Plain Fire

Author: Xu Guangyao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: From the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1966, it was a high tide period for the creation and publication of long novels in China. Over a decade, a large number of works were produced, among which dozens had a wide impact and reached their zenith. These works adhered to the principles of socialist realism, using heartfelt enthusiasm and simple artistic expression to celebrate the arduous struggles and vibrant spirit of the Chinese people during different historical periods, including the War of Liberation, the War of Resistance against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the construction of socialism. They represented the highest achievements of long novel creation during that period and occupied an extremely important position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. With their unique charm, they influenced generations of readers and, after being tested by time, have been passed down to this day. To present a more complete picture of the development of contemporary long novels and the state of long novel creation during that period, we have specially compiled and published the "Collected Works of Contemporary Chinese Long Novels" series.
I. The series is based on the "Selected Long Novels" published by our press in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the "Red Classics" series published in the 1990s, and strives to include as many outstanding works as possible.
II. The publication dates of the works in the series are mostly between 1949 and 1965, with some multi-volume works whose publication processes spanned a longer period, extending beyond this timeframe.
III. Due to various reasons, some works have had multiple revised editions. For this publication, we have selected the superior versions and conducted proofreading in reference to other editions.
In May 1942, the entire Jizhong Anti-Japanese Base Area underwent a complete upheaval. Okamura Nishio sat in an airplane, directing the five hundred thousand Japanese troops in a brutal "sweeping campaign." The battles were fierce, and the entire area was engulfed in flames. Japanese cars crushed the golden wheat fields on the ground, cavalry surrounded the villages, setting them ablaze, with towering flames sending black smoke skyward. The infantry, wielding bayonets, pursued and herded the anti-Japanese people from village to village, from east to west and back again. Gunshots echoed everywhere—"ga ga ga gu gu gu"—women and children screamed, countless heroes fell in the blood, many soldiers sacrificed under the bullets, and many local workers threw themselves into rivers, jumping into them. Those with guns fired their last bullet, shattering their own heads in the process. Many young and middle-aged men and village cadres were captured, sent to coal mines, transported beyond the border, and taken to the Japanese islands.