This novel chronicles not only the journeys of the people of Yimeng, but also, through the interplay of keyboards and hoes and the dialogue between the cloud and cooking smoke, reshapes the spiritual heights of the Chinese Dream.
Drawing on more than a decade of collected material, the author offers the first sweeping portrait of urbanization in the Yimeng Mountains from 1980 to 2025. The sweeping changes in Qingluan Village and the county town form a living picture of Chinese-style modernization, like a modern-day Along the River During the Qingming Festival, and a vivid testament to the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
A dozen or more women struggle and submit within their marriages, caught in a harsh existence where “even dogs know better than people where the line is.” Yet through the revelation that “love is protection, it is letting go, it is joy in every day,” they transcend their circumstances. Dozens of original poems glisten like dewdrops on the branches of the narrative. They preserve the lyrical beauty of the Book of Songs while pulsing with the rhythm of the times, lending the novel the vitality of modern storytelling.
From the simple ethic of “the conscience as a ruler, the body as a clock,” to judging actions by asking “does my conscience agree, does my body feel right,” and conducting oneself by “not coveting or taking, not fighting or grasping,” the journey ultimately reaches unity of body and mind through the practice of “clearing away distractions and healing the heart with poetry.” These insights, forged from Confucian ethics, traditional Chinese medicine, work, and everyday life, receive a fresh interpretation in the digital age.
Let these unfashionable words be your guide. They will take you along stone-paved roads and through more than forty years, until you finally stop beneath the crooked willow. There, Sixth Uncle’s pipe glows and fades, just like starlight that never went out.
The description is delicate, the plot is touching and true, and it is hard to put down.
The characters in this novel are successfully created, the characters are distinct and three-dimensional, the plot structure is reasonable and coherent, the arrangement is clever, the language style is vivid, concise and clear. It is a good novel worth reading.
In the 1980s, I was a child, a simple and unpretentious era, with a poor and difficult material life, and a future full of hope and vitality, looking forward to the shoulders of the new generation who are gradually growing up! The author seems to take us back to forty years ago! Those confused moments, those happy and confused old times left many deep and sour memories!
Such a beautiful and very real rural story, well worth reading...
Such a style and such a book are rare
Returning to the mountain is both the end and the starting point, and love is the protection and fulfillment! A very beautiful and romantic novel, worth recommending to everyone👍
The article is novel in material, unique in perspective, wonderful in conception, and delicate in writing. There is a sense of age and pyrotechnics between the lines. A book worth recommending!
Excellent content description