"The Empty Drum: A Russian Folk Tale Retold by Leo Tolstoy" (''"Работник Емельян и пустой барабан"'') is a short story by
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
published in 1891. According to
Aylmer Maude
Aylmer Maude (28 March 1858 – 25 August 1938) and Louise Maude (1855–1939) were English translators of Leo Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography, ''The Life of Tolstoy''. After living many years in Russi ...
, famous Tolstoy translator, it was originally written in 1887, and is based on a folk story that reflects the Russian peasant's deep hatred of military service. It is based specifically on a folktale from the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
region.
Plot
According to an anniversary collection of Tolstoy's work published by
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, in this story, the hero, Emelyan (sometimes translated as "Yemilyan",
"Emelyàn", or "Emelian"), rings the war drum, which is used to summon the soldiers of the tsar to the battlefield, and once the soldiers are assembled, he smashes the drum, releasing the power of the tsar over the people.
Publication
It was translated to English by
Leo Wiener
Leo Wiener (1862–1939) was an American historian, linguist, author and translator.
Biography
Wiener was born in Białystok (then in the Russian Empire), of Lithuanian Jewish origin. His father was Zalmen (Solomon) Wiener, and his mother was ...
and published in 1904, republished in 1999 in ''"Tolstoy: Tales of Courage and Conflict"'',
and again in 2009 in ''"Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories"''.
Legacy
This work is cited as the inspiration for the 1928, Chinese literary anthology, named 空大鼓 (''"Kong Dragu"'', or ''"Empty Drum"'').
See also
*
Bibliography of Leo Tolstoy
This is a list of works by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), including his novels, novellas, short stories, fables and parables, plays, and nonfiction.
Prose Fiction
Novels
*''War and Peace'' (Война и мир 'Voyna i mir'' 1869 ...
*
Twenty-Three Tales
''Twenty-Three Tales'' is a popular compilation of short stories by Leo Tolstoy. According to its publisher, Oxford University Press, the collection is about contemporary classes in Russia during Tolstoy's time, written in a brief, morality-tale ...
References
External links
* Original Text
*
''The Empty Drum'' from RevoltLib.com
*
from
Marxists.org
Short stories by Leo Tolstoy
1891 short stories
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