Sloping tree rings

Author: Liu Qinglin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-10-01
Features: It was an era of ideal worship and reverence for deities. "Early morning inspection," "late evening report," "loyalty dance," and "red ocean" became unique scenes unparalleled in ancient and modern times across the land of China. On the vast wilderness, bizarre dance shadows swirled, slogans roared like thunder, scaring wild ducks on the lake into fleeing. This is a long-form documentary literature, where everything recorded is the author's personal experience, with no trace of fabrication or imagination. It is a special group of intellectuals long forgotten by the world—college graduates of the 1966th and 1967th cohorts during the Cultural Revolution. Liu Qinglin's work excels in its quiet and unembellished recording of his experiences during the Cultural Revolution, making the reader feel as if they are there. Of course, Liu Qinglin's purpose in writing this book is not to let people indulge in the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution without restraint, quite the opposite—it aims to remind people of the history of the Cultural Revolution and prevent its tragedy from being repeated. Writing is precisely a way of refusing to forget. Regarding this, Liu Qinglin was undoubtedly acutely aware of this when writing the book. He said, "I record all this so that our descendants may understand and comprehend this page of history, drawing lessons from it. Only in this way can our nation have hope." This refusal to forget also allows Liu Qinglin's work to transcend lamenting personal misfortunes or reflecting on one's own rise and fall, enabling it to stand at a height that can be called historical philosophy, critically examining everything he has experienced with rationality. Thus, while recording facts, the book also embodies the author's profound philosophical reflections on the Cultural Revolution. This is because the author transcends the usual judgments of right and wrong, virtue and vice, as well as the common categories of self and others, friend and foe, and adopts an objective attitude in assessing events and people, with a perspective that goes beyond the ordinary. I believe this book will present you with a true portrayal of the Cultural Revolution. It is indeed a book worth reading carefully. It genuinely records the author's harrowing experiences after graduating from university and being sent to a military reclamation farm for "re-education." Everything recorded in this book has left me astonished at my own ignorance and narrow-mindedness. Looking around the Chinese literary scene, some insightful individuals are picking up their pens to write about their personal experiences during the Cultural Revolution, and Liu Qinglin is one of the outstanding among them. The author possesses a deep foundation in prose, with writing as fluid as clouds and water, which further enhances the readability and emotional impact of the book.