This is how man lives

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How man lives (French: La Condition humaine ) is a novel by André Malraux published in 1933, the third part of his trilogy, after Les Conquérants (1928, German: The Conquerors ) and La Voie royale (1930, German: The Royal Road ).

Historical background

The historical background of the novel is the uprising of communist workers in Shanghai on March 21st and 22nd, 1927, under the leadership of Zhou Enlai and Chen Duxiu, who drove the warlords out of Shanghai. This was done in anticipation of the Kuomintang Army (KMT), which was advancing from southern China in the so-called northern campaign against the warlords. The KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were still working together to eliminate the warlords. The commander-in-chief of the KMT troops was Chiang Kai-shek , his chief of staff Bai Chongxi , whose troops occupied Shanghai on April 2, 1927. The fact that communist workers controlled much of Shanghai at the time worried Chinese and foreign businessmen in Beijing, as did the right wing of the KMT under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek. He agreed with Du Yuesheng , the leader of the Green Gang , to take joint action against the communists and their workers' groups. On April 9th, Chiang Kai-shek declared Shanghai martial law; on April 12th he had the workers' services disarmed. When workers and students demonstrated against it the following day, Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi had them shot. About 300 communists were executed; Thousands "disappeared", eliminated by the Green Gang.

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The 25 days from the day before the communist uprising on March 21, 1927 to the massacre on April 12 and 13, 1927 are the narrated times of the novel. Shanghai is the venue. The main characters, whose decisions and fates are intertwined in many ways, are faced with existential questions within a short time in the face of the dramatic political changes.

Main characters of the plot

The three main characters are Ch'en Ta Erh, Kyo Gisors and Baron De Clappique.

Ch'en (in the French original "Tchen") Ta Erh murders a political opponent and was later killed himself in a failed suicide attack on Chiang Kai-shek. By killing he becomes fatalistic and only wishes to kill, to fulfill his task as a terrorist, which is his main purpose in life. This is explained by the fact that he was as close to death when he killed. He is so haunted by death and tormented by feelings of powerlessness towards the inevitable that he wishes to die so that the torment would be over.

Kyo Gisors is the leader of the uprising and believes that everyone should give up their own task instead of being guided by outside influences. For most of history he is trying to win power for the workers and prevent them from being usurped by the Kuomintang army. He also has to resolve a conflict with his wife. He is caught and opts for poison free death, which here represents a final act of self-determination / shaping one's own fate.

Baron De Clappique is a French merchant, smuggler, and obsessive gambler . He helps Kyo divert a load of firearms and is later told his life will be in danger if he doesn't leave town within 48 hours. On the way to warn Kyo, he gets stuck because of his gambling addiction and cannot stop playing. He sees gambling as suicide without dying. Clappique is in a very good mood and nice, but at the same time he suffers internally. In the end he leaves town disguised as a sailor .

Other characters

  • Old Gisors - Kyo's father, an opium addict, former professor of sociology at Peking University, serves as guides for Kyo and Ch'en.
  • May Gisors - Kyo's wife, a German doctorate born in Shanghai
  • Katov - a Russian , co-organizer of the uprising. He is burned alive for treason.
  • Hemmelrich - A Belgian gramophone dealer
  • Yu Hsuan - Its partner
  • Kama - Japanese painter, Old Gisors' brother-in-law
  • Ferral - President of the French Chamber of Commerce, head of the France-Asia consortium. His relationship with Valerie troubles him because he only wants to own her as an object.
  • Valerie - Ferrals girlfriend
  • King - chief of Chiang Kai-shek's police force.
  • Suan - Young Chinese terrorist who helped Ch'en but was later arrested in the attack that killed Ch'en.
  • Pei - also helped Ch'en.

Main themes

The most notable theme is the existentialist maxim of having to invent oneself. This is z. B. represented by Kyo, and the opposite of it by the fatalism of Tchen / Ch'en. Katov chooses to give his poison pill to two other prisoners, and thus accepts to be burned alive himself to save two others from the agony.

In some places the book also highlights how people interact with one another, what attitude they have towards others. Ferral and Old Gisors both believe that in one person they can only understand and possess what they can change. With Ferral you can see it in his relationship with Valerie, and with Old Gisors in his relationship with Ch'en / Tchen.

Awards and nominations

Footnotes

  1. ^ Charles Patrick Fitzgerald: Revolution in China . European Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 1956, pp. 60–69.

See also