Liu Zhenyun: A chest filled with nonsense

*A Heart Filled with Silence* is a full-length novel by Liu Zhenyun, considered an influential writer in the Chinese literary world. Through his various works, Liu Zhenyun has humorously satirized the chaos experienced by the Chinese people following the opening of the capitalist market. In this social satire published in 2005, he preserves that thematic consciousness while delivering an even more powerful message through bold formal experimentation. Through the portrayal of the residents of West Street No. 50 who have gone mad and become foolish, the novel boldly dissects the power mechanisms of the entire world—extending beyond contemporary China—and satirizes the increasingly insignificant lives of petty bourgeois citizens. After the "Crystal Pagoda" is erected west of West Street No. 50, the residents go mad and become foolish. Lao She, a former butcher, orders Lao Ma, a shoemaker, to find out the cause. Adding to this, Lao Jiang, a capitalist who made money and rose to success through knowledge, appears, while a bathhouse owner, Lao Feng, and a female anchor engage in a heated argument on a television talk show. Afterwards, Lao Guo, who sold mixed-up food, Xiao Shi, a karaoke hostess, and Lao Hu, a rag picker, analyze the cause. However, the residents west of Fifty Street became disloyal and heartless beings, eventually degenerating into increasingly wretched creatures such as timber, monkeys, flies, and charcoal soot…

Korean title: 객소리 가득 찬 가슴

Korean author: 류전윈

Korean publisher: 문학과지성사

ISBN-13: 9788932018928