Reviews for Six Records of a Floating Life

The average rating for Six Records of a Floating Life based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-12-26 00:00:00 Jasper Mccrea This book was very enjoyable, a wonderful social commentary of 18th/19th century China. It has some fantastic stories and insights into Chinese life. Two things stopped this being 5 stars, the first is that despite the title, there are only 4 records, the remaining 2 did not survive, although someone did try to forge the remaining 2 early in the 20th century, and the second thing was the way the "notes" system works. Each of the 4 surviving records have a number of specific Chinese idioms or expressions, these are explained at the back of the book in the notes section. Now bearing in mind each of the 4 records has between 30 and 100 notes, it can get a right pain, flipping backwards and forwards. If only they had put the explanations in brackets at the right place in the book it would've made it so much more enjoyable.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-01 00:00:00 John Verdon Wow! This was a lovely treat. I feel like I've gotten to know Shen Fu as a friend. He was kind, gentle, artistic, observant and loving to his wife. He was happy and content in Life, even while poor & close to destitute. At heart, his life was full of friends and cheer. It was a full life. Shen Fu is a wonderfully intimate and personal writer. I felt like I was with him in his journey. His wife, Yun, was interesting and complex. The two loved each other throughout their time together, which doesn't mean that life was monogamous. This book is divided into four chapters. The first is about Shen Fu & Yun's happy marriage, their trips, their homes, their conversations. They share everything, they laugh, they enjoy. I enjoyed the fact that they often played drinking games, a very modern feeling game. It shows that humans haven't changed all that much. Each generation has its drinking game. :D In the chapter on Leisure, Shen Fu relates all of his hobbies. The man is artistic in so many ways, as is Yun. Together they decorate their homes while using very little money (a thing they are often without). Their gardens are serene and lovely to the eye. The descriptions of bonsais is wonderful. But pain is also in Shen Fu's life and the chapter on Sorrow is heartbreaking at times. The final chapter on Shen Fu's many travels through and about China for work and leisure are wonderfully described. The mountains of China must be numerous and high. And lovely. The pavilions, pagodas, temples, monasteries and forests, rivers and ponds described are brought to life with his words. Shen Fu was a natural writer and observer of life. He felt and saw and lived. This tiny book encompasses all that. He becomes a person and a friend.