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Six Records of a Floating Life

Six Records of a Floating Life (Chinese: 浮生六記, Fu
sheng liu ji) is an autobiography by Shen Fu (沈復, 1763– Six Records of a Floating Life
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. A 1946 edition cover

The phrase "floating life" (浮生 fúshēng) originates from Author Shen Fu
the preface to a poem by the Tang-era poet Li Bai: "The Original title 浮生六記
floating life is but as a dream; how much longer can we
Translator Lin Yutang, Shirley M.
enjoy our happiness?"[1][2]
Black, Leonard Pratt and
Su-Hui Chiang, Graham
Style Sanders
Country Qing China
The book is written in what translator Graham Sanders
calls "the literary language of poetry, essays and official Language Literary Chinese
histories rather than in the more verbose vernacular Genre autobiography
language used for the popular lengthy novels and dramas Set in Suzhou, 1780s–1807
of the Ming and Qing dynasties". According to Sanders,
this choice allowed Shen Fu to "slip readily into a poetic Published 1877
lyrical mode," although he is also able to address topics as Publisher Wang Tao
diverse as "gardening, finance, social roles of women, Published in 1936
tourism, literary criticism, prostitution, class relations, English
and family dynamics."[3]
Dewey 895.144
Decimal

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Outline LC Class PL2724.H4 Z46513

Original text 浮生六記 at Chinese
The four extant records are: Wikisource

1. "Wedded Bliss" (閨房記樂 guīfáng jì lè, "Record of Boudoir Six Records of a Floating
Music"), in which the author mainly puts the focus on his Life
wife Chen Yun (陳芸), with whom Shen Fu fell in love when
they were both young. Although Chen Yun is not
Chinese 浮生六記
considered beautiful, she pursues beauty in other areas. Literal fleeting life, six
She considers painting and embroidering to be necessary meaning chronicles
to composing poetry, and regards a simple life as an ideal
Transcriptions [show]
existence. Shen Fu considers her to be not only his wife
but also his close friend who can share in his hobbies and Standard Mandarin
his feelings, which was considered an unorthodox Hanyu Pinyin fúshēng liù jì
approach to marriage in Chinese society at the time.
Wade–Giles Fu2-shêng1 Liu4 Chi4
2. "The Little Pleasures of Life" (閑情記趣 xiánqíng jì qù,
"Record of Leisure and Fun"), which gives a vivid
description of the leisure activities enjoyed by Shen Fu: the
joys of his childhood, his adult life cultivating flowers, and
his experiences of composing poems with other scholars.
He tended to be close to nature in childhood, but in
adulthood he had very little time to focus on nature, and
was often chained to worldly possessions. Many of the
episodes in this section are involved with discussions of
aesthetic experiences.
A marriage in 18th-century Suzhou
3. "Sorrow" (坎坷記愁 kǎnkě jì chóu, "Bumpy Record of
(from the painting Prosperous
Sorrow"), in which Shen Fu points out that most of his
Suzhou)
frustrations are due to his uprightness and his commitment
to words. Though this chapter opens with the author's own
sorrow, its content also addresses the difficulties of Chen
Yun's life; which also grows out of her character, and with the author’s endless love for his wife
and his resentment over her unfair fate.
4. "The Joys of Travel" (浪遊記快 làng yóujì kuài, "Quick Travel Records of Joy") portrays
beautiful scenic spots that the author has visited, and records anecdotes, local customs and
historical allusions. Shen Fu expounds his belief that it is the gaining of experience that counts,
rather than following what others have said.[4]

Plays
Six Records of a Floating Life has also been adapted as an experimental play by East Meets West
Mime, mixing elements of mime, dance, pop, and theatre. Ballerina Lindzay Chan played the
character of Chen Yun, while Philip Fok played Shen Fu.

Translations
English

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▪ Six Chapters of a Floating Life (Shanghai, 1936) - translated by Lin Yutang

▪ Reprinted in The Wisdom of China and India by Lin Yutang (New York: Random House,
1942)
▪ Chapters from a Floating Life: The Autobiography of a Chinese Artist (Oxford University Press,
1960) - translated by Shirley M. Black
▪ Six Records of a Floating Life (New York: Viking Press, 1983) - translated by Leonard Pratt and
Su-Hui Chiang ISBN 0140444297
▪ Also reissued by Penguin Classics
▪ Six Records of a Life Adrift (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2011) - translated by Graham
Sanders ISBN 1603841989.

German

▪ Sechs Aufzeichnungen über ein unstetes Leben (Müller & Kiepenheuer, 1989)
ISBN 3-7833-8046-4
▪ Sechs Aufzeichnungen über ein unstetes Leben (Frankfurt am Main, Wien: Büchergilde
Gutenberg, 1990) - translated by Rainer Schwarz ISBN 3-7632-3666-X
▪ Aufzeichnungen aus einem flüchtigen Leben (Matthes & Seitz Berlin, 2019)
ISBN 9783957576903

French

▪ Six secrets au fil inconstant des jours (Bruxelles, Éditions F. Larcier, 1966) - translated by
Pierre Ryckmans ISBN 9782709631457
▪ Récits d'une vie fugitive: Mémoires d'un lettré fou (Gallimard / Unesco, 1986) - translated by
Jacques Reclus

Danish

▪ Kapitler af et flygtigt liv (Omstag, 1986)

Italian

▪ Sei racconti di vita irreale (1955)

▪ Racconti di vita irreale (Marsilio, 1993) - translated by Lionello Lanciotti ISBN 9788831757478

Korean

▪ 부생 육기 :심 복 자서전 (1979)

Spanish

▪ Relatos de una vida sin rumbo (1985)

▪ Seis estampas de una vida a la deriva (Chindia Plataforma, 2012) ISBN 9788415577485

Dutch

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▪ Verslagen van een vlietend leven: Biografie van een liefde (Chinaboek, 1989) - translated by
Daan Bronkhorst ISBN 9071800067

Hebrew

▪ ‫החיים הסחופים‬

Swedish

▪ Pilblad i strömmen: En kinesisk konstnärs självbiografi (1961)

Japanese

▪ 《浮⽣六記：うき世のさが》沈復作，佐藤春夫·松枝茂夫譯，東京：岩波書店，1938年9⽉

Malaysian

▪ Hidup bagaikan mimpi (Fou sheng liu chi): Riwayat hidup sa-orang pelukis dan sasterawan
tionghoa (Oxford University Press, 1961)

Czech

▪ Šest historií prchavého života (Plzákovo nakladatelství, 1944)

Russian

▪ Шесть записок о быстротечной жизни (Наука, Moscow, 1979) - translated by Kirina

Ivanovna Golygina[5]

Vietnamese

▪ Phù Sinh Lục Ký (Nxb. Hội Nhà Văn, Hà Nội, 2018) - translated by Châu Hải Đường
ISBN 9786049724169

Polish

▪ O upływającym życiu: Opowieść w sześciu rozdziałach (Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy,

2019) - translated by Katarzyna Sarek ISBN 9788366272156

References
1. The line in the original language: 浮生若夢，為歡幾何?
2. "而浮生若梦，为欢几何？" (https://so.gushiwen.cn/mingju/juv_ba4dfa50c513.aspx).
so.gushiwen.cn. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
3. Shen Fu (2011). Six Records of a Life Adrift. Translated by Graham Sanders. Indianapolis:
Hackett.
4. http://article.hongxiu.com/a/2004-12-29/555440.shtml (http://article.hongxiu.com/a/2004-12-29/
555440.shtml%20%20) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121231124915/http://article.ho
ngxiu.com/a/2004-12-29/555440.shtml%20%20) December 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

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5. Кирина Ивановна Голыгина

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