Spring in Winter (Upper and Lower)

Author: Li Guowen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Since its establishment, the Mao Dun Literature Prize has held five sessions, with a total of 22 long novels (two additional works received honorary awards). Most of these winning works have achieved breakthroughs in the narrative art of long novels, possessing certain ideological depth and strong artistic appeal. They represent the overall pinnacle of long-form creation, showcasing the outstanding achievements of China's long novel writing over the past two decades in the new era, and have become a benchmark in the minds of contemporary Chinese writers. Among them, there are works that reflect on our winding journey and hold enlightenment and guiding significance for new-era literature, such as Xu Mao and His Daughters, Furong Town, and General's Ode; works that depict the profound hardships and constraints of our nation, delving into deep reflections on the fate of the country and the nation, such as Yellow River Flows East, Heavy Wings, and Choice; works that portray the destinies of characters and observe them in the context of social changes, writing about life's struggles and striving, such as The Funeral of a Muslim, The Dust Settles, and The Ballad of Changhen; long historical novels that draw lessons from history and explore the deep cultural connotations of our nation, such as Li Zicheng, The Young Emperor, and White Gate Willow; and even monumental works like Ordinary World and White Deer Plain, which are heavy and somber, reaching the depths of the soul. It can be said that some winning works of the Mao Dun Literature Prize have become classics of contemporary Chinese long novels, holding a pivotal position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. They not only represent the highest level of contemporary Chinese long novel writing but also resonate deeply, exerting immense influence. Several of them have sold over a million copies, and there is no doubt that their awards symbolize the authority of this prize.
Now, with the strong support of the authors, their families, and relevant publishing organizations, the Complete Collection of Mao Dun Literature Prize Winning Works is exclusively launched by the People's Literature Publishing House. For this collection, we have meticulously proofread all the works, adding editorial notes to some for easier reading. Some multi-volume works that won awards in partial volumes are now included in their entirety. Additionally, we have adopted an internationally popular format, large-character typesetting, and elegant, solemn, and imposing binding, striving to make the Complete Collection of Mao Dun Literature Prize Winning Works a premium, refined, and perfect masterpiece suitable for reading, appreciation, gifting, and collection.
The novel follows Yu Eryou, a revolutionary cadre, as he returns to his hometown of Shihu for three days and two nights, retracing and contrasting the struggles of 40 years—from the War of Resistance against Japan and the War of Liberation to the 17 years after the founding of the People's Republic and the Cultural Revolution, as well as the overthrow of the "Gang of Four." It embodies the theme of "Spring in the Hearts of the People." Yu Eryou was the leader of the Shihu guerrilla unit during the War of Resistance against Japan and later became the director and Party secretary of a large-scale military-industrial power plant after the liberation. His return to his hometown is to solve the mystery of his late wife, Lu Hua, a guerrilla unit instructor, who died 40 years ago under unclear circumstances and to find the who shot her from behind.
Yu Eryou and Lu Hua were once impoverished fishermen in Shihu. To repay a debt to the wealthy Wang family of High Gate Tower, Yu Eryou drank a wine laced with poison and nearly drowned while catching carp in the icy lake. Under the guidance of the Party, they bravely lit the torch of revolution, fighting against the Wang family of High Gate Tower, the Japanese invaders, and the lake bandits, battling relentlessly like the and. Later, Yu Eryou served as a cavalry commander, charging across the battlefields of the War of Liberation, and later as a pioneer, building a large factory in the marshlands. However, his first wife had tragically died 40 years ago. Lu Hua possessed an exceptionally firm and sensitive class consciousness and harbored an irreconcilable class hatred toward the Wang family of High Gate Tower. She, like a formidable war goddess, threw the head of the eldest son of the Wang family before the second son, Wang Weiyu. Wang Weiyu, however, was a class enemy who had infiltrated the revolutionary ranks. For decades, he had been undermining Yu Eryou from within, pretending to be "revolutionary" in public while secretly digging up his father's grave, writing his Party membership application in blood, and constantly talking about "class struggle." He also exploited the guerrillas' desire for victory to make wrong decisions, nearly causing the entire unit's destruction. In the factory, he engaged in schemes like the "Red Angle," leaning excessively to the left in everything, and eventually, his executioner's mask was finally exposed.
The novel's timeline is reversed, intertwining history and reality, and its plot is shrouded in mystery, further enhancing its artistic charm.