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''Soul Mountain'' () is a novel by the French-Chinese writer Gao Xingjian. The novel is loosely based on the author's journey in rural China, which was inspired by a false diagnosis of lung cancer. The novel is a part autobiographical, part fictional account of a man's journey to find the fabled mountain Lingshan. It is a combination of story fragments, travel accounts, unnamed characters (referred to by the pronouns "I", "you", "she", etc.), and folk poetry/legends. An English version translated by Mabel Lee was published in the United States on December 5, 2000. ==Plot== The first of the two characters to be introduced is "You". He is described as a local tourist – "not ''that'' sort of tourist" but a backpacking one "wearing strong sensible sports shoes and a backpack with shoulder straps".〔p. 4, 2001 Perennial edition〕 He seeks out the elusive Lingshan, a sacred mountain. "You" has long lived in the city, but yearns for a rural existence from the past〔p. 8 and chapter 52, ibid.〕 He shuns the idea of settling for "a peaceful and stable existence" where one wants to "find a not-too-demanding sort of a job, stay in a mediocre position, become a husband and a father, set up a comfortable home, put money in the bank and add to it every month so there'll be something for old age and a little left over for the next generation".〔p. 9, ibid.〕 "You" meets up with another wanderer, a troubled and emotional "She". And so "You"'s journey also becomes a journey into an erotic relationship. "You" also travels inwards as he explores his powers as a storyteller. Later in "You"'s story, "She" departs〔ch. 50, ibid.〕 "as if in a story, as if in a dream".〔p. 35, ibid.〕 Meanwhile, "I" is a writer and academic who travels to Sichuan after having been misdiagnosed of a terminal lung cancer. He wants to take a break and start looking for an "authentic life"—meaning the opposite of that of the state's concept of real life. The characters' sense of humanity is revealed during their quest. "I" realizes that he still craves the warmth of human society, despite its anxieties.〔Lee, Mabel. ''Soul Mountain'' (Introduction). Sydney: HarperCollins. 2000.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Soul Mountain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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