Tale
The Scarecrow
稻草人
Ye Shengtao · 1923
Synopsis
The collection brings together twenty-three short tales written in 1921 and 1922. The tale that gives it its title follows a scarecrow planted in a field, kind but unable to move, who sees pass in a single night an old peasant woman whose harvest the insects are devouring, a fisherwoman forced to leave her sick son in order to work, a woman whom a brutal husband wants to sell, and a fish in distress. From his stake, he waves his fan to warn them.
Context
The book appeared in 1923 from the Shanghai publisher that then employed the author; in sending the manuscript, he asked whether it might not be found too little childlike. Ten years later, Lu Xun wrote that the title tale had opened a new path for Chinese children's narrative, while regretting that Ye Shengtao had not followed it up. The World of Chinese sees in it the author's most influential work, for its sadness before injustice told in the language of children. An English translation appeared in Beijing in 1961; in French, only a selection of the author's tales has appeared, in 1980.
Who it is for
Short tales, readable separately, for children as well as for the adults who read them aloud.
Prizes and reception
The author's official biography calls it the first book of its kind in the country; Lu Xun praised the path it had opened.
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