Looking for a home

Author: Gao Ertai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: This series compiles non-fiction essays, a broad definition of prose, unrestricted by narrative, lyrical, or discursive styles, and encompasses various forms such as articles, diaries, and letters. The key is their connection to the earth. Here, there is the heaviness, simplicity, fragrance, and bitterness of the soil, the gentleness of water, as well as drought and thirst. Reading excerpt: My hometown, Gaochun, is located at the southwestern tip of Jiangsu Province and borders Anhui Province, aptly described as the "Jiangsu head and Chu tail." The terrain is higher in the east and lower in the west. The eastern part is where the Maoshan Mountains and Tianmushan Mountains meet, with high mountains and dense forests, commonly known as the "mountainous region." The western part is surrounded by three lakes—Danyang Lake, Shijiu Lake, and Xiaonan Lake—where streams and rivers crisscross, and reed marshes stretch endlessly, known as the "waterlogged region." The earliest county seat, Gucheng, was established in 541 BC, over two hundred years earlier than when King Wei of Chu built the Stone City and established Jinling County (333 BC). It can be called an ancient town. By the time I was born, Gucheng had long been abandoned, and the county seat of Chunxi Town was also just a small town with only a few thousand households. The town had only one narrow, winding street over three meters wide, paved with flagstones, commonly known as the "old street."