The sun shines on the Sanggan River.

Author: Ding Ling
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Features: From the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1966, it was a peak period for the creation and publication of Chinese long novels. Over a decade, a large number of works were produced, among which dozens had a far-reaching impact and reached the height of their time. These works adhered to the principles of socialist realism, using heartfelt enthusiasm and a simple artistic style 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 Liberation War, and the construction of socialism. They represented the highest achievements of Chinese long novel creation during that period and hold an extremely important position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. With their unique charm, they have influenced generations of readers and have stood the test of time,. 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 series "Collected Classics of Contemporary Chinese Long Novels."
I. The series is based on the "Selected Long Novels" published by our press in the 1950s and 1960s and the "Red Classics" series published in the 1990s, striving to include as many outstanding works as possible.
II. The publication dates of the works in the series are mostly between 1949 and 1965. However, some multi-volume works have longer publication processes that extend beyond this timeframe.
III. Due to various reasons, some works have had multiple revised editions. For this publication, we have selected the most outstanding ones.
IV. We extend our sincere gratitude to the authors, their families, and the relevant publishing organizations that supported the publication of this series.
The Sun Shines on the Sanggan River is a long novel I wrote, with farmers and rural struggles as its main themes. My background in rural life is not particularly deep, and the characters in the novel are not closely tied to me. However, since I lived with them and fought alongside them, I love this group of people and this period of life. I want to portray them truthfully on paper and leave them for those who read my books. I did not want to portray Zhang Yumin as a flawless hero, nor did I want to portray Cheng Ren as an outstanding peasant league chairman. They could gradually become outstanding people, but they could not become heroes overnight. However, they were indeed among the vanguard in the early stages of land reform. In those times, they were truly rare individuals. Later, I participated in land reform twice as well. Over the past two decades, the majority of my time has been spent in rural areas, where I have encountered all kinds of people, most of whom were farmers or had farming backgrounds. I have met people more progressive and remarkable than Zhang Yumin and Cheng Ren. However, from the rich reality of life, it is often the case that those who lead the way in the early stages of struggles are not always lofty or flawless. But they can progress from here to become lofty and flawless individuals.