu III. Choices “Left” with No Chance, by Chang Gang Sunday Morning, by Xi Xi Jailbreak, by Ku Ling A Cup of Tea, by Yu Yingmao In the Haystack, by Cao Naiqian Returning Home on a Stormy Night, by He Weiping Tied Together by Fate, by Chen Huiying IV. Governance The Busy Secretary, by Zhan Jing Cloth Shoes, by Ah Cheng Promotion Report, by Chen Hengchu Purchase Request for a Kettle, by Xu Shijie A Capable Man Can’t Handle a Small Case, by Liu Jing Ears, by Sun Xuemin V. Games What’s Up, Lao Cao? , by Chen Shixu General, by Liu Jianchao Number Eight, by Wu Yimin Observe, by Ah Cheng Confinement, by Yuan Bingfa Here’s How the Flu Spreads, by Qin Yong The Upholder of Unity, by Wang Meng VI. Controversy A Tail, by Wang Zengqi Black Hen, White Hen, by Ji Dongliang My One Comment Too Many, by Yi Ming Gan Xiaocao’s Bamboo Pole, by Deng Hongwei Right to the Heart of the Matter, by Wang Meng Sexual Harassment, by Lin Li-chun VII. Anticipations Bed-Wetting, by Zhang Jishu The Principle of Rebound, by Xu Haiwei Accidental Confidante, by Bai Xiaoyi Matching Sets, by Wei Jinshu Home, by Xiu Xiangming Rendez-vous, by Si Li VIII. Creatures Cat, by Yuan Qiongqiong Pets, by Ah Cheng Sea Turtle, by Zhang Kangkang Flies, by Yuan Qiongqiong The Crow and the Fox, by Liang Dazhi Waiting for a Windfall, by Wang Yanyan Little Stray Cat, by Zhong Ling IX. Sharing Division, by Zhou Rui Postcards, by Ye Si The Cycle, by Ah Cheng Black Umbrella, by Yi Ruofen Small-Hands Chen, by Wang Zengqi It Was the Pumpkin That Brought Me Here, by Luo Feng In-Law, by Cao Naiqian X. (In)Fidelities Elope, by Fu Aimao Frenchie, by Ai Ya Hickey, by Ku Ling Horse Talk, by Mo Yan A Family Catastrophe, by Ku Ling Hatred, by Ah Cheng Confession of a Photographer, by Ku Ling XI. Nourishment Good Wine, by Chen Hui Chimney Smoke, by Ah Cheng 0 Café, by Ku Ling The Bus Stop and Haws-sicles, by Zhou Rui Granny Drunkard, by Feng Jicai Tea Scum, by Ling Dingnian XII. Weirdness Disputatiasis, by Wang Meng The Features-Column Editor’s Daydream, by Liu Yichang Death Dream, by Ku Ling Empty Seat, by Yuan Qiongqiong Little, Little, Little, Little, Little . . . , by Wang Meng Strange Encounter, by Mo Yan XIII. ? An Explosion in the Living Room, by Bai Xiaoyi Going Home, by Ai Ya It Looks as If . . . , by Teng Gang Not Seen, by Yuan Qiongqiong My Wife Finally Goes Camping, by Lin Ji Contemplating Water, by Zhong Ling XIV. Elegy Father, by Yuan Qiongqiong A Knock at the Door, by Lin Jinlan Grandpa Pothook, by Cao Naiqian Killer Well, by Zhong Ling Looking Back at Life at the Moment of Death, by Cai Nan An Encounter with General Zhou, by Chi Zijian XV. Looking Backward and Looking Ahead The Look, by Li Zuchen Notes About the Authors

About the Author :
Aili Mu is associate professor of Chinese at Iowa State University. Julie Chiu is assistant professor of translation at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. Howard Goldblatt is research professor of East Asian languages and literatures at the University of Notre Dame and an internationally renowned translator.

Review :
"Beautiful and thought-provoking." -- Los Angeles Times "The pieces are varied, lively, often charming, and occasionally brilliant." -- Perry Link, New York Review of Books "Beautiful and thought-provoking... A breeze of aesthetic freedom flows through all of them, making them fun to read." -- Susan Salter, Los Angeles Times "Funny, touching, intriguing and sometimes very beautifully... They are tiny vignettes of Chinese life in all its entire chaotic splendour." -- Jenny Niven, Time Out Beijing