“Selling Blood, Reading Pain”: Indonesian Readers' Responses to Sacrifice and Black Humor in Yu Hua's Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20961/mandarinable.v5i1.3525Keywords:
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, Indonesian Readers, Reception, Sacrifice, Yu HuaAbstract
This study examines Indonesian readers' responses to sacrifice and black humor in Yu Hua's Chronicle of a Blood Merchant. The novel tells the story of Xu Sanguan, a poor peasant who sells his blood repeatedly to support his family. What makes this novel distinctive is its unique narrative tone: a blend of tragedy and dark humor, using qualitative thematic analysis of 35 reader reviews from Goodreads and online book blogs, this research focuses on two aspects: how Indonesian readers respond to Xu Sanguan's sacrifices; and how they experience the novel's black humor. The findings reveal three key patterns. First, Indonesian readers strongly empathize with Xu Sanguan's sacrifices, appreciating his transformation from a selfish young man to a devoted father. Second, readers consistently recognize and appreciate the novel's black humor, describing their experience as "laughing and crying at the same time," what critics call "humor under the gallows". Third, the combination of sacrifice and dark humor makes the novel's critique of China's revolutionary era more accessible to Indonesian readers, who understand the universal themes of suffering, resilience, and family love. This study contributes to the cross-cultural reception of contemporary Chinese literature in Indonesia and offers insights into how Indonesian readers navigate themes of sacrifice, resilience, and laughter across cultural boundaries.
References
Azizah, A. I. (2016). Analisis klasifikasi emosi tokoh utama dalam novel To Live karya Agustinus Wibowo dalam tinjauan psikologi sastra (Skripsi). Universitas Brawijaya, Malang.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Chen, M. (陈默). (2011). Analysis of Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua on black humor. Journal of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, 2011(4).
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Hang, L. (2024). Reception practice from a cross-cultural perspective: A study of Thai readers' reading experience of Chinese online novels. Journal of Roi Kaensarn Academi, 9(6), 150-161.
Iser, W. (1978). The act of reading: A theory of aesthetic response. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jauss, H. R. (1982). Toward an aesthetic of reception (T. Bahti, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1970)
Obrdlik, A. J. (1942). 'Gallows humor'—A sociological phenomenon. American Journal of Sociology, 47(5), 709-716.
Pasteruk, I. (2020). Community development in Indonesia: Contemporary aspects of culture. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Community Development (ICCD 2020) (Vol. 477, pp. 1-6). Atlantis Press.
Sisilia, B. A. (2025). Analisis filosofis situasi batas Karl Jaspers dalam novel To Live karya Yu Hua (Skripsi). Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta.
Tomo, S. W., Wardana, A., Indrahadi, D., Zummi, N. Q. A., & Sulistyosari, Y. (2020). The waning gotong-royong: Assessing the intergenerational decline of social trust in the contemporary Indonesia society. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 467, 303-308.
Triratnawati, A. (2021). Ketahanan keluarga orang dengan HIV/AIDS (ODHA) di masa pandemi COVID-19: Studi kasus di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Jurnal Antropologi: Isu-Isu Sosial Budaya, 23(1), 74-82.
Wang, W. Y. (王委艳). (2006). Shēngmìng de zhīdiǎn — Yú Huá Xǔ Sānguān Mài Xuè Jì jiégòu fēnxī [生命的支点——余华《许三观卖血记》结构分析] [The fulcrum of life: Structural analysis of Yu Hua's Chronicle of a Blood Merchant]. Journal of Jingmen Vocational Technical College, (4), 38-41.
Wang, Y. G. (王亚光). (2014). An analysis on Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua from the view of black humor. Cultural Industry, 2014(10).
Wu, M. R. (吴梦如). (2018). Kǔnàn de kuánghuān — Cóng Xǔ Sānguān Mài Xuè Jì kàn Yú Huá xiǎoshuō de hēisè yōumò [苦难的狂欢——从《许三观卖血记》看余华小说的黑色幽默] [Carnival of suffering: Analyzing black humor in Yu Hua's novels through Chronicle of a Blood Merchant]. Shenzhou, (1), 1-2, 4.
Yang, Z., Ain, R. B., Quan, B., & Liu, J. (2025). An overview of studies on the dissemination and reception of Dream of the Red Chamber in Malaysia. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology.
Yao, Y. Y. (姚月燕). (2022). 莫言小说的幽默 [Mo Yan's humor]. Oriental Press.
Yu, H. (2003). Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (A. F. Jones, Trans.). Pantheon Books. (Original work published 1995)
Yu, H. (2017). Kisah Seorang Pedagang Darah. (A. Wibowo, Penerjemah). Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Yu, H. (2004). Xǔ Sānguān mài xuè jì (许三观卖血记) [Chronicle of a Blood Merchant] (2nd ed.). Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.
Zhang, L. (张莉). (2010). Hánzhe yǎnlèi jiǎng xiàohuà — Lùn Yú Huá zuòpǐn zhōng hēisè yōumò de shèhuì nèihán [含着眼泪讲笑话——论余华作品中黑色幽默的社会内涵] [Telling jokes with tears: The social connotations of black humor in Yu Hua's works]. Qingnian Zuojia, (4).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elizabeth Irene Hartanto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access journal in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This permits users to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
