This book, titled The Heroes of the Taihang Mountains, was written at the request of several people who lived through the events more than thirty years ago. For most of his life, Shen Shenhuo drifted among the lowliest laborers. Remembering how his predecessors feared neither death nor hardship, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their cause, he thought of iron steeds treading across frozen rivers, blades honed through frost for an empire that would endure for a thousand autumns, and eagles circling the great desert, their heroic spirit sweeping across the land for generations. Thus it was also titled The Dragon Rises: The Zhang Chronicles. Reflecting on the events of his own life, the author was struck by how people turn against one another, always wanting to kill their fellows when things come to a head. So he gave it the pseudonym The Calf’s Struggle to Survive.
