Shen Fu - Chapters from a Floating Life

Publisher: Oxford Press (1960)
Author: Shen Fu
Title: Chapters from a Floating Life
Translator: Shirley M Black
Read on: Scribd.com

I often fantasize about finding books written by amateurs, maybe for self-indulgence or for the pleasure of a few friends. They may be typewritten or even handwritten, filling a few pages and ordinary copy books. They may be manuscripts by authors who never found publishers, or merely diaries by people meant to be kept secret. These could be works to rival those of great masters, worthy of being read by many people and called classics. So many beautiful books out there were lost to us because they were private or neglected. Why, even Jane Austen nearly suffered oblivion at one time. Now we cannot imagine a literary scene without her.

It was happenstance that led Yang Yin to a bookstall where a manuscript lay among second-hand books. Yang Yin was the brother-in-law of Wang Tao, who was well-known as a writer and an editor of Shan Bao, a prominent Shanghai Newspaper.  These two meritorious gentlemen rescued the beautiful autobiography of Shen Fu, a painter, from oblivion. The book became an instant hit with the readers of Shan Bao in 1877 and is still being read.

Shen Fu lived from 1763 to 1825(?) during the Qing Dynasty. Whatever we know of his life is recorded in his book.  Out of the possible six chapters, only four were recovered. He had a lovely childhood in the lap of nature and was fortunate to find a soul mate in his cousin Shu Chen (or Yuen). They had an enviable married life without much discord. What plagued their life was poverty. Shen Fu was a painter but he could not eke out a living with his art. He often picked up work as a Yamen (secretary), but there was no permanent work and the couple was always in debt, forced to pawn their belongings and move from place to place (hence, floating life).

The book is lovingly translated by Shirley M Black. It is said to be very poetic in Chinese, you get the same idea when you read Shirley Black's translation. It is equally poetic and gives you the impression of floating down the river in a gently rocking boat. It was impossible to find any details about the translator. However, the foreword states that she rearranged the sequence of the book and modified some parts of the original book to make it easy for the reader. Since I learned that, I have wanted to find some other translation that provides the text in translation as it is. I hope to learn more about it.

The book has been adapted into a ballet. I feel it could make a beautiful movie as well, starting with the discovery of the manuscript, its popularity, and the search for the missing chapters that segue into the captivating story of Shen Fu.