The dust has settled (Representative works of contemporary Chinese famous writers' long novels)

Author: A Lai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: Representative long of contemporary Chinese famous writers. A Lai, a Tibetan, born in 1959 in, northwestern Sichuan Tibetan area. Currently serves as the President and Editor-in-Chief of the《》magazine. Authored the long《》, the short story collection《》《》, the long geographical prose《》, the prose collection《》, and the poetry collection《》.《》won the Fifth. "I" began my chronicles at the age of thirteen on a snowy morning. At eighteen, the maid let "I" understand the matters of men and women for the first time and became "I" personal attendant. Because he failed to retrieve the headman's head who betrayed him, the went to the provincial capital to file a complaint, bringing in the special envoy. He equipped "I" family with a "modernized army," assisting in recapturing the rebel village and defeating the. Before leaving, the yellow envoy left a bag of mysterious opium seeds. The following summer, the poppies bloomed brilliantly, and the desires of the men soared to unprecedented heights. During a mountain excursion, the fell in love with the beautiful wife of the headman and designed to have the headman's steward killed, claiming the headman was plotting rebellion. Subsequently, was brought into the's mansion. Enraged, the's wife had killed, but the seized the opportunity to claim that had killed the headman to usurp power and that he had now exposed him, thus justifying his execution. That night, 's wife set fire to her own village, which had become the's property, and threw herself into the flames. Her two sons escaped the 's jurisdiction, waiting for the chance to avenge their father. That year, an earthquake struck, but the poppies yielded a bountiful harvest. accepted the silver's proposal of marriage. Since the opium seeds were never to be revealed, the became the target of hatred from many other . Driven by immense temptation, the neighboring sent three warriors to steal the seeds, with the three human heads returned as proof, each ear containing the precious seeds. During a tour of the, "I" discovered the secret of the "blooming ears." Thus, another war broke out between the and the , with the emerging victorious, though at the cost of the child born from his love with , who died shortly after birth. The grew increasingly wealthy and powerful. In another planting season, the people could not agree on what to grow. "I" believed they should plant grain, while my brother insisted on planting poppies. The the "fool's" advice. The grain yielded a bountiful harvest, while the surrounding , still greedy for the former profits of the poppies, faced a famine. The grain of the became as valuable as gold. To test his two sons, the assigned them to manage the frontier granaries. The eldest son lost weapons and grain in frequent battles, while "I" used the precious grain to feed the starving people of the , gaining their allegiance and winning the beautiful daughter of the female with the grain, though it pained "I" deeply that this beauty did not love the "fool." "I" gradually transformed the area around the granaries into a market, beginning to engage in business, with silver and treasures flowing in. Here, the avenger—'s second son—appeared, with the goal of the and the eldest son. "I" returned home with great wealth and a beautiful wife, only to lose the right to inherit the ship at the same time. The old decided to abdicate, proclaiming the eldest son as his successor. Afterward, "I" wife betrayed "I", throwing herself into the arms of the eldest son, who had long been coveting her. Grief made "I" silent, and "I" sought the purple robe of the dead from the executioner's home, wearing it day and night and restoring the "fool's" appearance. Finally, the enemies plunged the knife into the belly of the young . Seeing the decline of the family, the female again instigated her daughter to seduce the young . "I" returned to the frontier market "I" had founded. The yellow envoy returned, bringing women and syphilis, becoming "I" steward. returned, but she never had children of her own, and the also grew increasingly old. The of the nearby areas indulged in the beautiful women, contracting unheard-of diseases. The poppy flowers no longer bloomed, the beautiful women no longer came, and the joined the silence of the earth. Finally, 's eldest son raised his knife to "I." As the, all "I" hoped was that my soul would be reborn on this beautiful land.