''Red Poppies'' () is a 1998 Chinese-language novel by the Tibetan Chinese writer
Alai, whose theme is based on the
Tibetan custom and traditions. The novel consists of 12 chapters with a total of 481,000
Chinese character
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...
s. It won the
Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one of t ...
in 2000.
Summary
Set in
Ngawa,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, the novel chronicles the stories of a Tibetan
Tusi
''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain et ...
and his family from the 1920s to 1949, which gives a general introduction to the economic development in Ngawa, the territorial disputes among Tibetan chieftains, and the fights for throne succession.
Main characters
Family of Tusi Maiqi
* The first-person narrator: considered as an 'idiot', the second son of Tusi Maiqi, mother is a Han Chinese
* Tusi Maiqi: father of the first-person narrator
* Mother: the second wife of Tusi Maiqi, a Han Chinese woman as a gift given to Maiqi by a merchant trading furs and herbs
* Brother: the eldest son of Tusi Maiqi, son of Maiqi's first wife, considered as the successor of Tusi Maiqi
* Sangji Zhuoma: maid of the first-person narrator
* The lame butler
* Weng Bo Yi Xi:
Lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
of
Gelug
file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...
* Suo Lang Ze Lang: attendant of the first-person narrator
* Yang Zong: used to be the woman of the chieftain Zhazha, belongs to Tusi Maiqi after Zhazha's death
* Lama Menba
* Sister: half-blooded, shares the same father with the narrator, lives in London
* Uncle: Tusi Maiqi's younger brother, trades in India
* The silversmith: later marries Sangji Zhuoma
Other characters
* Special commissioner Huang: an official of the national government
* Tusi Ronggong: a female Tusi
* Tana: the beautiful daughter of Tusi Ronggong
* Tusi Laxueba
* Tusi Wangbo
Reception
Comments by the selection committee of the Mao Dun Literature Prize: "The novel narrates from a unique viewpoint, with a rich connotation of Tibetan culture. A slight of fantasy enhances the artistic expression. The writing style is light, charming and poetic".
Adaptations
*TV series: a television adaptation of ''Red Poppies'' was first shown in 2003.
*Dance drama: ''Red Poppies'' was adapted into a dance drama by Hong Kong Dance Company in 2006.
References
External links
在线阅读 (Online Reading)Douban
{{Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize
1998 Chinese novels
Novels set in Tibet
Sichuan in fiction