经典重温

荐书学生：应晓帆

指导老师：蔡佳颖

阅读书目：Snow Country

作者：Yasunari Kawabata

译者：Edward G.Seidensticker

文/应晓帆（21级翻译一班）千

    “The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.” As Shimaruma enters snow country, the readers step into Yasunari Kawabata’s world of “beauty and strangeness.” Orphaned at three, this Nobel Prize winner in literature, a luminary of Japanese and world literature, was accompanied by solitariness during his entire life until he gassed himself in 1972.

    Despite the life-long loneliness, his inner world features vividness and colourful experiences. With images spiralling out from centres of high-level innovation – say, a sakura blossom drifting upon a whispering breeze, the reflection of a face of a beautiful lady, the moon in the water, or patterns of thousands of cranes - he transcended the boundaries of conventional storytelling and left an indelible mark on the tapestry of literary artistry. His narratives, akin to vivid brushstrokes on an ancient scroll, painted rich portraits of human intricacies amidst nature’s serene orchestra. His pen, guided by an unspoken alliance with Zen philosophy, beckoned readers to a contemplative realm where the mundane was transformed into the extraordinary. From “The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa” and “The Izsu Dancer” in the early period of his career to the fragile elegance of Thousand Cranes and The Old Capital, Kawabata’s tales unfurled like fragile cherry blossoms in full bloom, with their fragrance lingering long after the final page.

    Kawabata, however, is more than a Japanese figure, and such a figure of global influence was only made possible by his early exposure to the Western avant-garde literature when majoring in English and, more crucially, his introspection into the culture of his nation from a brand-new modernist perspective. Readers may analyse how Dostoevsky’s writing style, especially his “extreme psychology”, impacted Kawabata’s literary creation and think over how the technique of “stream of consciousness” influenced this new-sensationalist writer since Kawabata had read Joyce’s Ulysses twice. In such a scheme where such a “strange” combination of Western literary views and oriental philosophy carried over to oriental aesthetics, Japanese modernism named one aspect of the history of global modernism, thus reinforcing a sense of literary history as essentially a process of the interaction between the East and the West.

    Just as significant is the novella Snow Country, for it allows us to encounter this writer. Kawabata’s words cascade like delicate snowflakes in the ethereal realm of snow country, enchanting readers with a tale of forbidden love and the haunting beauty of a wintry landscape. This masterpiece of Japanese literature, a symphony of melancholy and desire, beckons us to traverse the path less travelled, where the boundary between reality and dreams becomes blurred. Kawabata’s prose paints a portrait of longing and isolation. Through his meticulous descriptions, readers are transported to a world where silence speaks volumes and emotions are whispered in the hushed language of falling snow. The ephemeral beauty of the landscape becomes a mirror, reflecting the complexities of the human heart; with the delicate interplay of light and shadow, Kawabata explores the depths of human desires and the haunting consequences of unfulfilled yearnings. Through Shimamura and Komako, two souls caught in the intricate web of passion and societal constraints, the author delves into themes of loneliness, fleeting connections, and the elusive nature of true intimacy. And the work, at its best, speaks to the high value of the traditional beauty of the Orient. With every stroke, he summoned the essence of simplicity,   inviting readers on a profound journey through the labyrinthine chambers of the human soul. His words, imbued with introspection and poetic cadence, danced upon the reader’s mind, stirring contemplation of life’s transience and the profound depths hidden within the ordinary.

    So, step into the world of Snow Country, where whispers of snowflakes blend with the sighs of the human soul. Allow yourself to be swept away by the wintry enchantment and discover the profound truths beneath the frozen surface of this timeless masterpiece.