Sky Travel Scattered Grass

Author: Tang Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: Born in the 1970s, this young essayist made a mark in the literary world at the turn of the century. In her twenties, she joined the Chinese Writers' Association, and her works have frequently won various awards. Among the few such essayists in the country, Tang Hong is one of them. If we compare Tang Hong's collection of essays to a musical score that embodies the author's life and devotion, then this soulful score undeniably features two striking themes and melodies—those revealed in the title of this article: the theme of pilgrimage, and the theme of celebrating motherhood, maternal love, and family bonds. In the essay collection Sky Journey Sketches, over 100,000 words are dedicated to recording the author's reflections and thoughts from her journey to Tibet. She remains faithful to documenting the routes she traversed and the people she encountered, as well as delicately recalling her harrowing experience of enduring the torment of hypoxia on the high-altitude plateau. This frail young woman from the Jiangnan region—what was she searching for? Engaging in heartfelt conversations with female soldiers in G and becoming friends with veteran soldiers in Lhasa, she became lost in the contrast between the harsh natural environment of the plateau and the noble spirit of the plateau's officers, constantly moved and grateful.