Root's attachment

Author: Xu Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: For about seventeen or eighteen years, I have devoted a significant portion of my time and energy to field research, understanding the ecological conditions of China's land desertification, rivers, wetlands, and other environmental aspects. I have traveled extensively, particularly in the western regions, more specifically west of Hexi Corridor. The sandstorms, cracked soil, and vast deserts have deeply imprinted in my heart, becoming a profound sense of life. The insights I have gained from the land, and the reflections that have followed, represent a truly fortunate period in my writing career. At least in this era where everyone talks about profit, I have stood in the wilderness, calling out and watching over. I have not become shallower, but depth and nobility are certainly not within reach. Especially when compared to all the life on the land, how can I possibly understand a small blade of grass in its entirety? How can I sense the towering desert poplar that stands alone in the desert, its golden leaves intoxicating in autumn? I have only faintly called out and repeated, about the land, about water, about grains and vegetables, about planting grass and trees, about approaching brilliance with caution. I have searched for the little patches of green in the desert, the background of the tree planters in the wilderness, and the dead desert poplars along the Tarim River. I have also encountered recently abandoned ruins on the sandstorm line, stroking the eroding sheep dung balls, and stroking the passage of time. Where are the herders and their lambs now? All the fragments, chapters, or even titles are merely records I have collected from the land and a dream.