Cornland

Author: Ren Linju
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: The corn depicted by the author is a poignant and subtly humanistic landscape painting, a series of vivid characters, and an poetic expression of family history on Northeast China's land—China's version of Walden. Recommended by writers and critics such as Baogang Yuan, Hongbing Ge, Zongrenfa, Huang Guiyuan, Xudong Tan, Fenglian Liang, Zhong Liu, Hui Wang, Xuezhi Niu, and Zhiqiqiang, among others. – Ten renowned writers and critics enthusiastically endorse Corn Land. It is not merely a "land of corn" in a literal sense; the series of somber anecdotes in the book will surely evoke long-forgotten emotions deep within the readers' hearts—Editor's Note Corn Land is a work that brings readers unexpected joy. In common perception, the monotonous and exposed land of the north does not grow poetry, yet Ren Linju has undeniably used linguistic facts to imbue this land with a life imagery it had never before fully expressed. In this imagery, there is both the rugged and expansive masculine energy and the delicate and refined feminine beauty, as well as the meticulous and profound philosophical depth and the effortless and natural intuitive depiction. The corn spread across the vast Northeastern plains, in the author's portrayal, transforms effortlessly from an ordinary crop into a grand symbol with little transition, while the simple and sincere people closely associated with corn speak of the essence of the world and truth in their straightforward ways. When such a work is presented before us, who could withhold their praise? In a spiritual environment often disturbed by and, the fresh breeze of Corn Land is a source of great relief. It provides another testament to the literature nearly extinguished by media and the internet in our era, and to the remaining literature that was on the verge of becoming small-scale and trivial. The corn depicted by the author is a poignant and subtly humanistic landscape painting, a series of vivid characters, an expression of family history and the poetic beauty of Northeast China, and an essay on corn from a cultural perspective. When the author reflects on all this, he must have experienced heart-wrenching emotions and hesitated to put pen to paper. Yet the rustling of corn leaves in the wind urged him to persist, and thus, this land poem with a touch of Latin American novelistic flavor was born.