What good is a town without people? Wu Township is hollowing out. Our most capable sons and daughters have long since uprooted from their birthplace on the central plains to fuel China's economic miracle. The ancient trees now sit in the shade of a modern aqueduct, funnelling even our precious water to the metropolises beyond. From the marketplace where gossip is traded to the long-abandoned execution grounds, ordinary life carries on. For we who remain, feuds between neighbours compound the burdens shared by increasingly ageing shoulders. But If you know where to look, you'll find the town still clings to its customs and dreams. Let me show you around. If we're lucky, we'll run into the benevolent doctor or beauty store owner, and if we're not, the corrupt local official, perhaps even the souls of executed ancestors. Why do you want to visit? To see it before it's all gone... of course.
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The Sacred Clan tells the story of Wu Township, following its journey as it succumbs to the competition of the urbanised metropolises. Telling the narrative through the town, several short stories give a glimpse into the lives of those who stayed over the years, and how their way has changed in the wake of China's rapid economic development.
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1. A Shining Cloud Moving Over the Skies of Wu Town 2. Drifting 3. The Holy Man, Dequan 4. Xu Jialiang Builds a House 5. Swimming in the Second River 6. The Beauty, Caihong 7. Meatheads 8. That Bright, Snowy Afternoon 9. The Exercise Ground 10. The Good Man, Lan Wei About the Author About the Translator About Sinoist Books
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Praise for the author;"Speaks to universal challenges, problems facing not just Chinese villages but also alienated communities around the world." - Ian Johnson, New York Times;"It is in these stories that the universality of people's hopes, fears and frustrations really shines through." - Jo Lateu, New Internationalist; "Stunningly insightful... What makes Liang's study so compelling is the way in which it offers a glimpse of a world in which personal problems ... exist on the same level as broader social and political problems." Mark Rappolt, ArtReview
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What good is a town without people?

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781838905613
Publisert
2023-07-28
Utgiver
Vendor
Sinoist Books
Høyde
216 mm
Bredde
140 mm
Aldersnivå
00, G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
304

Forfatter

Biographical note

Liang Hong (b.1973) is a writer, essayist and professor at Renmin University of China. Growing up in a village in rural China, Liang Hong's talent and work ethic drove her to pursue writing and academia in the city; however, it is her determination to hold on to the memories of her rural upbringing that sets her apart from the crowd. Narrativising rural China, she has been heralded by critics as a trailblazer, focusing on the lives of ordinary rural people and exploring something other than the metropolis. In addition to her novels, Liang is also a prolific writer of short stories and literary criticism. She has won a number of prizes, including the Seventh Wenjin Books Award of the National Library of China and the Second Zhu Ziqing Prose award.