The Corpse Walker
Real Life Stories: China From the Bottom Up
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4.5 • 15 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The Corpse Walker introduces us to regular men and women at the bottom of Chinese society, most of whom have been battered by life but have managed to retain their dignity: a professional mourner, a human trafficker, a public toilet manager, a leper, a grave robber, and a Falung Gong practitioner, among others. By asking challenging questions with respect and empathy, Liao Yiwu managed to get his subjects to talk openly and sometimes hilariously about their lives, desires, and vulnerabilities, creating a book that is an instance par excellence of what was once upon a time called “The New Journalism.” The Corpse Walker reveals a fascinating aspect of modern China, describing the lives of normal Chinese citizens in ways that constantly provoke and surprise.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this rich, often harrowing oral history, Chinese writer (and notorious target of censors) Liao travels to the margins of Chinese society, interviewing 27 outsiders from China's forgotten classes. The book contains an incredible cast of characters: a grave robber, a composer, a leper, a professional mourner paid to wail at funerals, a human trafficker and a delusional peasant who has anointed himself emperor. These conversations, largely recorded from memory, showcase Liao's empathy for his subjects and a particular talent for getting into tight situations; on one occasion, the author is forced to leap out of a three-story building when he fears the Communist government is targeting him for talking to a Falun Gong supporter. Liao's research took 11 years, and his final product is a stunning series of portraits of a generation and class of individuals ignored in history books and unacknowledged in the accounts of the "new" China.
Customer Reviews
Great read
Awesome book that totally captured me to the point I read it all in one sitting. I've always been intrigued by different perceptions and motivations as to why we do what we do. This book gives plenty to ponder while also being an exciting fun and sometimes shocking read. I hope others will enjoy this book as much as I have. Hats off to Liao Yiwu
A Powerful Glimpse Into Voices Silenced by History
I picked up The Corpse Walker after reading Gang of One by Fan Shen and Double Luck by Lu Chi Fa. I was looking for more firsthand accounts from ordinary people who lived through the Communist era in China and this book absolutely delivered.
What I appreciated most was the wide range of voices, each one raw, human, and unforgettable. My favorite chapters were The Peasant Emperor, which added a dose of strange humor to the mix, The Leper, which showed how traditional Chinese beliefs still echo even as modernity pushes in, and The Falun Gong Practitioner, which gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to stay strong in the face of oppression.
These aren’t sanitized or idealized stories. They’re messy, emotional, and deeply personal which is exactly what makes them so powerful. If you want a clearer view of 20th century China not from textbooks, but from the people who lived it, this is a must-read.