Up plant red lotus, down plant lotus root

Author: Wang Anyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Wang Anyi's new full-length novel, "Planting Red Lotus in the Spring and Lotus in the Autumn," follows the growth experiences of several girls aged eleven or twelve, telling the conscious and unconscious changes that occur in the rural areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang amidst the tide of the market economy. The entire book is written in a delicate and gentle tone, narrating a story about a country girl named Yangbaobao, who has to leave her rural home and move to the city because her parents go into business. This city, so different from the village, becomes the girl's new world. In a year, the little girl explores every corner of Huashu Town, encountering many strange and wonderful people and things (including her boarding teacher Gu's home). Yangbaobao grows up in this new environment without realizing it, and her friendships with her classmates Jiang Yacer and Zhang Rosalind also undergo renewal and development. However, a much broader world awaits Yangbaobao—after a year, her parents will take her to the bigger city of Shaoxing. This is the initial, unremarkable experience of a rural child integrating into the city. Because it is unremarkable, it is easily overlooked or forgotten. But thanks to Wang Anyi's vivid writing, Yangbaobao's year of boarding life makes even the most ordinary places come alive with flavor.