Bukit Story

A novel by Chen Zhengxin.

The novel begins on August 15, 1945, when Japan was defeated and surrendered, and ends on June 18, 1948, when the British colonial government declared a "state of emergency" on the Malay Peninsula. It narrates how the characters and events in the novel hesitantly, wasted time, or stumbled through these three years in this small town (Bukit, Bukit Mertajam).

Chen Zhengxin:

I have published "The Bukit of Literature" in the form of prose, and "The Bukit of Fiction" in the form of short stories. Now I am writing this "The Bukit Romance" in the form of a long novel.

Wang Runhua's long preface recommends:

Chen Zhengxin uses "small narratives" to write about temporary, accidental, and relative events that occur locally, partially, in special places, among special individuals, and among diverse ethnic groups, which sometimes helps him find the truth of history.

Chen Zhengxin

Born in Puning County, Guangdong Province in 1948 in Penang, Malaysia, he graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore and worked in business for many years before devoting himself to art.

He has served as a director and vice president of the Malaysian Chinese Writers Association, a former director of the World Chinese Micro-Fiction Research Association, and former chairman of the Northern Malaysia Joint Committee of the Malaysian Writers Association. He began writing poetry in his early years and later began writing novels and translating foreign literature. He also writes literary criticism, plays, and short columns.

His works include a collection of poetry, twelve collections of novels, one collection of essays and one collection of miscellaneous essays, five translated novels, and the play "A Man of Principles".

In 2007, he received the Recommended Award in the Fiction Category of the 9th Huazong Literary Award. In 2008, he received the Special Award in the Fiction Category of the 1st Seagull Annual Literary Award. In 2014, his collection of short stories, Rippling Water Village, won the Special Award in the Fiction Category of the 1st China International Chaoren Literature Award. In 2014, his collection of essays, Bukit of Literature, won the Grand Prize in Literature at the Jinfan Book Award. In 2014, he won the 13th Malaysian Chinese Literature Award. In 2017, his collection of short stories, Bukit of Fiction, won the Malaysian Chinese Literature Award at the 14th Huazong Literary Award.

In 2018, he won the 5th Nanyang Chinese Literature Award in Singapore. In 2021, his novel "Bukit Romance" won the "Jury Recommended Award for Historical Novel" at the 11th Global Chinese Literature Nebula Awards in Taiwan. In 2021, he won the 9th Malaysian Chinese Cultural Association Cultural Award (Literary Contribution Award). In 2022, his novel "Bukit Anecdotes" won the 12th Global Chinese Literature Nebula Awards' Historical Novel Writing Project Grant Award. In 2022, he won the first Teochew Literature Award in Malaysia.

Interpreting the Art of Short Narrative in Chen Zhengxin's "The Story of Bukit":
The New Tradition of Ethnic Fiction Preface / Professor Wang Runhua 6

This Mountain, This Town, and Some Explanations Preface / Chen Zhengxin 20

Chapter 1 Preface 30
At the end of August 1945,

Chapter 2 Preface 54
In early September 1945, 58

Chapter 3 Preface 84
In mid-September 1945, 88

Chapter 4 Preface 108
October 11, 1945
Postscript 128
Appendix: English Schools in Bukit Town 134

Chapter 5 Early November 1945 138
Postscript 158

Chapter 6 Preface 164
August 1946 168

Chapter 7 Preface 186
November 189, 1946

Chapter 8 January 1947
Appendix 1: Bukit and India 232
Appendix 2: Transporting Firewood 234
Appendix 3: Teacher Koba 236

Chapter 9 June 1947 240
Postscript 258

Chapter 10 December 1947 264
Postscript 285

Chapter 11 March 1948 288

Chapter 12 June 16, 1948 308
June 18, 1948 318

Three Responses to "The Bukit Story" Postscript / Chen Zhengxin 329
Appendix: Historical Trajectory 334