Searching for My Roots

The story opens with Huang Zhenbang, an overseas Chinese man from Indonesia, returning to Xinzheng City in Henan with his family’s ancestral village map and a jade pendant to seek his roots and pay respects to his ancestors. After making offerings at Huangdong Village, a conversation with his nephew, Huang Tianliang, inspires him and elevates his feelings, bringing about a shift in perspective from honoring his own family’s ancestors to honoring the ancestors of his people. As the story unfolds, the revival of folk rituals, the efforts of local officials, and the support of overseas Chinese help transform the scattered customs of honoring the Yellow Emperor in Xinzheng into a distinctive cultural emblem of the region. Through the interactions of four generations of the Huang family with villagers, cultural relics officials, and relevant department heads, the work depicts the transformation of traditional culture from a memory rooted in the countryside, to a symbol of Henan culture, and then to an international calling card. It reflects how cultural heritage and local development in Henan can thrive together.