Is Cao Wenxuan's work suitable for a relative beginner?

[Cerulione]

Hello, I know this thread had been long abandoned but I wonder if you guys think Cao Wenxuan’s works are generally hard to read for language learner please? I do have a lot of people recommending Yu Hua’s 活着 as first native novel, how would Cao Wenxuan’s works’ difficulty level compared to 活着 please? @Luxi @amytheorangutan

 

For context I am a heritage speaker who grew up outside of China with Chinese as my second mother tongue. My parents spoke Chinese to me for a good deal of my childhood as it is their mother tongue but they often mix it with other languages. I formally learnt the language up to end of Singaporean primary school Chinese program but stopped using the language completely for the last twenty years. So I had forgotten most of the written language and a good deal of the spoken language.

 

I am currently working my way through graded readers and using the language with my parents once again to brush it up. We will be visiting China very soon and Cao Wenxuan’s works I always want to read so I am thinking of getting his books during the trip because they seem to be much cheaper over there without shipment fees and has prettier editions over there than buying them from local specialised bookstores or amazon or Purple Culture site.

 

In general I just wonder if I’ll be able to read those books as soon as I acquire back all the Chinese I had forgotten these last two decades ?

[Luxi]

Wonderful! Go for it @Cerulione! 

 

Cao Wenxuan would be moderately difficult if you were a true 'beginner'. But you're not a real beginner, you're just lapsed. The Chinese you knew is still buried somewhere in your brain and you could pick it up really fast if you apply yourself, plus you have the necessary cultural background, and that helps a lot.

 

I haven't read Cao Wenxuan, but from what people say, I gather that it is probably easier than Yu Hua's 活着, Children stories I've read by other authors were quite easy, though they still need dictionary work.

 

Besides, it's great to have a set goal, keep your sight on it and don't spend too much time on very basic beginners' stuff. You don't need it and it will bore you. Graded readers is a great way. carry on ?

[Lu]

Topic split from here. New topics are free ?

 

I've read two of Cao's shorter books and one novel, and I'd say his work is very suitable for a beginner! A bit easier than 活着, and also shorter and with pictures. It might be a bit of a jump from graded readers, because it wasn't written with a foreign learner or a limited set of vocabulary in mind, but as native Chinese books go, it's a good starting point. Definitely pick up one or more of his books once you're in China!

 

We had a group read here on the forums of Cao's 《草鞋湾》. You can find vocab lists and summaries for most chapters in that thread. If you end up reading this book, make sure to post there!

[matteo]

agree with the above although personally, I found 余华‘s 活着, 许三观卖血记, 兄弟 much easier to read than 草鞋湾 vocabulary-wise.

The caveat is, most of 余华's books are extremely depressing so that might put you off (it certainly had that effect on me).

 

I also strongly recommend the translated 哈利波特 series. People will come up and say it's not an original, what about translationese etc etc etc but in practice, it is an easy relaxing way to put a lot of reading under your belt. You can read bloody Harry Potter before bed instead of watching youtube and won't even notice it's in Chinese. ?

 

extra tip: use a kindle reader (or equivalent) and download a good dictionary that can parse words correctly and shows the pinyn (I use something like this https://github.com/gkovacs/cantodict-kindle-mobi - not sure if it's the exact one but basically it is the same magic stuff that Pleco is made of). Don't use the inbuilt dictionaries, they are terrible. This will help you look up words easily and not feel like reading is a drag. 

 

Good luck

[Lu]

On 8/25/2023 at 10:58 PM, matteo said:

This will help you look up words easily and not feel like reading is a drag.

But make sure you don't lean on that crutch too much. The occasional sentence, a word here and there: great. Every sentence, many words each paragraph: pick a different book. You want to be reading Chinese with a dictionary as assistance, not read a Chinese book through a dictionary.

[Cerulione]

Thank you for the replies! Sorry Luxi I thought you had read Cao Wenxuan's that's why I tagged you. Thank you Lu for the post, I'll definitely use it when I attempt that book (getting that one too!).

 

I will get the books there when I visit this autumn then, and if they are too difficult for now I'll just set them for later on down the road. I truly love his works (translated one I've read, oups!) ?

They do sound less depressing than Yu Hua's. I've read Yu Hua's China in 10 words in English and I do feel he's a great writer from that translated version but the description of 活着, 许三观卖血记 and 

 

Concerning reading translated books as @matteo mentioned, I wonder if it is a good idea to read translated versions along with the Chinese version? This goes for Harry Potter books (which I can say I know by heart) and also I was gifted Cao Wenxuan's Bronze and Sunflower book in English. From experience, would you guys think it's a good idea to read the English version before or afterwards or not at all because it might be a crutch please?

 

Thank you once again for the replies earlier I really appreciate the input.

[Lu]

The downside of reading translations is that they tend to be in translate-ese, not the same style as a Chinese writer would naturally write, so you get input that is not quite natural Chinese. The time you spend on reading a translated book you could also be spending on reading an actual Chinese book. The advantage of reading a book you already know inside out in the original language is that you don't miss anything of the story if you miss some words or even sentences, and the advantage of reading a book you already know you like is that you'll be more motivated to read on. So you can weigh those factors and decide for youself.

 

For a book you haven't read yet and also own in translation, I'd say read a chapter in Chinese, then that chapter in English. That way, you get the Chinese reading practice, and you make sure you haven't missed or misunderstood anything you might need later in the story. If you feel extra studious, you can read both versions of a chapter and then go back to some sentences that you didn't understand at first in the Chinese. If after a while you feel you don't need the English anymore, you can just put it aside.