Spine

"The Backbone" is a million-word epic novel about family and country that spans more than seventy years and focuses on the rise of New China's infrastructure. The work takes the legacy of the three generations of craftsmen of the Chen family in southern Henan as the main narrative line, connecting the magnificent journey of New China's ten major super projects, reflecting the ups and downs of the country with individual joys and sorrows, and writing about the rejuvenation of China with the great changes in mountains and rivers. The story begins with the devastation at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Chen Shoushan, the first-generation infrastructure builder, bid farewell to his wife and children in his hometown, and devoted himself to the hard work of pioneering the Qinghai-Tibet Railway for half a century. He carved mountains and paved roads with his own flesh and blood in the snowy, frozen soil, wind and snow, and witnessed more than a hundred builders burying their bones on the plateau and spending their lives to lay the foundation for a great nation. They broke through barbarism with manpower, endured hardships with forbearance, and supported the original mountains and rivers of New China. Times have changed, and his son inherited his father's ambition to serve the country and grew up to be a national-level chief engineering engineer. He traveled across rivers and lakes and tackled century-old projects such as the Three Gorges Dam, the rejuvenation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the West-East Gas Pipeline, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Independently break through the technological blockade, protect people's livelihood when millions of immigrants are separated, balance the choices of home and country in the storm, and complete the era of China's infrastructure from manual hard work to technological breakthrough. Chen Xing, a new generation of young people, came from afar and continued his glory with the scientific research power of the new era, deeply involved in top projects such as Baihetan Hydropower Station, UHV power grid, Daxing International Airport, South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and China Sky Eye. Break down industry barriers, delve into intelligent construction and cutting-edge scientific research, and witness the transformation of China's infrastructure from following to leading the world. The whole book integrates real engineering historical materials, common knowledge of Chinese cultural context, and the fireworks of the people in the city. It connects the land, hydrology, folk customs, and changes of the times, and has both grand structure and delicate human feelings. Three generations, seventy years, one generation buried their bones and expanded the territory, one generation conquered difficulties and broke the situation, and one generation chased the dream of the galaxy. The mountains and rivers are speechless, but the spine has a sound. This book uses the sincerity and perseverance of ordinary builders to explain what is the foundation of a great country and what China's responsibility is, and composes a long song of the times that lasts from generation to generation and the mountains and rivers are immortal. Purpose: The work breaks away from the grand and empty narrative of family and country, and is rooted in the real era and ordinary individuals. It uses the ups and downs of three generations of infrastructure workers of the Chen family in southern Henan to reflect the history of infrastructure development, people's livelihood changes, and civilization renaissance in New China over the past seventy years. The first level of intention: Ordinary is great, nameless is the backbone. Prosperity is never born, and access to mountains and rivers is never natural. All super projects and miracles of great nations are the result of generations of ordinary people risking their lives, enduring hardships, and persevering throughout their lives. Write about the sacrifice and forbearance of the unknown builders, and pay tribute to the hundreds of millions of mortals who supported the rise of the country. The second level of intention: infrastructure is the bones, people's livelihood is the soul, and mountains and rivers are the evidence. Road construction, water supply, electricity transmission, sea connection, and stargazing have always been more than engineering construction. They are about rescuing people from poverty, relieving people from hardship, and providing people with stability. The essence of the ten major super projects is the country's protection of the people and the two-way fulfillment of the mountains and rivers and the people. The third level of intention: three generations of iteration, inheritance of national destiny. The ancestors pioneered the country with their flesh and blood, filling the gaps in the country; the fathers used technology to break through the external blockade; the younger generations used technology to reach the top and lead the world's forefront. Three generations and three missions have witnessed China's complete counterattack from poverty and control to stability and self-reliance through science and technology. The fourth level of intention: continuity of cultural heritage and unity of family and country. Integrating Chinese geography, folklore, century-old national history, and street fireworks into the epic narrative proves that the rise of a great power is not only a victory of engineering and technology, but also the ultimate victory of national resilience, endless civilization, and the passing of spirit from generation to generation. The final point of the book is: mountains and rivers are safe because there are people who bear the burden and move forward; prosperity lasts forever because the spirit is endless.