Above the Spine

Synopsis of the novella Above the Back

Based on true events by the shores of Poyang Lake in Duchang County, Jiangxi, this novella tells the story of Zhang Zhifang, a boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Diagnosed with the incurable disease in early childhood, he suffers from steadily worsening leg strength and completely loses the ability to walk on his own in fourth grade. Forced by their financial circumstances to work far from home, his parents leave his elderly grandfather, Zhang Songbai, to shoulder the burden. For nine years, rain or shine, the old man carries his grandson along muddy country roads to and from school, day after day. Through muddy plum rains, sweltering summers, and frosty winters, the winding paths along the dikes bend the old man's back, while his shoulders become the boy's very own portable desk. Though trapped by hardship and adversity, the boy refuses to bow to fate. Knowing that studying is his only way forward, he burns the midnight oil, pouring every grievance and hope into his writing. After more than a decade of diligent study, he pushes past the limits of his body and gives his all in the college entrance exam, earning admission to Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications with outstanding results. Set against the rural landscape of Poyang Lake, the novella follows the long journey of a grandfather and grandson in pursuit of education, depicting both the hardship and tenderness of a working-class family. It celebrates the immense power of ordinary family love and tells the story of a poor student's dream of defying fate and fighting his way forward against the odds.