 A 1946 edition cover | |
| Author | Shen Fu |
|---|---|
| Original title | 浮生六記 |
| Translator | Lin Yutang, Shirley M. Black, Leonard Pratt and Su-Hui Chiang, Graham Sanders |
| Language | Literary Chinese |
| Genre | autobiography |
| Set in | Suzhou, 1780s–1807 |
| Published | 1877 |
| Publisher | Wang Tao |
| Publication place | Qing China |
Published in English | 1936 |
| 895.144 | |
| LC Class | PL2724.H4 Z46513 |
Original text | 浮生六記 at Chinese Wikisource |
| Six Records of a Floating Life | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 浮生六記 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | fleeting life, six chronicles | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Six Records of a Floating Life (Chinese: 浮生六記, Fu sheng liu ji) is an autobiography by Shen Fu (沈復, 1763–1825), who lived in Changzhou (now Suzhou) during the Qing dynasty. The four extant records are "Wedded Bliss", "The Little Pleasures of Life", "Sorrow", and "The Joys of Travel". Two further "records" are lost (or perhaps were never completed): "A History of Life at Zhongshan" and "The Way of Living".
Yang Yin, the brother-in-law of the prominent writer Wang Tao, found the incomplete manuscript of the work at a stall selling second-hand books. He gave the four parts to Wang Tao, who was in charge of the Shanghai newspaper Shen Bao. Wang Tao published the manuscript in letterpress in 1877, whereupon it became an instant bestseller. The "Fourth Record" was written in 1808, so the book is believed to be finished sometime after that date. Based on the index, scholars have been able to determine that the fifth record was intended to be called "A History of Life at Chungshan" and the sixth was intended to be called "The Way of Living". The fifth and sixth sections have never been found, despite various fraudulent claims.
The phrase "floating life" (浮生 fúshēng) originates from the preface to a poem by the Tang-era poet Li Bai: "The floating life is but as a dream; how much longer can we enjoy our happiness?"[1][2]
- ^ The line in the original language: 浮生若夢，為歡幾何? (Fúshēng ruò mèng, wèi huān jǐhé?)
- ^ "而浮生若梦，为欢几何？". so.gushiwen.cn. Retrieved 19 August 2022.