A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains (original Work of "a Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" Starring Zhang Ruoyun and Liu Shishi)
by Sun Ganlu
About This Novel
The winning works of the 11th Mao Dun Literature Award and the 16th "Five One Project" Award for Spiritual Civilization Construction! Sun Ganlu's stunning new novel presents the thrilling secret war in Shanghai in the 1930s with astonishing literary quality! In 1933, on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, dark clouds enveloped Shanghai. A secret meeting was suddenly interrupted and half of the participants were arrested. Chen Qianli was ordered to reorganize his team in the face of danger and continue to implement the top-secret plan. Under the watchful eye of the public, a pre-announced dangerous battle for relocation begins... "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" salvages hidden and great historical events from Shanghai in the 1930s, and uses literary methods to imagine and present its process. The author kneads earth into bones, turns mud into flesh, and reunites the idealists scattered in the dust of history with their spirit and flesh and blood to join in the anxious and troubled times. They are fathers, lovers, and brothers, and they embark on an unfathomable journey in the dark night. In the darkest moment of loneliness, what a person sees and what he is willing to see determines what kind of person he will become.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Official(8)Scraped 1mo ago
Overall, it's a great spy story with ups and downs and exciting twists. The image of Yi Junnian is well created, especially in the early stage, the character's image is more plump than Chen Qianli. But then the story between Chen Qianli and Ye Tao was revealed step by step, and Chen Qianli's image became more and more tenable. Ye Tao did not appear directly, but was written from Chen Qianli's memories, and the portrayal was very successful. Wei Dafu didn't put too much emphasis on it in the early stage, but he took on a very important task in the end, and the "Death Room" immediately established his image. I think the highlight of the article is the ending. Wei Dafu rejected the only chance of survival, and all the members of the underground team jumped into the trap without hesitation. This bravery and fearless spirit of dedicating everything to the revolution is very touching. The article ends very well. One more stroke would be too much, one less stroke would be insufficient. The next highlight is the appendix. Alas, although the ending is not clearly given in the main text, judging from the appendix, they all died. Although I know this is probably the case, my heart still hurts when I see it. This arrangement is also very good. The letter I don't know who wrote it was also very well written. (After reading this, I want to travel to Shanghai, haha. Take a look at the places where the revolutionary ancestors fought hard) The interview with Chen Qianli once again established this image, which is very positive. The document that explains the ending of the characters is also embarrassing. Like when I read historical records and the like, a person's life is explained in so few lines. Their voices, smiles, what they thought, and what kind of suffering they experienced can only be imagined by future generations. I prefer the writing style of this article, it is concise and smooth. I didn't give it five stars, probably because this novel is a relatively simple story overall, and the characters are relatively simple in design. Although the writing is very good, they are not very complex, very round characters, which are far inferior to the character creation in works such as "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Gone with the Wind". It's a good work, but not great. That's it for the post-reading comments. It's still a very good reading experience
Not bad
The second book I read this week is "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", written by Shanghai writer Sun Bailu. The last impressive work written by a Shanghai writer was Jin Yucheng's "Flowers". The story of a small character in a big city is dense and realistic, full of Shanghainese dialect and local customs, and is unique. And this book always feels like the plot is a bit anticlimactic. The spy wars in the 1930s are true and false, and they try to use each other. The author very cleverly uses many old place names and allusions in Shanghai (unfortunately, these outsiders may not know about it), plus there is a red background story. Maybe this is a bonus point for winning the Mao Dun Literature Award. While watching it, I was thinking that if it were made into a TV series, those iconic buildings might be more intuitive and the details could be richer.
In one word, it is really wonderful
In Sun Ganlu's eyes, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" is not only the ultimate meticulous painting of green landscapes, but also more like a slowly unfolding novel. Its scroll structure implies time, clues, and hidden stories. Although the colors are magnificent, they imply a vague imagination of a prosperous age. It was not a frozen moment, but a journey through a prosperous age that was destined to disappear.
This book has been on my reading list for a long time. If I hadn't accidentally seen an article in the headlines, I would probably have stayed there for a while. The story is very exciting, especially the character Lao Yi is well created. After watching Top Secret Mission and then watching A Thousand Miles of Mountains, I thought it was perfect. A red traffic line spanning thousands of miles, each person fighting for their faith vividly appears on the page.
The first half was too draggy, but the second half was much better paced.
If a moth flying into a flame is a choice - About "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains"
If flying a moth into a flame is a choice, then what you witness in history may be a miracle. You see a group of people doing something they know is impossible, you see them trying to "fly into a flame" or "trying to use a mantis' arm as a chariot", you see them choosing the path that was least understood and most dangerous by the world at that time, you see them using themselves as bricks and tiles to pave the way for the future. "I'm afraid you will suddenly disappear one day, just like water entering the ocean." "Then you can see me when you face the sea." This is a conversation between a pair of lovers in Ling Wen's novel, and it is also a portrayal of herself and Long Dong. Perhaps Long Dong did not say this to her in reality. She just imagined what kind of dialogue might happen between them in such a situation based on her impression of Long Dong's character and tone, and wrote it down by chance. In the era of war, such scenes were shown in many places on the motherland, among relatives, lovers, friends, comrades and many other people. No one knows whether the people who just had breakfast together the morning before will be there at noon the next day; no one knows whether the people who missed it will meet again, or whether the people who have gone far are gone forever, so what is left is not the promise "We will meet again one day" but "Then you can see me when you face the sea." Personal friendship is compared with the revolutionary cause, and personal destiny is compared with the destiny of the motherland. They resolutely chose the latter, choosing the most difficult but least regretful way to spend their lives. Ye Tao could live a good life under the protection of her father, but she chose to strengthen her faith and fight for it, embarking on the road of confrontation with her father; when Chen Qianyuan, Lin Shi, Ling Wen and others were arrested and imprisoned and faced torture, they could also choose an easier path and compromise with the enemy instead of living in panic. Their fate was on the line, but they did not; Liang Shichao could have not gone to the riverside, even if the enemy thought he had left Shanghai, he said he was needed here... At first, their faces may be green, and their behavior may be impulsive and immature, such as Liang Shichao, who suspected Lin Shi and tied him up because of some doubts; but they grew up in conspiracy and blood, fighting wits and courage with the enemy and even taking advantage of the enemy in reverse, such as Wei Dafu, who surrendered to the enemy in a dress but ended up dead, giving up his last chance of survival. The Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains Project, which stretches thousands of miles at a time, condenses the wisdom, blood and tears of countless ancestors, but also retains the fire of revolution, so that a single spark can one day start a prairie fire.
Who says that only those who stand in the light are heroes - About "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains"
I think the most exciting part of the plot in the book is the revelation of the identity of Xishi, but what moved me the most was the second material in the appendix at the end of the book - "Members of the underground organization of the Chinese Communist Party who died in related actions." Among the 12 people clearly recorded in the book, 11 names will feel familiar to us after reading the book, but there is another "Anonymous". From beginning to end, we don't know his real name, age, identity, or whether he has any relatives or friends who care about him... We only know that his sacrifice allowed some people who participated in the secret meeting to escape. His record is only a few lines long, but it may be the most thrilling half of a person's life: "Anonymous, a member of the secret intelligence network of the CCP's underground organization, lurking in the patrol house in the concession. In order to warn the CCP's underground organization that was preparing to hold a secret meeting, he died in the Shanghai Sima Road vegetable market on January 10, 1933." In such a special era, in the turbulent Longhua, in the fierce political struggle, a person can only take a few steps from birth to death. Life is so precious, but there is a group of people who cannot leave their names in history and find it difficult to show their faces in the public. Because of their responsibilities and beliefs, they sleep in the shadows and live in the shadows... Living in the shadows, waiting for the dawn of the day, or perhaps becoming a ray of light that makes up the dawn. Pay tribute to the heroes who march in the dark night and in the shadows. Every effort will not be let down.
Rating
Community(0)
Official(8)Scraped 1mo ago
Overall, it's a great spy story with ups and downs and exciting twists. The image of Yi Junnian is well created, especially in the early stage, the character's image is more plump than Chen Qianli. But then the story between Chen Qianli and Ye Tao was revealed step by step, and Chen Qianli's image became more and more tenable. Ye Tao did not appear directly, but was written from Chen Qianli's memories, and the portrayal was very successful. Wei Dafu didn't put too much emphasis on it in the early stage, but he took on a very important task in the end, and the "Death Room" immediately established his image. I think the highlight of the article is the ending. Wei Dafu rejected the only chance of survival, and all the members of the underground team jumped into the trap without hesitation. This bravery and fearless spirit of dedicating everything to the revolution is very touching. The article ends very well. One more stroke would be too much, one less stroke would be insufficient. The next highlight is the appendix. Alas, although the ending is not clearly given in the main text, judging from the appendix, they all died. Although I know this is probably the case, my heart still hurts when I see it. This arrangement is also very good. The letter I don't know who wrote it was also very well written. (After reading this, I want to travel to Shanghai, haha. Take a look at the places where the revolutionary ancestors fought hard) The interview with Chen Qianli once again established this image, which is very positive. The document that explains the ending of the characters is also embarrassing. Like when I read historical records and the like, a person's life is explained in so few lines. Their voices, smiles, what they thought, and what kind of suffering they experienced can only be imagined by future generations. I prefer the writing style of this article, it is concise and smooth. I didn't give it five stars, probably because this novel is a relatively simple story overall, and the characters are relatively simple in design. Although the writing is very good, they are not very complex, very round characters, which are far inferior to the character creation in works such as "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Gone with the Wind". It's a good work, but not great. That's it for the post-reading comments. It's still a very good reading experience
Not bad
The second book I read this week is "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", written by Shanghai writer Sun Bailu. The last impressive work written by a Shanghai writer was Jin Yucheng's "Flowers". The story of a small character in a big city is dense and realistic, full of Shanghainese dialect and local customs, and is unique. And this book always feels like the plot is a bit anticlimactic. The spy wars in the 1930s are true and false, and they try to use each other. The author very cleverly uses many old place names and allusions in Shanghai (unfortunately, these outsiders may not know about it), plus there is a red background story. Maybe this is a bonus point for winning the Mao Dun Literature Award. While watching it, I was thinking that if it were made into a TV series, those iconic buildings might be more intuitive and the details could be richer.
In one word, it is really wonderful
In Sun Ganlu's eyes, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" is not only the ultimate meticulous painting of green landscapes, but also more like a slowly unfolding novel. Its scroll structure implies time, clues, and hidden stories. Although the colors are magnificent, they imply a vague imagination of a prosperous age. It was not a frozen moment, but a journey through a prosperous age that was destined to disappear.
This book has been on my reading list for a long time. If I hadn't accidentally seen an article in the headlines, I would probably have stayed there for a while. The story is very exciting, especially the character Lao Yi is well created. After watching Top Secret Mission and then watching A Thousand Miles of Mountains, I thought it was perfect. A red traffic line spanning thousands of miles, each person fighting for their faith vividly appears on the page.
The first half was too draggy, but the second half was much better paced.
If a moth flying into a flame is a choice - About "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains"
If flying a moth into a flame is a choice, then what you witness in history may be a miracle. You see a group of people doing something they know is impossible, you see them trying to "fly into a flame" or "trying to use a mantis' arm as a chariot", you see them choosing the path that was least understood and most dangerous by the world at that time, you see them using themselves as bricks and tiles to pave the way for the future. "I'm afraid you will suddenly disappear one day, just like water entering the ocean." "Then you can see me when you face the sea." This is a conversation between a pair of lovers in Ling Wen's novel, and it is also a portrayal of herself and Long Dong. Perhaps Long Dong did not say this to her in reality. She just imagined what kind of dialogue might happen between them in such a situation based on her impression of Long Dong's character and tone, and wrote it down by chance. In the era of war, such scenes were shown in many places on the motherland, among relatives, lovers, friends, comrades and many other people. No one knows whether the people who just had breakfast together the morning before will be there at noon the next day; no one knows whether the people who missed it will meet again, or whether the people who have gone far are gone forever, so what is left is not the promise "We will meet again one day" but "Then you can see me when you face the sea." Personal friendship is compared with the revolutionary cause, and personal destiny is compared with the destiny of the motherland. They resolutely chose the latter, choosing the most difficult but least regretful way to spend their lives. Ye Tao could live a good life under the protection of her father, but she chose to strengthen her faith and fight for it, embarking on the road of confrontation with her father; when Chen Qianyuan, Lin Shi, Ling Wen and others were arrested and imprisoned and faced torture, they could also choose an easier path and compromise with the enemy instead of living in panic. Their fate was on the line, but they did not; Liang Shichao could have not gone to the riverside, even if the enemy thought he had left Shanghai, he said he was needed here... At first, their faces may be green, and their behavior may be impulsive and immature, such as Liang Shichao, who suspected Lin Shi and tied him up because of some doubts; but they grew up in conspiracy and blood, fighting wits and courage with the enemy and even taking advantage of the enemy in reverse, such as Wei Dafu, who surrendered to the enemy in a dress but ended up dead, giving up his last chance of survival. The Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains Project, which stretches thousands of miles at a time, condenses the wisdom, blood and tears of countless ancestors, but also retains the fire of revolution, so that a single spark can one day start a prairie fire.
Who says that only those who stand in the light are heroes - About "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains"
I think the most exciting part of the plot in the book is the revelation of the identity of Xishi, but what moved me the most was the second material in the appendix at the end of the book - "Members of the underground organization of the Chinese Communist Party who died in related actions." Among the 12 people clearly recorded in the book, 11 names will feel familiar to us after reading the book, but there is another "Anonymous". From beginning to end, we don't know his real name, age, identity, or whether he has any relatives or friends who care about him... We only know that his sacrifice allowed some people who participated in the secret meeting to escape. His record is only a few lines long, but it may be the most thrilling half of a person's life: "Anonymous, a member of the secret intelligence network of the CCP's underground organization, lurking in the patrol house in the concession. In order to warn the CCP's underground organization that was preparing to hold a secret meeting, he died in the Shanghai Sima Road vegetable market on January 10, 1933." In such a special era, in the turbulent Longhua, in the fierce political struggle, a person can only take a few steps from birth to death. Life is so precious, but there is a group of people who cannot leave their names in history and find it difficult to show their faces in the public. Because of their responsibilities and beliefs, they sleep in the shadows and live in the shadows... Living in the shadows, waiting for the dawn of the day, or perhaps becoming a ray of light that makes up the dawn. Pay tribute to the heroes who march in the dark night and in the shadows. Every effort will not be let down.
