The Gate: a Monologue of an Immigrant

"I" and "Shan Ming" were born and raised in a third-tier factory in central and southern China, and were classmates in elementary school. The two left the factory with their respective families when they were teenagers, and they were separated from each other until they reunited more than 20 years later. When they reunited, both of them were divorced. "I" immigrated to Canada when I was young, and later returned to China for a short stay. After "Shan Ming" returned to his hometown of Chongqing with his parents, he failed the college entrance examination and worked in a cement factory. He was laid off and unemployed in the wave of reform and opening up. After getting married, the two returned to Canada together, gave birth to their children in Canada, and started a new life. This semi-fictional novel uses the above-mentioned plot as its meridian, inner description as its texture, and adopts a writing method in which multiple clues go hand in hand. First of all, this book tells the story of how "I" started outdoors and walked on the North American continent and the mountains and rivers of my hometown in the dual loneliness of immigration and divorce, the process of rediscovering myself and re-establishing the direction of life; Secondly, this book tells the story of how "Shan Ming" lost his foothold in the era of reform and opening up, and how he persisted in himself amidst blows and hesitation; Ultimately, this book tells the story of the two people who came to a foreign land together, between new immigrants and old immigrants, between their different social identities and different pasts, between nostalgia and cultural shock, between nostalgia for the past and prospects for the future after having children, between the darkness and light of human nature shared by all, the process of conflict, doubt, and search, until they suddenly understood and understood each other. There are four chapters in the book. There is also an interlude and a prelude.