Fiction
Taming Of the Sheep
by Chen-Fu Hsu
Description
The novel integrates Tibet's natural history, travel notes, and lyrical literature in describing the demise and dilemmas of Tibet's natural scenery and humanistic customs – a sorrowful elegy lamenting the passing of utopia.
In search of snow leopards, a traveler broke through countless obstacles to reach the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and was allowed to conduct a 72-day snow leopard survey at the Conservation Research Station. Time passes, and he opens his travel log by accident only to find that his heart is still in Tibet – the decision to take a leave of absence from school, returning to the Plateau thrice – what is he looking for now?
In the 1950s, Udagawa Huihai entered Tibet illegally through India to understand the subtleties of Buddhism at a time when the Tibetan army and the People's Liberation Army engaged in guerrilla warfare. He eventually settles down in Lhasa, living together with Rinpoche, resulting in TAMING THE SHEEP.
Utilizing two different time and space plot lines, Chen-Fu Hsu supplements his tale with the Tibetan drama "Princess Wencheng," folding together important historical scenes from the seventh century, twentieth century, and contemporary Tibet. All events traverse beyond the limitations of time. In detail, one observes the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where most people think the Buddha's light shines – we recognize that it has never been calm. After cultural transplantation in the Han Dynasty, the Cultural Revolution swept through, afforestation and grazing ceased, Tibetans not only lived like mayflies but their original nature and life had already gone through several calamities and drifted with the times.
From the perspective of contemporary travelers, we observe the biological phenomena of Tibet. Mirroring the natural balance of grassland ecology and the Tibetan natural history, from shale to pikas, snow leopards, vultures, etc., Hsu also describes sheep epidemics from environmental history and geography. Ecological issues such as mining pollution, prairie rat disaster, and agricultural and animal husbandry conflicts reflect Tibet's emotional identity and economic development battles.
Exquisite philosophies, metaphors, integrating ecology, geography, drama, architecture, travel notes, against a beautiful context – the book depicts the human landscape, herder culture, and the nature of Tibetan in a meticulous manner. In addition to showing the author's depth and displaying his rich experience in learning and training, we also witness his loving care for the land. In an elegiac form, THE TAMING OF THE SHEEP allows readers to see how history repeats itself on this Plateau and the plight of its people.
More Information
Rights Information
To acquire the rights, please contact: whsu@nurnberg.com.tw
Marketing Information
★2020 Taipei Literature Award Annuity Scheme
★Books.com.tw’s the Book of May 2021
★2021 Selected by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture as a “Books from Taiwan”
★2021 Taiwan Literature Golden Book Award
★2021 Taiwan Literature Flower Bud Award
★Book Trailer：https://reurl.cc/r1bxlr
Reviews
"Chenfu's talent makes his writing wild, and because of this talent, his writing has self-expectations, just like the snow leopard leaping over a cliff. Chenfu impressed me deeply with this work – when life is most vigorous, it is not the delirium and pseudo-harmony of 'the harmony between man and nature,' but one full of wild ambition. It is the unscrupulous dispersal of seeds, the tireless migration of migratory birds, and the expansion of mammals forced away by their families." ─ Wu Ming-Yi, author of THE MAN WITH THE COMPOUND EYES, THE STOLEN BICYCLE, THE MAGICIAN ON THE SKYBRIDGE
"Whether you regard this book as a novel, an account of Tibet's natural history, or a confessional of the environment, Chenfu's youth is evident – his devotion and curiosity about the world permeate throughout – beginning with a journey chasing the snow leopard...In my opinion, it is the actual struggle to catch the unspeakable that is important." ─ Wenzheng Yu, writer, director of the United Daily News
"I have been looking for writing like THE TAMING OF THE SHEEP. The writing opened up my five senses – transcending the boundaries of time and space, transporting me to the Plateau of Tibet, witnessing snow leopards, the subtle dialogue between man and nature – the wildness of each other's existence." ─ Hong Boyi (Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Environment and Resources, National Taiwan University)
Author Biography
Chen-Fu Hsu was born in Taipei in 1994. He graduated from the Department of Geography, National Taiwan University. He specializes in entomology and human geography, and has published several SCI Journal papers. His hobbies include photography, travel, and wildlife photography. His works have been selected four times in the Chiu Ko Publishing Annual Prose Selection and won several awards such as Taipei Literature Annuity, TSMC Young Student Literature Award, and Ministry of Education Literary Creation Award. While having no ambitions in photography, he dreams of shooting snow leopards, narwhals, birds of paradise, and other creatures that some believe are myths. Served as a Canon lecturer, he has held a solo exhibition of bird ecology photography titled "Wings over and over, and light covers light." TAMING OF THE SHEEP is his debut that already won many literary awards in Taiwan.
Ailbert Cultural Company Limited
Ailbert Cultural Company Limited was established in 2012 with the original purpose of promoting the works of Taiwanese writers to Mainland China, and then expanding the translation rights territory to Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as the UK, US and European markets. Since 2018, we started to authorize TV/film rights across the world on behalf of our representative authors. 安伯文化事業有限公司成立於2012年，最初宗旨是將台灣作家的著作推向中國大陸，隨後拓展版權版圖至泰國、越南、印尼等東南亞地區，以及英美歐書市。我們授權代理的知名台灣導演和藝人作家包括：吳念真導演（《這些年，那些事》，中簡版在中國暢銷逾50萬冊）、小S（《國際廚娘的終極導師》）、陳昇（《9999滴眼淚》、《鹹魚的滋味》等共7本書）、曲家瑞（《誰說我沒有影響力》等共3本書）、黃子佼（《我還在》）、鄭華娟（《氣質卡小狗學堂》）；以及台灣年度暢銷作家：肆一（《可不可以，你也剛好喜歡我？》等共4本書）、Peter Su（《夢想這條路踏上了，跪著也要走完》等共3本書；同時代理著作文學小說家，包括囊括多座文學獎項的張貴興（《野豬渡河》和《沙龍祖母》等3本小說）、香港知名小說家董啟章（《愛妻》和《命子》等2本小說）；自2018年為旗下代理作家授權影視版權，包括董啟章的《體育時期》授權全球電影版權等。
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher China Times Publishing
- Publication Date April 2021
- Orginal LanguageChinese complex
- ISBN/Identifier 9789571387680
- Publication Country or regionTaiwan
- FormatPaperback
- Pages360
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Original Language Title馴羊記
- Original Language Authors徐振輔
- Copyright Year2021
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