Maung Tun Thu - Tolstoy's short stories

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A message from a Myanmar returnee

I passed the university entrance exam in 1951. That same year, I entered university and became a university student. I had a great desire to become a university student since I was in the sixth or seventh grade, and I was overjoyed. The first book I was given the opportunity to study as a university student was

"Twenty-three stories"

The book is called "The Greatest Showman". It is a textbook for English, a compulsory subject for first-year university students. The author is the writer "Leo Tolstoy*".

On the first day of class, the teacher talked about the book. He summarized and criticized the stories in the book. He did not criticize all twenty-three stories. He studied them all. He also compared them with the book “Nine Short Stories” by the great writer Leo Tolstoy. For the first time, I felt the “taste” of being a university student.

The next day, we heard from the teacher about Leo Tolstoy, the author of “Twenty-Three Tales.” We learned a general idea about Leo Tolstoy, a world-famous writer, and his novels such as “War and Peace,” “Anna Karenina,” and “Rebirth.” I think this “knowledge” made us interested in “War and Peace,” “Anna Karenina,” and “Rebirth.”

The next day, the teacher taught the first short story in the “Twenty-Three Stories,” “God Knows the Truth, but He Waits.” It was a short story about a simple, good man who was punished for not committing a sin.

After reading this short story, I had a lot to think about. “Why does God wait when he knows the truth? ... Why is he punished for a crime he didn’t commit, even though he is a pure and righteous person? ... Is there a spirit that keeps the world fair? ... If there is, why doesn’t he keep injustice fair?” etc. Thoughts came to mind. In my opinion, this is also a “taste” of being a university student.

At that time, I had the desire to translate the short stories from these twenty-three stories. I had a desire to let people know the life or worldview reflected in these short stories. However, at that time, my age, reading ability, and writing experience were extremely limited, so I faced the situation of "a stubborn and arrogant person who will break a mountain - a weak and weak person."

Anyway, there is a saying that “it happens when it happens.” That saying is true. My wish, which was made in 1951, has only come true for more than forty years. I don’t remember exactly. I think it was in 1991 or 1992. A magazine asked me to translate a short story. I translated the short story “God Knows the Truth, but Waits” from the twenty-three stories in this book. From that point on, I translated all twenty-three stories in a row.

This book, entitled “Twenty-three Stories,” is divided into seven sections. Section one is titled “Stories for Children.” This section contains three short stories. These stories or novels were published in 1872. At that time, Tolstoy was thinking of giving up his material possessions and doing good for humanity. He was especially devoted to the education of the children of farmers and peasants.

The second part is called “Popular Stories.” This part contains four stories (short stories). These short stories were written and published between 1881 and 1885. Of these four, the short story “What Do People Do?” is said to be the most popular. It is based on the story of a spirit sent by God to live among people for a while to study. The view of life presented in these stories is a combination of the real life of people, the teachings of their religion, etc.

In the third part, titled "A Fairy Tale," there is only one short story called "Ivan the Fool." This short story is very fairy-tale-like, but it also contains humorous philosophies of life. In the fourth part, there are three short stories. This part is titled "Stories of Life."

The fifth section is titled "Folk Tales." This section contains seven stories. All are based on "Russian Folk Tales." Among these short stories, the short story "How Much Does a Man Need?", which describes the greed of a peasant, is a favorite of everyone.

The sixth section, entitled “French Novels Adapted to Russian,” contains two stories. Both are “Russianized” versions of his favorite short stories from French literature, adapting them to Russian. He says that he did not translate them in the usual way, but rather created them as his own, modifying them as needed.

The final section, Part Seven, is titled “Stories for the Persecuted Jews.” This section contains three stories, all of which are written in reference to the Jews who were persecuted in various parts of Russia in 1903.

When I first translated these stories, I called them “Twenty-Three Stories.” Then I changed the name to “Twenty-Three Stories of Tolstoy.” I didn't like that name either.

This is how it finally became “Tolstoy’s Short Stories.” There was a book by Tolstoy that we used to use as a textbook when we were students at university. The short stories in that book, called “Nine Short Stories,” are real short stories. They are not short stories like the ones in this book.

The nine short stories are known to be based on Tolstoy's life experiences. Although they are called short stories, some of them can be called "literary works" in our literary world. These short stories are also famous not only in Russian literature but also in the world of literature. I started translating these short stories in 1996. However, I stopped after translating only two of them for various reasons. I hope that if the literary world develops again, I will be able to continue translating and publishing these short stories.

The great writer Leo Tolstoy often presented his life, worldview, and human morality to his readers through his characters. This is also true of the twenty-three short stories in this book. Some people, when reading these short stories, say that the thoughts and ideas of the great Russian writer Tolstoy are very close to Buddhism. However, I think that these short stories deal with the lack of empathy, forgetfulness, greed, anger, ignorance, and pride of people, the narrow-mindedness of comparing myself to others, the lack of kindness to others, and the stupidity based on lack of knowledge... etc.

Maung Tun Thu 

29. 9.1999