Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh

Collection of novellas by Mo Yan

Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh (original title: 师傅越来越幽默^[1]）is a 2001 collection of novellas by Nobel prize-winning author Mo Yan. ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The collection was translated from Chinese to English by Howard Goldblatt^[6].

The novellas collected within this volume include:

'Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh'
'Man and Beast'
'Soaring'
'Iron Child'
'The Cure'
'Love Story'
'Shen Garden'
'Abandoned Child'

The title story follows Ding Shikou, a former factory worker abruptly laid off from his job. After failing to receive compensation from the government and other local authorities, Ding sets up a cottage in a graveyard and charges money for couples to enter and have sexual intercourse.

The title story acts as loose inspiration for the film Happy Times, directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Zhao Benshan and Dong Jie.

References

^ "莫言作家库". 中国当代文学信息库. 3 Jun 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Fiction Book Review: Shifu, You'll Do Anything For a Laugh by Mo Yan, trans. from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt. Arcade, $23.95 (189p) ISBN 978-1-55970-565-3". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
^ "SHIFU, YOU'LL DO ANYTHING FOR A LAUGH by Mo Yan , Howard Goldblatt | Kirkus Reviews". Retrieved 26 September 2018.
^ "Mo Yan: Excerpts From His Work". The New York Times. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
^ Twitchell-Wass, Jeffrey (22 September 2002). "Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.(Book Review)(Brief Article)". The Review of Contemporary Fiction. pp. 162(1). Retrieved 26 September 2018.
^ Mo Yan (2001). Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh [师傅越来越幽默]. Translated by Goldblatt, Howard (Paperback ed.). Methuen (published 2003). ISBN 9780413771193.