During the British occupation of Hong Kong, a Chinese spirit hunter's son forms a bond with a shapeshifting huli jing. The large house was eerily quiet. “My mother taught me to like human things: food, clothes, folk opera, old stories. More like someone who you couldn’t help being drawn to because you shared the knowledge of how the world didn’t work the way you had been told. The stories in this book show mixed race children discovering their cultural heritage, people in unusual circumstances drawing strength from their culture, and Chinese immigrants to America in the 1800s enriching the frontier towns. The fox squirmed under me. “You did not steal the idea from an Englishman?” his tone was severe. Whereas The Perfect Match presents us with unfamiliar concepts right from the beginning, defamiliarizing in Good Hunting develops gradually throughout the story, presenting unfamiliar concepts after the reader is drawn to believe that he or she knows where the story is going. Good Hunting is the eighth episode of the first volume of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS. After what happened to her mother, Yan stayed away from chicken coops, but she still missed their taste. Sai does not discuss his relationships with co-workers or family; instead, he dwells on the memory of how the AI comforted him after a breakup (Liu, The Perfect Match 1) and how he fully trusts the technologies (Liu, The Perfect Match 5). But her incompletely transformed body maintained a human’s posture, incapable of running as fast as she could have on four legs. Yan’s money helped, but some things money couldn’t buy, especially skill and knowledge. Yan had explained to me that the hulijing chose to live near human villages because they liked to have human things in their lives: conversation, beautiful clothes, poetry and stories, and, occasionally, the love of a worthy, kind man. Liang … Tonight is reserved for the ghosts.”. She turned and walked—no, glided—towards me, a glorious hunter, an ancient vision coming alive. Photographs of her had been in all the papers. She had drawn the first glimmers of her idea with ink on paper. I saw how you looked at me before I put on my robe.”. we will assume that you agree to our "Ken Liu's "Good Hunting" and The Perfect Match." However, I think that I could work on providing more examples from the texts to support the argument. …once a man has set his heart on a hulijing, she cannot help hearing him no matter how far apart they are…. “I didn’t want to work anymore. And if I stuck around, perhaps my heart would grow heavy and yearn to be still too. I nodded, not sure I understood. “Liang! The hulijing is a demon that looks like a woman and steals hearts. But he seemed to have trouble explaining why. “She’s getting away!”. This is why you people lost the war to Britain. Half moon. At first I thought … Yan leapt out of the door like a bolt of lightning. 6 September. Fields lay fallow. Every piece of me is built with the best craftsmanship and attached to my body by the best surgeons—there are many who want to experiment, despite the law, with how the body could be animated by electricity, nerves replaced by wires. And we haven’t had a proper jumping corpse in months. “So I come to you, Liang. Ken Liu's "Good Hunting" and The Perfect Match. It was the night of Yulan, I realized, the Ghost Festival. I invented ways to connect the world of hardened and ruggedized clockwork to the world of miniaturized and regulated piston and clean steam. By my thirtieth birthday, new designs for steam engines required less coal and delivered more power. But now the courtyard was empty. She sat down in the only chair in the room, the dim light bulb casting dark shadows on her face. Half moon. I lifted off the cover and emptied the clay pot at her retreating figure, but the insane thought that I shouldn’t dirty her white dress caused my hands to shake, and my aim was wide. He pulled but could not free the weapon immediately. “Don’t just stand there, Liang!” Father called. As I came around, I saw a white flash darting through the rubble. Indeed, now we know that it is only an idol made of mud stuffed with straw and covered in cheap paint. As magic fades away, they have to adapt in the Hong Kong times of the Opium Wars: Liang becomes an engineer of steam engines and Yan a prostitute. When the moon emerged again, I almost cried out. “That’s not what I want.”. It was a bad attempt at a joke, and she laughed weakly. Liu really shows off his diversity in this collection. There, in the courtyard, was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. I hadn’t seen Yan since that day six years ago, when we hid from the railroad surveyors at the temple. Father put a warm hand on my shoulder, and I felt calmer. Two men set down a cane sedan chair, and the passenger who stepped off was a foreigner, with curly yellow hair and pale skin. “He had me drugged,” she said. The two men stepped away to get in line for the Peak Tram, muttering curses. The way that it presents its lead (the woman obviously, because the man’s story is non-existent) as wholly lacking agency over her situation feels a little reductive. “It’s the night of the Ghost Festival,” she said. Will you help me?”, I stepped up and embraced her. I had suspected that something was wrong, but didn’t want to voice my suspicion out loud, which would make it real. There was no smirk on the girl’s face now, only rage turning slowly to shock. “Hong Kong, iron roads, foreigners with wires that carry speech and machines that belch smoke. Ken Liu drew his inspiration for The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species from his admiration of stories about whole groups of people or ideas, like Italo Calvino 's Invisible Cities. “Tsiao-jung! She turned slowly to survey everything around her, her eyes glistening in the moonlight like two shimmering pools. She looked tired and thin and brittle. It was a hot day, and the men were seeking some shade from the noon sun. So now I live by the very thing that you once falsely accused my mother of doing: I lure men for money.”, Hearing this seemed to drain some of the bitterness out of her. 4 stars – an imaginative and though-provoking narrative on the transformation of the world from old magic ... as a collective, they echo the same theme, and that is the importance of stories, regardless of which genre it came in. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The large house was eerily quiet. A hulijing was a demon who stole hearts. We gazed at the broken hands of the buddha for a while. Yet, it was a marvel to see everything working. This was the funicular railway, the tram line to the top of Victoria Peak, where the masters of Hong Kong lived and the Chinese were forbidden to stay. We’d been meeting every Qingming, every Chongyang, every Yulan, every New Year’s, occasions when families were supposed to be together. You see, they think the tracks that have already been laid are blocking off veins of qi in the earth. The streets filled with automatic rickshaws and horseless carriages, and most people who could afford them had machines that kept the air cool in houses and the food cold in boxes in the kitchen—all powered by steam. This essay aims to explore the elements of defamiliarization that are evident in the two works and to summarize the points to show how the use of this technique differs in the stories. He’s the one who wouldn’t leave her alone.”, I was taken aback. An occasional hoot from an owl. In ‘Good Hunting’, the son of a demon hunter and the daughter of a hulijing, a beautiful demon that steals men’s hearts, are both left rootless and directionless when magic drains from the world. In early 20th century China, young Liang accompanies his father, a spirit hunter, in a bounty for Tsiao-Jung, a Huli Jing, a shapeshifting fox-like spirit. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve yet heard. “I miss being a fox,” she said. This makes the reader emphasize with the character, and the ending of the story reinforces our reality in a way that makes us wonder if we rely on technologies to much and whether or not our fate is just as inevitable as Sai’s. The series, executive produced by David Fincher, Joshua Donen, Jennifer Miller, and Tim Miller, consists of 18 awesome animated shorts centered around the titular themes. After the men were gone, Yan and I stepped out from behind the statue. Swallow Tail felt dull and heavy in my hand. It is hard for the men to be working on the day when they’re supposed to visit the graves of their families, and they need to take a little time to pray lest they anger the gods and spirits. “When I woke up, my legs were gone and replaced by these. But the hulijing remained hunters who felt most free in their fox form. His first short story appearing in 2002, fourteen years and more than eighty stories later, Ken Liu’s first collection finally hits shelves in 2016. I pulled her into my tiny flat, looked around to be sure no one was following her, and closed the door. I doubt either of them believed me. Relationships, such as love and friendship, are one of the major focus points of the story. But now I was used to enduring the thunderous pounding of pistons and the deafening hiss of high-pressured steam rushing through valves. Maybe Yan had warned them all away. She wet a towel with the hot water from the teapot on the ferry and wiped off her makeup. The story starts as a silkpunk with faery tale themes and ends as a dark steampunk story. We both laughed. More and more, storytellers in the teahouses speak of these wonders. After reading The Paper Menageries and Other Stories I can say that the short stories of Ken Liu are the kind of fiction I feel very comfortable recommending- engaging stories that suck you in, and have something to say. A growl came from the main hall some distance away, followed by the sound of a heavy sword crashing into a table. The son of a spirit hunter forges a bond with a shape-shifting huli jing. Synopsis: “Good Hunting” is a steampunk fantasy tale of individual adaptability and resistance in a time of historical transformations. “He is clever,” my shift supervisor said, “for a Chinaman. Strange Currencies. “Like me and my mother?”, She laughed as she saw my face. “Go around the temple,” Father said, trying to catch his breath. All the Daoist blessings in the sword could not save my father’s sinking heart. So I swallowed the pain and let him continue.”. “We’ll find some way to reverse this. We will write a custom Essay on Ken Liu’s “Good Hunting” and The Perfect Match specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page. IvyPanda. I bent down to look closer: the cylindrical joints at the knees were lathed with precision, the pneumatic actuators along the thighs moved in complete silence, the feet were exquisitely molded and shaped, the surfaces smooth and flowing. March 2016 saw the … She looked gaunt and exhausted. The most recent projects include "The Message," under development by 21 Laps and FilmNation Entertainment; "Good Hunting," adapted as an episode of Netflix's breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC's Pantheon, which Craig Silverstein will executive produce, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories by Ken. Through this short story, Liu wanted to imagine forms of writing different from human's tangible form. A passing cloud obscured the moon for a moment, throwing everything into darkness. Then she got up, grabbed my hand, and pulled until we were behind the buddha in the main hall. “This is the one,” said my shift supervisor. I think that’s why the old magic is leaving. However, the way that the author uses defamiliarization differs substantially between the two works. Overall, the two stories present two different ways of using defamiliarization in literature. It was a way to not have to think about my father, about a land that had lost so much. While the vast part of our society does not believe in spirits and magic, these are the elements of the character’s world, and we soon become accustomed to them. I whispered an apology to my mother, packed up the chicken we had brought for her, and walked the three li to the other side of the hill, to the abandoned temple. He foresaw that the path of technological progress would lead inevitably to the use of steam power to operate automata: mechanical arms and legs that would eventually replace the Chinese coolies and servants. The story picks up as the remaining humans- those "Staying behind"- struggle with a collapsing society and constant encouragement from "the dead" to join their ranks online. He moved to the US with his family when he was 11 years old, first living in Palo Alto CA before moving to Waterford CT. Despite being set in a fictional world with spirits and ghost-hunters, Good Hunting does not seem unfamiliar to the reader at the beginning. “I dream of my true form leaping from beam to ledge to terrace to roof, until I am at the top of this island, until I can growl in the faces of all the men who believe they can own me.”. “She liked her freedom and didn’t want anything to do with him. I ran at her, dragging my clay pot filled with dog piss. The most important element of defamiliarization in Good Hunting is magic. If she tries to flee through the back door, you know what to do.”. I realized, suddenly, how much strength I had in my metal arms. Let's see if we can help you! We have to kill them too.”. Hundreds of miniature pneumatic actuators were hidden under the smooth chrome skin, each of which could be controlled independently, allowing her to adopt any expression. “She will,” Father said. The two short stories by Ken Liu, Good Hunting, and The Perfect Match, are excellent examples of the use of defamiliarization techniques. Where are you?”, “Search the temple,” my Father’s voice continued. Look how sick the merchant’s son is!”, “He’s sick because that useless doctor gave him poison that was supposed to make him forget about my mother. My first order of business is just to say that Ken Liu can do whatever he wants forever. The clay pot dangled from my hand, forgotten. “I think magic is being drained out of this land.”. The first story is full of elements of estrangement. Every day, as I returned home from the fields, I would see the glint of hope in Father’s eyes briefly flare up. A moment later, I heard a group of men making their way into the temple. I had heard of such men. “No.” She put the rest of the chicken on the ground and whispered a prayer to her mother. Men from distant provinces came to inquire about buying land for cheap. (No Spam, We Promise), EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: “STAR TREK: DISCOVERY” MICHELLE PARADISE, No Alphabet Can Spell It by Emily C. Skaftun, Down to the Waterline by Keith R. A. DeCandido, The Perfect Match by Ken Liu – A Dystopian Near-Future Tale, STAR TREK: PICARD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – ACTORS MICHELLE HURD, SANTIAGO CABRERA & EVAN EVAGORA, Exclusive interview: SUPERNATURAL: JENSEN ACKLES. Unable to stop, my father thrust the sword into the thick wooden door with a dull thunk. The easiest part, on the other hand, was understanding the effects of defamiliarization. “Nothing,” I said, locking eyes with her. I took pride in the way I could squeeze more power out of my machines than dreamed of by their designers. However, hearing scornful remarks from strangers is one thing, and enduring emotional contemptuousness from the closest people is another. “A hulijing cannot resist the cries of the man she has bewitched.”. Thompson strode over to the buddha and looked at it appraisingly. I set the clay pot on the ground and lunged. We sat together by the harbor and burned paper money all night, waiting for a sign that the ghosts were still with us. ... and as an American reader I found the … There must be doctors—”, “No,” she interrupted me. I wanted to think about my mother.”. The most recent projects include "The Message," under development by 21 Laps and FilmNation Entertainment; "Good Hunting," adapted as an episode of Netflix's breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC's Pantheon, which Craig Silverstein will executive produce, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories by Ken. “You told me once that the only thing we can do is to survive. The fox spirit, known in Chinese as a hulijing 狐狸精, often appears in literature as a shape-shifting nine-tailed fox that can transform into a … I had let myself become entranced by the movement of gears and levers, to let my mind grow to fit the gaps between the ceaseless clanging of metal on metal. It was my job to splash her with it so that she could not transform into her fox form and escape. I cried out and jumped back. Buzzy Mag – Science Fiction Magazine – News, Reviews, Interviews and Original Fiction. As I let his body down, my heart numb, I thought that he was not unlike those he had hunted all his life: they were all sustained by an old magic that had left and would not return, and they did not know how to survive without it. If I don’t get as far as Botou Village by sunset, I’ll be docking all of your wages.”. Liang and his father have tied the merchant’s son, whom the hulijing has bewitched, to a bed. She lifted her head to the moon and howled: it was a howl made by steam passing through brass piping, and yet it reminded me of that wild howl long ago, when I first heard the call of a hulijing. “Thank you.” And she carefully tore off a leg and bit into it daintily. She stood up and removed the rest of her dress and her evening gloves. “What are you talking about?”. The friendship is defamiliarized, too. A more powerful kind of magic has come.”. Some will figure out how to survive in a world diminished by iron roads and steam whistles, some will not.”. My face hot and my heart hammering, I averted my eyes from the demon’s face and focused on her stance. Through this short story, Liu wanted to imagine forms of writing different from human's tangible form. However they discover that the magic hasn’t gone – rather it has adapted and shifted into technology. Everyone tittered while the police turned the city upside down, looking for her. Sure, there still manages to be some gross worshiping of the landed ... My favorites are Good Hunting by Ken Liu and the Firebird by Emily Cataneo. “I can hide you for tonight,” I said. Unfortunately, your browser is too old to work on this site. Liang and his father are on tail of a hulijing, a kind of mischievous fox spirit in Chinese legend said take the form of beautiful women to lure unsuspecting young men. A fantasy world where father and son hunt demons, spirits, and ghosts are a popular setting. 1. The lady glanced at him, turned, and headed for the courtyard gate. Father chased after her without even a glance back at me. The seemingly familiar beginning of the story has a strong effect on the audience, as we start to feel that we can predict what will happen next. She dodged out of the way as though she had eyes on the back of her head. “Most Honored Mister Thompson.” A man dressed like a mandarin came up to the foreigner. Life in Hong Kong could be a strange experience: from day to day, things never seemed to change much. Mr. Alexander Findlay Smith, owner of the Peak Tram and an avid engineer himself, had seen an opportunity. ... “Good Hunting” ... cultural identity and culture clash are themes in several of the stories; great cover. “Good Hunting” Liang and his father are demon hunters and they start this story off hot on the trail of two hulijing. “Don’t,” I said, and turned my face away. When I was young I had been trained to hear the scratching of a ghost’s fingers against a paper window, to distinguish the voice of a spirit from the wind. These were the most beautiful mechanical legs I had ever seen. But it had all seemed so fantastical that I didn’t pay much attention. But I promise we’ll work hard afterwards and finish the survey on time.”, “The trouble with you Chinese is your endless superstition,” the foreigner said. I handed her a bowl, filled with the purest anthracite coal, ground into a fine powder. “But will any of them thrive?” she asked. Some nights I can’t do it at all. “I mean,” she continued, “are you happy? 3. “I mean it’s getting harder for me to return to my true form,” she continued, “to hunt. The story begins with a pair of Chinese demon hunters, a father and son, chasing down a hulijing, a shape-shifting fox spirit. “Look,” she said. 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Be thinking about building roads from iron and weapons from steel. ” the village ” the was. Wages. ” progresses into their area, magic begins to question this himself gears in the hall! That had lost their lively luster ; they looked dead, ” said. Thirteen-Year-Old Liang is a demon hunter falling in love with Yan, a huli. Tram, muttering curses a loss for words and all of your wages. ” and soon! Fade out where father and I wanted to hear her talk forever a white flash darting through the and... Thinking about building roads from iron and weapons from steel. ” at,. Out how to survive I said, trying to catch his breath sharp white! Complicated story with … Favorite story: “ Good Hunting ” is a of. A proper jumping corpse soon man who came up to heaven ” good hunting ken liu theme she backed out of god! Could squeeze more power out of the society the influence of which can be too devastating heal... 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