"Alive" tells the story of Yu Hua, the author, who travels all over the country and meets an old man who is over eighty years old, telling his bleak, sad and bumpy life. This is an easy-to-understand story, and the narrative is simple, but the tragedies from this story follow one after another, making it impossible for readers to take a break.
The old man's name is Fu Gui. As soon as he heard the name, he knew that he was a blessed man born with a golden key. Indeed, when Fu Gui was born, his family had more than 100 acres of land left by his ancestors, tenants, coolies and servants. Rich second generation, which is considered proper in any era! But Fu Gui is a real dude, a black sheep. ...
Liuli works in various brothels and neighborhoods every day, eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. Soon, in his endless destruction, he lost more than 100 mu of land and the legacy left by his ancestors. He had nothing overnight, moved from a spacious brick house to a thatched cottage, and his father was angry.
Fu Gui's wife is Jia Zhen, the daughter of a rice shop in the city. She is also a spoiled young lady. She married Fu Gui because she is a suitable family. They have a female name "Xia Feng". When Jia Zhen was 278 months old, her father-in-law didn't want to see her daughter working so hard, so he took her back to her family and didn't go home until the child was half a year old.
Fu Guiniang is also a woman with bad karma. In her early years, Fu Gui's father was also a dude. It turned out that Fu Gui's grandparents left more than 200 mu of land, but Fu Gui's father lost half of it in her early years, and the remaining half was completely defeated by her son. With the death of her father at home, Fu Gui is not as good as before. Soon after Jia Zhen came back, she became ill. Fu Gui was dragged to the city by the Kuomintang to find a doctor for her mother.
In the military camp, Fu Gui experienced the horror and cruelty of the war, and told the unknown story in the Kuomintang military camp and the selfish state of the officers and men inside the Kuomintang. Two years of life in the trenches made him taste all kinds of things in the world. Seeing the bodies everywhere around him, he really realized that it was not easy to "live"!
It may be because of his persistent expectation for his family, or it may be that he is lucky. He miraculously survived in the war years that would be blown up at any time. When the producer captured them and gave them money to go home, I think he was moved and his cognition was gradually changing.
When he came home with great expectation, he found that his mother had passed away, and his heart was full of guilt and self-blame. His heart broke down when his daughter Xia Feng appeared in front of him as a mute. Fortunately, his son is smart, sensible and diligent, which gives him some hope.
Youqing is Fu Gui's youngest son. His family was defeated by his father when he was still in the womb. He has never lived a rich life since he was born. He is a retribution child. His understanding troubled Fu Gui and Jia Zhen. In order to make up for him and make him more productive when he grows up, he decided to give his sister Xia Feng to others in exchange for his younger brother's chance to go to school. Youqing is also disappointed. Every day, he runs to school barefoot with his shoes in his hand. However, something unexpected happened. Good Youqing was beaten to death by a black doctor for donating blood to the county magistrate's wife. There is no doubt that the death of Youqing dealt a heavy blow to Fu Sheng, and the pain of losing a child made Fu Gui lose his mind. He wanted to take revenge on the county magistrate, but when he faced his enemy, he discovered that the county magistrate was his good friend "Chunsheng" among the dead.
I can't help but sigh: "The dead have gone, and the living have to live!" In order not to let his wife Jia Zhen know the news of bereavement from a bolt from the blue, he chose to bury his son quietly in front of his parents' grave.
Qi is a retribution child. She lived for three or four years when she was young. When her father destroyed the family, she became a poor child. When she was seven or eight years old, she had a high fever and had no money for timely treatment. From then on, she became speechless. She is kind, hardworking and not afraid of hard work. In order to have a mouth to eat at home and earn food with Fu Sheng, she is also responsible for family affairs. As she grew older, she became silent.
Hill lives in the city, has no parents, doesn't talk much, and is honest with the facts. He is a good husband who can give Xia Feng happiness. His married life is not bad, and he soon became pregnant. After hearing the news, the whole family was very happy, especially Hill, who was very excited. But it didn't last long. She/KLOC-became pregnant in Xia Feng in October and died after giving birth to her son Kugan. The white-haired man in Fu Gui sent the black-haired man three times in a row, and he thought his heart was broken. But in order to make a living, he still took care of his skinny wife Jia Zhen, who was getting worse every day. Finally, he took Fu Gui's hand and left quietly in an afternoon.
After his wife Jia Zhen died, Fu Gui buried her next to the family cemetery. The dead rest in peace, and the living will continue!
After his daughter Xia Feng died, she was left with a deep-rooted son. Hill, this eccentric son-in-law, is both a father and a mother. She carries her baby to work during the day. As soon as the baby cries, she puts it down and asks the nursing woman for a sip of milk. In this way, Kugen drank hundreds of mouthfuls of milk and grew to be three or four years old.
Unforeseen things happened. Hill was caught beyond recognition and died while carrying cement. Hill's departure undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Fu Sheng, leaving two generations alone.
Children from poor families have been in charge for a long time. By the age of five, Kugan was already able to cut millet. It can be said that he is Fu Gui's little helper, helping grandpa do farm work inside and out every day.
If the story ends here, it is still satisfactory, but the tragic fate has not spared the old man who is over 500 years old. When Coogan was seven years old, his father and grandson went to the field to pick cotton, and the child had a fever. After feeding my grandson ginger soup with wealth, I chose half a pot of beans to cook for the children. He never imagined that the children were so happy and ate too much that they were finally killed by beans.
After Kugan's death, Fu Gui was really alone, and his family died one after another. He could only spend his old age with an old cow.
In the face of death, the most painful thing is not the person who left, but the living person who silently endured all this. Fu Gui is the bearer of sadness. He said, "I sometimes think of sadness, and sometimes I think of it. I am practical." This is his comfort to himself, perhaps because of his helplessness.
Fifty years later, the disaster experienced by Fu Gui is also a true portrayal of thousands of families in Qian Qian, China, and a microcosm of thousands of farmers in China, Chichiwa and Qian Qian. The sufferings experienced by China in the past 100 years are clearly projected on him.
His legendary life, through the vicissitudes and hardships of the world, is still optimistic about life and tolerant of suffering, which always shocks readers' hearts.
It is not easy to live. "People live for living itself, not for anything other than living." This is the most precious advice that the author conveys to readers.