Yukio Mishima is a Japanese novelist and dramatist, who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times, and is the contemporary Japanese writer with the most works in foreign languages, known as "Hemingway of Japan".
Yasunari Kawabata commented, "I was so shocked by Mishima-kun's talent that I was dizzy. At the same time, I was disturbed by his words. His novelty is difficult to understand. Some may conclude from this novel that Mishima is invulnerable. Others, however, can see all his deep scars. Mo Yan, another Nobel laureate in literature, also said: "Mishima is a literary student and dies for literature, he is a literati through and through." ”
Unpublished manuscript by Yukio Mishima. A total of 183 novels and reviews written from the age of fifteen or sixteen to the twenties were discovered in 2000. Photo taken at the Yukio Mishima Literature Museum in Yamanakako Village, Yamanashi Prefecture (Jiji Agency)
Yukio Mishima: Reading and Talking is a collection of literary criticism, in which Yukio Mishima uses the works of writers he highly admires, including Mori Ouwai, Junichiro Tanizaki, Yasunari Kawabata, Naoya Shiga, Tatsuo Hori, Kanjiro Kajii, Balzac, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Proust, Voltaire, and Jean · Cocteau, to illustrate the fun and beauty of various genres and techniques with his rich literary knowledge and writing experience. His essays are elegant, sensual and rational, giving us a glimpse of how a first-rate writer examines the depth of the text, as well as his profound learning and aesthetic vision.
Two templates
Two templates
When comparing the styles of Mori Ouwai and Izumi Kagami, he said: "If Mori Ouwai's article is called the Sun God Apollo essay, then Izumi Kagamika's essay is the Dionysian essay of the god of wine...... The opposition between the traditional, logical, and narrative worlds of male and female characters is still evident in the works of Mori Ouwai and Izumi Kagika in modern literature...... Senouwai's extremely economical style is like what the ancient Chinese said, "cherish words like gold"...... The style of the spring mirror flower is like a flowing water, and the water seems to be sprinkled with flower petals, with various bright colors, all the way gorgeously forward. ”
Two types of readers
Two types of readers
In the book, Yukio Mishima also proposes the concept of "general reader" and "intensive reader". He sees the former as "what you read", while the latter is "the inhabitants of the world of fiction, sitting and walking in it", who see literature not only as entertainment, but also as an essential purpose. Mishima wrote this book in the hope that he would be able to guide people who are content to be ordinary readers to become intensive readers, and to be able to savor the charm of books seriously. The book is not specifically limited to introducing certain genres, or sorting out the advantages and disadvantages of genres, but he just hopes to introduce the interest of each genre from an objective standpoint, and tell readers how to appreciate the beauty of various types of essays.
Some readers said that this is by no means the only book with the theme of "text reading", but this book is very meaningful because it was written by Yukio Mishima. The book cites a variety of textual types and examples that Mishima considers important. To read this book thoroughly, you may need to read some of the books presented in this book, but even if you don't know any of them, it won't affect your understanding of the book's contents.
Author's Profile
Yukio Mishima was born in Tokyo in 1925 under the real name of Kimino Hiraoka. Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Tokyo Imperial University. In 1944, while still a student, he published his first anthology, The Forest of Flowers. He joined the Ministry of Finance in 1947 and resigned the following year. He rose to fame with Confessions of a Masquerade, published in 1949, and has since focused on writing. He has won the Shinchosha Literary Award for "The Tide", the Kunishi Kishida Drama Award for "The Nest of Termites", the Yomiuri Literary Award for "Kinkakuji", and the Festival Award for "The Marquise de Sade". In 1988, the Shinchao Society of Japan set up the "Yukio Mishima Prize" to reward cutting-edge works that open up the future of literature, and is known as "pure literature on the dragon gate".
Translator's Profile
Huang Yuting holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Comprehensive Cultural Studies, University of Tokyo, Japan, specializing in modern Japan literature and comparative literature. He has translated works such as "The Key to the Study", "The Mental Arrangement of the Matsudaira Family", and "It's Too Ridiculous to Cry for This World: Finding a Way Out of Life from Natsume Soseki's Letter".
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Purpose of the Book 1
Chapter 2 Miscellaneous Articles 9
Male vs. female writing 11
Prose and Rhyme 18
Historical Changes in Essay Aesthetics 28
The habit of savoring articles 36
Chapter 3 The Novel Article 41
Two Templates 43
Short story essay 54
Novel article 67
Chapter 4 Drama Articles 73
CHAPTER V REVIEW ARTICLE 93
Chapter VI Translated Articles 101
Chapter VII Article Techniques 113
Character Description—Appearance 115
Character Description – Costume 126
Nature Depictions 131
Psychological descriptions 138
Action Description 148
Grammar and Essay Skills 154
Chapter VIII Epilogue Articles in Reality 163
Appendix Q&A 175 on the article
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The "Japan Literature Studies Series" has been published by Yasan & The Commercial Press, and "Yasunari Kawabata: Essay Talks" and "Tanizaki Junichiro: Writing Talks" will be published soon.
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