Introduction to the content of "Outer Branches of Mengsongtang"
In Dingjia Village, Dasha Township, Duchang, the Ding family of Mengsongtang has lived near Po Lake for generations. The new ancestral hall in the village is still under construction, and the clan members have agreed to rebuild the family tree in 2028 when the ancestral hall is completed. The old genealogy that has been handed down for hundreds of years contains detailed records of the men of the past generations, while all the women who married outside the family only have a few words "Ding's name, suitable for someone", and their names, lives, and descendants have all been forgotten.
Ding Wenyuan looked through the remaining music scores and felt sad. He did not want countless bloodlines of the same origin to disappear, so he decided not to change the ancestral genealogy, and searched separately to compile the "Prosperity Records". After that, he traveled to Duchang, Hukou, Poyang, and Nanchang, looking for the Ding family women who had married away from generation to generation and their descendants.
Along the way, he witnessed countless joys and sorrows in the countryside: the difficult journey back to Pohu, the long and helpless search for roots of future generations, and the constant collision of old and new ideas. The conservative elders abide by the ancient rituals, while the younger generation hopes that blood equality will be recorded. Ding Wenyuan kept thinking: What is family roots? In addition to the main trunk, are the thousands of branches of blood spreading outward also worthy of being remembered in words? The novel takes root in the hometown of Pohu in northern Jiangxi, writes about the fate of women ignored by traditional genealogies, and explores the profound propositions between blood, family ties, and local etiquette.
