Scattered Notes on a Floating Life

Volume One: Essays. Shen Fu wrote Six Records of a Floating Life, savoring the ways of the world. May the years be peaceful and the passing days bring no misfortune. I write these little essays simply to amuse myself.

Volume Two: This volume mainly follows four generations of the Jiang family as they endure national calamities, including the War of Resistance against Japan and the Civil War, followed by the founding of the nation, the Cultural Revolution, and Reform and Opening Up. It spans seven or eight turbulent decades. The first part is told from Ye’s perspective; the middle returns to a human perspective, viewing historical change through the accounts of ordinary people and small events; in the final part, the two perspectives will be woven together.