Jia Pingwa’s latest translated novel tells an alternative history of China through the music of mourning
Jia Pingwa writes in the afterword to The Mountain Whisperer that his novel is “both about the past revolution, and also my farewell to it. The land is suffused with feces, but its foul odor is not carried on the wind. The feces, moreover, serve to nourish the land, enriching and enhancing the farmers’ yields.”
In his sweeping historical rural narrative spanning the 20th century, Jia unhesitatingly illustrates such “feces” of the recent past—the moral depravity, vengefulness, and suffering of four tumultuous periods of modern Chinese history. However, he does so with the wisdom of someone who accepts even the darkest aspects of human nature: “On this planet we call home, there is no mother to curse and complain about the difficulties of childbirth. They do not begrudge the excruciating pain of bringing a child into this world; rather they see it as a blessing, a great fortune.”
The novel, originally published in 2014, was released in English for the first time in April of this year in a translation by Christopher Payne. A well-respected voice in contemporary Chinese writing, Jia is known for writing that is deeply informed by Chinese literature and historical customs, and for portraying the social upheavals that come to his native rural Shaanxi. His most famous work, Ruined City, depicts the moral corruption and fall of a city modeled after Xi’an, and was banned for 17 years in China due to explicit sexual content. The Mountain Whisperer is among Jia’s epics, and is one of his most overtly political works.
The tale is told largely without judgment, as observed by the titular character, the village’s funeral singer who lives to be over 100 and bears witness to four eras: revolution, land collectivization, the Great Leap Forward, and market reform. The Mountain Whisperer’s job is to sing mourning songs for all those who pass, regardless of their legacies in life.
Songs from the Past | Book Review is a story from our issue, “Something Old Something New.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine. Alternatively, you can purchase the digital version from the App Store.
Jessica Sijia Jin is a contributing writer at The World of Chinese.
