Old friend. Old hometown. Old story.

Author: Yu Feng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: The author condenses her memories of the ups and downs of the 20th century, as well as her recollections of family, friends, and her hometown, into this small book. She presents fragments of the storms to the readers but does not express personal sorrow or desolation. Instead, she channels national grievances and family sorrows into her writing, crafting chapters filled with passion and familial love. The tragic events—her father Yu Mantuo and brother Yu Dafu dying for their country, her mother being wounded by Japanese bullets, her grandmother starving to death for refusing to cook for the Japanese—transform into the author's boundless love for her homeland and fuel her courage in the anti-Japanese struggle. In the face of imminent danger, the wit, composure, and grace of communists like and instilled in the young author, who had no experience in fighting the enemy, a sense of calm and fearlessness. The decades-long teachers and friends like Guo Moruo, Ye Qianyu, Feng Yidai, and Wang Shichang, who remained dedicated to the pursuit of culture and art regardless of circumstances, have etched a group of "sculptures in the storm" in the author's heart. Like dear friends, the seven years of imprisonment did not make the author abandon her unwavering love for life, art, and her homeland. And there is her hometown along the banks of the Fuchun River, every change in which lingers in her thoughts, whether for better or worse. Perhaps it is the nourishment of her homeland's landscapes that allows her to endure the storms without regret.