A Flourishing Age

With delicate prose, this book tells a tale of love and hate spanning more than half a century. It brings to life a cast of characters, including Kong Fanqi, Liu Fenglan, and Chen Zihao, all devoted to preserving and passing on Chinese culture.

Kong Fanqi represents the older generation of embroidery artists. She learned the craft from her mother, a master embroiderer, from an early age. She hoped to capture the beauty of Suzhou and Hangzhou, known as a paradise on earth, through her embroidery. But in those turbulent times of war and chaos, that wish was destined to remain a pipe dream.

After liberation, the arrival of Liu Fenglan, a remarkably gifted student, rekindled Kong Fanqi's hope of realizing her vision. Yet, for various reasons, she still could not fulfill it. As the third generation of the Kong family, Chen Zihao learns by chance of the dream shared by his grandmother and her mentor. An ambitious, principled, and capable new-generation entrepreneur, he resolves to make their generations-old dream a reality.

Though the road ahead is full of twists and hardships, he remains steadfast. Once he sets his sights on a goal, he gives everything to achieve it, no matter how much effort and sweat it takes. He embodies the positive spirit of young people today: having ideals and conviction, facing challenges without fear, and daring to innovate and forge new paths.