Drowning (沉沦 in Chinese) by Yu Dafu (郁達夫), originally published in 1921, is a short story or novella about a young Chinese national who leaves his motherland, China, to study abroad in Japan. A loner by temperament, he soon finds himself “feeling pitifully lonely...” Intellectually superior, but emotionally insecure and immature, without any support of family or close friends to speak of, his megalomania begins to grow “in direct proportion to his hypochondria.” A self-styled poet, he recurs to nature, taking long walks in the countryside outside Nagoya. But dwelling frequently in nature and reading books all alone only go so far for a young man who regularly practices onanism in his room, immediately regrets it, fantasizes about his landlordʼs daughter, and is sexually attracted to just about every young girl he meets. “His usual emission involved imagining ʻEveʼ appearing completely naked in front of him, to seduce him.” Voyeurism ensues, which leads to more shame: “Youʼre going to hell... how can you sink so low!” It is only a matter of time before he finds himself, almost without knowing how or why, in a Japanese “tavern” where a young Geisha girl with bad breath serves him too much sake. You can imagine the rest, or you can read the story.

Itʼs very difficult to find stories written in Chinese that are decadent. This story, and Yu Dafu in general, is a refreshing, if not dark and sordid, exception.

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