呼蘭河傳河hé — 1. river (classifier: 條 (tiáo), 道 (dào)) 2. (bound form) the Yellow River 3. (bound form) the Milky Way 4. (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉 (hé fěn) (HSK 2)傳chuán — 1. to pass on 2. to spread 3. to transmit 4. to infect 5. to transfer 6. to circulate 7. to conduct (electricity) (HSK 3) · 呼兰河传

What’s in it

呼蘭河傳 (Tales of Hulan River) is Xiao Hong's last and most celebrated novel, a lightly fictionalized account of her childhood in the small town of Hulan in Heilongjiang, in China's far northeast. It is built less around plot than around a sequence of vivid set pieces — the town's mud pit that swallows carts and animals every rainy season and that nobody ever bothers to fill in, the burning of paper horses and paper houses for the dead, the elaborate rituals of a ghost marriage arranged for a boy who died before he could take a bride — rendered in a prose style that moves between a child's wonder and an adult narrator's sorrow at what she now understands those rituals cost the people living inside them.

The novel's most devastating thread follows a girl known only as the 'child bride,' married into a neighboring family at twelve and beaten and scalded by her mother-in-law under the town's collective indifference until she sickens and dies — a death the community responds to not with horror but with a kind of folk ritual designed to explain it away. Alongside this runs the gentler figure of Uncle You, the family's old gardener, and the narrator's own grandfather, the one adult in her childhood who seems to have loved her without condition. The novel has no real climax; it ends, like the town itself, simply continuing, which is part of what critics have found so quietly devastating about it.

Literary forms

• Chinese Memoir and Autobiographical Writing
• Classic and Modern Chinese Novels

Key words 关键字

• 歪嘴wāi zuǐ歪嘴wāi zuǐ — twisted mouth · wry mouth
• 祖父zǔ fùHSK 6祖父zǔ fù — father's father · paternal grandfather (HSK 6)
• 她tāHSK 1她tā — she (HSK 1)
• 裡邊lǐ bianHSK 1裡邊lǐ bian — inside (HSK 1)
• 泥坑ní kēng泥坑ní kēng — mud pit · mire · morass
• 馮píng馮píng — to gallop · to assist · to attack · to wade · great · old variant of 憑 (píng)
• 呼蘭Hū lán呼蘭Hū lán — see 呼蘭區 (Hū lán Qū)
• 團圓tuán yuánHSK 7-9團圓tuán yuán — to have a reunion (HSK 7-9)
• 唸niànHSK 3唸niàn — variant of 念 (niàn), to read aloud (HSK 3)
• 伯bǎi伯bǎi — one hundred (old)
• 吊diàoHSK 6吊diào — to suspend · to hang up · to hang a person (HSK 6)
• 廚子chú zi廚子chú zi — cook
• 好像hǎo xiàngHSK 2好像hǎo xiàng — as if · to seem like (HSK 2)
• 媳婦xí fùHSK 7-9媳婦xí fù — daughter-in-law · wife of a younger brother or relative of the younger generation (HSK 7-9)
• 黃瓜huáng guāHSK 4黃瓜huáng guā — cucumber · classifier: 條 (tiáo) (HSK 4)
• 婆婆pó po婆婆pó po — husband's mother · mother-in-law · grandma
• 麻花má huā麻花má huā — fried dough twist (crisp snack food made by deep-frying plaited dough) · worn out or worn smooth (of clothes)
• 豆腐dòu fuHSK 4豆腐dòu fu — tofu · bean curd (HSK 4)
• 裡lǐHSK 1裡lǐ — lining · interior · inside · internal · also written 裏 (lǐ) (HSK 1)
• 缸gāngHSK 7-9缸gāng — jar · vat · classifier for loads of laundry · classifier: 口 (kǒu) (HSK 7-9)
• 大神dà shén大神dà shén — deity · (Internet slang) guru · expert · whiz
• 吧bāHSK 1吧bā — bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc) · to puff (on a pipe etc) · (onom.) bang · abbr. for 貼吧 (tiē bā) (HSK 1)
• 豬肉zhū ròu豬肉zhū ròu — pork
• 毛子máo zi毛子máo zi — hairy fellow · foreigner · Russian (derog.) · bandit (old) · tuft of fine hair

蕭紅 Xiao Hong

Xiao Hong (蕭紅, 1911–1942), born Zhang Naiying, fled an arranged marriage as a young woman and lived an unstable, often desperately poor life that took her through relationships with the writer Xiao Jun and later Duanmu Hongliang, and through Harbin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing and finally Hong Kong as the Second Sino-Japanese War pushed her further from home. She wrote 呼蘭河傳 in Hong Kong in 1940, not long before she died there in 1942 at thirty-one, following a botched surgery for what turned out to be a misdiagnosed illness, in a city under Japanese occupation. Lu Xun himself had championed her early career in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, and 呼蘭河傳 is now generally regarded as her masterpiece.

More by Xiao Hong 同作者

• 生死場 · 生死场The Field of Life and Death

Key vocabulary 词汇

• 一命歸陰一命歸陰yī mìng guī yīn — see 一命嗚呼 (yī mìng wū hū)
• 一塌糊塗一塌糊塗yī tā hú tu — muddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition · complete shambles · a total mess (HSK 7-9)
• 一家之主一家之主yī jiā zhī zhǔ — master of the house; head of the family
• 一年半一年半yī nián bàn — a year and a half
• 一往直前一往直前yī wǎng zhí qián — see 一往無前 (yī wǎng wú qián)
• 一般人一般人yī bān rén — average person
• 一連串一連串yī lián chuàn — a succession of · a series of (HSK 7-9)
• 一錢不值一錢不值yī qián bù zhí — (idiom) not worth a penny; utterly worthless
• 一驚一乍一驚一乍yī jīng yī zhà — frightened · flustered
• 三八三八sān bā — International Women's Day 婦女節 (Fù nǚ jié), 8th March · foolish · stupid
• 三包三包sān bāo — "three-guarantee service": repair, exchange, refund
• 三心二意三心二意sān xīn èr yì — in two minds about sth (idiom) · half-hearted · shilly-shallying
• 三百六十行三百六十行sān bǎi liù shí háng — all walks of life (idiom) · every trade
• 三親六故三親六故sān qīn liù gù — old friends and relatives
• 下一次下一次xià yī cì — next; coming; forthcoming · next time; the next occasion
• 下不來下不來xià bù lái — awkward · embarrassed · cannot be accomplished
• 下浮下浮xià fú — downward fluctuation (of prices etc)
• 下馬威下馬威xià mǎ wēi — display of severity immediately on taking office · (fig.) initial show of strength
• 不倒翁不倒翁bù dǎo wēng — roly-poly toy
• 不僅僅不僅僅bù jǐn jǐn — not only; not just (HSK 6)
• 不加思索不加思索bù jiā sī suǒ — see 不假思索 (bù jiǎ sī suǒ)
• 不加選擇不加選擇bù jiā xuǎn zé — indiscriminate
• 不可缺少不可缺少bù kě quē shǎo — indispensable
• 不太好不太好bù tài hǎo — not so good · not too well
• 不客氣不客氣bù kè qi — you're welcome · don't mention it · impolite · rude · blunt (HSK 1)
• 不得而知不得而知bù dé ér zhī — unknown · unable to find out (HSK 7-9)
• 不得要領不得要領bù dé yào lǐng — to fail to grasp the main points
• 不慎不慎bù shèn — incautious · inattentive (HSK 7-9)
• 不為所動不為所動bù wéi suǒ dòng — to remain unmoved
• 不辭辛苦不辭辛苦bù cí xīn kǔ — to make nothing of hardships
• 不遠千里不遠千里bù yuǎn qiān lǐ — make light of traveling a thousand li · go to the trouble of traveling a long distance
• 串門串門chuàn mén — to call on sb · to drop in · to visit sb's home (HSK 7-9)
• 乾粉乾粉gān fěn — dry powder
• 了无了无liǎo wú — to completely lack; to have not even the slightest
• 事到臨頭事到臨頭shì dào lín tóu — when things come to a head (idiom)
• 井台井台jǐng tái — platform around the opening of a well
• 井繩井繩jǐng shéng — rope for drawing water from a well
• 亮堂堂亮堂堂liàng táng táng — very bright · well-lit
• 人云亦云人云亦云rén yún yì yún — to say what everyone says (idiom) · to conform to what one perceives to be the majority view · to follow the herd
• 介乎介乎jiè hū — to lie between
• 仔雞仔雞zǐ jī — chick; baby chicken
• 任其自然任其自然rèn qí zì rán — to let things take their course (idiom) · to leave it to nature · laissez-faire
• 休妻休妻xiū qī — to repudiate one's wife
• 伸縮伸縮shēn suō — to lengthen and shorten · flexible · adjustable · retractable · extensible · telescoping (collapsible) (HSK 7-9)
• 來勢來勢lái shì — momentum of sth approaching
• 俐落俐落lì luo — variant of 利落 (lì luo)
• 信靠信靠xìn kào — trust
• 倒采倒采dào cǎi — variant of 倒彩 (dào cǎi)
• 偏方偏方piān fāng — folk remedy · home remedy (HSK 7-9)
• 偏西偏西piān xī — inclining to the west (e.g. of the sun after noon, indicating lateness of the day)
• 做客做客zuò kè — to be a guest or visitor (HSK 3)
• 做為做為zuò wéi — to act as · used erroneously for 作為
• 傾家蕩產傾家蕩產qīng jiā dàng chǎn — to lose a family fortune (idiom) (HSK 7-9)
• 儉樸儉樸jiǎn pǔ — thrifty and simple
• 優秀優秀yōu xiù — outstanding; excellent (HSK 4)
• 優良優良yōu liáng — fine · good · first-rate (HSK 4)
• 儲藏室儲藏室chǔ cáng shì — storeroom · classifier: 間 (jiān)
• 兔羔子兔羔子tù gāo zi — see 兔崽子 (tù zǎi zi)
• 內心內心nèi xīn — heart; innermost being · (math.) incenter (HSK 3)
• 全場全場quán chǎng — everyone present · the whole audience · across-the-board · unanimously · whole duration (of a competition or match) (HSK 3)
• 八成八成bā chéng — eighty percent · most probably · most likely
• 六親不認六親不認liù qīn bù rèn — not recognizing one's family (idiom); self-centered and not making any allowances for the needs of one's relatives
• 冒汗冒汗mào hàn — to sweat
• 最低限度最低限度zuì dī xiàn dù — the bare minimum; the lowest acceptable limit or standard
• 冰天雪地冰天雪地bīng tiān xuě dì — a world of ice and snow
• 冰溜冰溜bīng liù — icicle
• 冷森森冷森森lěng sēn sēn — chilling cold · cold and threatening
• 凍瘡凍瘡dòng chuāng — frostbite · chilblains
• 出品出品chū pǐn — to produce an item · output · items that are produced
• 切碎切碎qiē suì — to chop
• 利落利落lì luo — agile · nimble · all settled · in order
• 刺激刺激cì jī — to provoke; to irritate; to upset; to stimulate; to excite · irritant (HSK 4)
• 剪成剪成jiǎn chéng — cut into
• 割據割據gē jù — to set up an independent regime · to secede · segmentation · division · fragmentation
• 劈啪劈啪pī pā — (onom.) for crack, slap, clap, clatter etc
• 加大加大jiā dà — to increase (e.g. one's effort)
• 包包包包bāo bāo — (coll.) handbag; purse · (Tw) (coll.) bag one carries (e.g. shoulder bag or backpack) · (coll.) small bump on the skin (pimple, mosquito bite etc)
• 包米包米bāo mǐ — variant of 苞米 (bāo mǐ)
• 北大北大Běi Dà — Peking University (abbr. for 北京大學
• 半價半價bàn jià — half price
• 半身不遂半身不遂bàn shēn bù suí — paralysis of one side of the body · hemiplegia
• 原址原址yuán zhǐ — original location
• 原意原意yuán yì — original meaning · original intention
• 參加參加cān jiā — to participate · to take part · to join (HSK 2)
• 反胃反胃fǎn wèi — retching · vomiting
• 叔公叔公shū gōng — great uncle · grandfather's younger brother · husband's father's younger brother
• 受得了受得了shòu de liǎo — to put up with; to endure
• 叛叛pàn — to betray · to rebel · to revolt
• 口音口音kǒu yīn — (linguistics) oral speech sounds (HSK 7-9)
• 古裝古裝gǔ zhuāng — ancient costume · period costume (in movies etc)
• 叫化子叫化子jiào huā zi — variant of 叫花子 (jiào huā zi)
• 台子台子tái zi — desk · (pool etc) table
• 吃苦耐勞吃苦耐勞chī kǔ nài láo — hardworking and enduring hardships (idiom)
• 吊膀子吊膀子diào bàng zi — (dialect) to flirt (derog.)
• 同調同調tóng diào — same tone · in agreement with · homology (invariant of a topological space in math.)
• 吹風吹風chuī fēng — to let the wind blow on oneself; to be exposed to the wind; to air out (a room); to blow air (e.g. to dry one's hair) · (fig.) to brief sb informally; to leak or hint at information ahead of formal release
• 周三周三Zhōu sān — Wednesday
• 呼蘭呼蘭Hū lán — see 呼蘭區 (Hū lán Qū)
• 命理命理mìng lǐ — the traditional Chinese study of fate and fortune, using methods such as birth-date analysis, physiognomy, name analysis, feng shui etc; fortune-telling based on these methods
• 咓
• 咔咔kǎ — (used as phonetic "ka")
• 咧咧咧咧liē liē — (dialect) to cry; to whimper · (dialect) to talk drivel
• 咧嘴咧嘴liě zuǐ — to grin (HSK 7-9)
• 品評品評pǐn píng — to judge · to assess
• 唯獨唯獨wéi dú — only · just (i.e. it is only that...) · all except · unique (HSK 7-9)
• 唱本唱本chàng běn — opera libretto
• 善舉善舉shàn jǔ — meritorious deed · benevolent act
• 喒喒zán — variant of 咱 (zán) (HSK 2)
• 單褲單褲dān kù — unlined trousers · summer trousers
• 嗃嗃hè — scold with severity
• 嗯嗯ēn — (a groaning sound)
• 嘩嘩嘩嘩huā huā — sound of gurgling water
• 嘭嘭pēng — (onom.) bang
• 嚇唬嚇唬xià hu — to scare · to frighten (HSK 7-9)
• 因果報應因果報應yīn guǒ bào yìng — (Buddhism) retribution · karma
• 圍攏圍攏wéi lǒng — to crowd around
• 圓夢圓夢yuán mèng — to fulfill one's dream · (divination) to predict the future by interpreting a dream · oneiromancy
• 圓滾滾圓滾滾yuán gǔn gǔn — plump
• 土腥土腥tǔ xīng — (of a taste or smell) earthy
• 土語土語tǔ yǔ — dialect · patois
• 在這之前在這之前zài zhè zhī qián — before then · up until that point
• 地皮地皮dì pí — lot · section of land · ground
• 壓碎壓碎yā suì — to crush to pieces
• 壠壠lǒng — old variant of 壟 (lǒng)
• 外鄉外鄉wài xiāng — another part of the country · some other place
• 多看幾眼多看幾眼duō kàn jǐ yǎn — to take a closer look; to look at (sb or sth) a few more times
• 夜深人靜夜深人靜yè shēn rén jìng — in the dead of night (idiom)
• 大河大河dà hé — large river (esp the Yellow River)
• 大為大為dà wéi — very · greatly
• 大煙大煙dà yān — opium
• 大熱大熱dà rè — great heat · very popular
• 大田大田Dà tián — see 大田縣 (Dà tián Xiàn) · see 大田廣域市 (Dà tián Guǎng yù Shì)
• 大規模大規模dà guī mó — large scale · extensive · wide scale · broad scale (HSK 4)
• 大霧大霧dà wù — thick fog
• 天干天干tiān gān — the 10 heavenly stems 甲 (jiǎ), 乙 (yǐ), 丙 (bǐng), 丁 (dīng), 戊 (wù), 己 (jǐ), 庚 (gēng), 辛 (xīn), 壬 (rén), 癸 (guǐ), used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal numbers I, II etc
• 奇聞奇聞qí wén — bizarre anecdote; extraordinary piece of news
• 套馬套馬tào mǎ — to harness a horse · to lasso a horse
• 女公子女公子nǚ gōng zǐ — noble lady · (honorific) your daughter
• 好不容易好不容易hǎo bù róng yì — with great difficulty · very difficult
• 好久不見好久不見hǎo jiǔ bu jiàn — long time no see
• 好哇好哇hǎo wā — hurray! · hurrah! · yippee!
• 姑妄言之姑妄言之gū wàng yán zhī — to just talk for the sake of talking
• 娃娃娃娃wá wa — baby · small child · doll (HSK 6)
• 娘娘廟娘娘廟Niáng niáng miào — temple of Goddess of Fertility
• 媾媾gòu — to marry · to copulate
• 嫌貧愛富嫌貧愛富xián pín ài fù — to favor the rich and disdain the poor (idiom) · snobbish
• 嬌慣嬌慣jiāo guàn — to pamper · to coddle · to spoil (HSK 7-9)
• 子孫娘娘子孫娘娘zǐ sūn niáng niang — goddess of fertility
• 孟姜女孟姜女Mèng jiāng nǚ — heroine of Qin dynasty 秦朝 folk tale, who searched for her husband, and whose tears broke down a stretch of the Great Wall to reveal his body
• 孤陋寡聞孤陋寡聞gū lòu guǎ wén — ignorant and inexperienced · ill-informed and narrow-minded (HSK 7-9)