Fragments of Republican-Era China: Joyless

Fengshang Pavilion tells you: Reading is a beautiful thing.

http://www.hongxiu.com/fengshang/

A picturesque town, years flowing like water.

In twenty years, I lived the life I was meant to live.

When I looked back, they were all gone:

my parents, my brothers and sisters, my beloved...

In those years when no one could find a place to call home,

each of us was no more than a floating duckweed.

Fate played one cruel joke after another,

driving people from their homes and leaving them weeping in despair.

One breach of trust, one miscalculation, and in a single night a family was destroyed.

Selfish hearts can deceive Heaven and become utterly merciless.

Coincidence, destiny, reincarnation.

No amount of tears could awaken the last trace of conscience or kindness.

Here, there is no room for romance, only grudges and vengeance.

One chance encounter determined the course of two lives.

When fate begins, it is already ending; when it comes to pass, it is already empty.

There can be no happy ending, only sorrow.

This novel is adapted from true stories told by our parents’ generation, set during the Republican era. Spanning two generations of resentment and sorrow, it contains little romance, instead using realistic prose to portray the rise and fall of a family in that era.

It’s a slow burn, so I hope you’ll read patiently.

You can join Liu Li’s QQ group: 132645822. Use the book’s title or any character’s name as the entry password. Looking forward to chatting with you.