Bukit Anecdotes

A novel by Chen Zhengxin.

The story spans nine years, from early 1949 to August 31, 1957 (Independence Day of the Federation of Malaya). During these nine years, Malaya was under a state of emergency, with a fierce struggle between the British colonial government and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MCP).

This book won the 12th Global Chinese Literature Nebula Award in 2022: Long Historical Novel Writing Project Grant.

Professor Xu Wenrong wrote a preface and recommended:

In Bukit Anecdotes, Chen Zhengxin dwells on how the people of Bukit responded to the armed struggle between the colonial government and the Malayan Communist Party amidst the tide of the times, and the miserable lives they faced under the colonial government's relentless pursuit of suppressing the communists. The villagers' resilience, diligence, resourcefulness, and pragmatism in surviving these perilous circumstances are perhaps the historical anecdotes the author aims to highlight, and the thematic significance he aims to imbue through his reconstruction 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.

Local Customs, Resonance of Literature and History: Preface to Chen Zhengxin's "Bukit Anecdotes" / Professor Xu Wenrong 5
Description of main characters 21

Chapter 1: 1949, Year 25
Mid-year 36

Chapter 2: Early 1950 47
61 at the end of the year

Chapter 3: Early 1951 73
Mid-year 84
End of the year 94

Chapter 4: The beginning of 1952 117
Mid-year 129
135 at the end of the year

Chapter 5: Early 1953 147
Mid-year 160
166 at the end of the year

Chapter 6: Early 1954 177
Mid-year 187
End of the year 197

Chapter 7: Early 1955 201
Mid-year 211
Year-end 220

Chapter 8: The beginning of 1956 231
Mid-year 241
Year-end 249

Chapter 9: The beginning of 1957 261
Mid-year 271
Appendix 281