Spring in Winter (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Li Guowen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: The novel recounts the three-day, two-night journey of Yu Eryou, a revolutionary cadre, back to his hometown of Shihu Lake. It reflects and contrasts the struggles of 40 years—from the War of Resistance against Japan and the Liberation War to the 17 years after the founding of the People's Republic and the Cultural Revolution, culminating in the overthrow of the "Gang of Four"—through Yu Eryou's experiences. The theme of "Spring in the Hearts of the People" is embodied in the narrative.
Yu Erlong, the protagonist, served as the captain of the Shihu guerrilla unit during the War of Resistance against Japan and later became the of a large military-industrial power plant after the liberation. His return to his hometown is to unravel the mysterious death of his late wife, Lu Hua, a guerrilla unit instructor, 40 years ago, and to identify the who shot her in the back.
Yu Erlong and Lu Hua were once impoverished fishermen in Shihu Lake. To repay a debt to the wealthy Wang family of the High Gate Tower, Yu Erlong drank a medicinal wine 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 High Gate Tower Wang family, the Japanese invaders, and the lake bandits. They fought relentlessly like the and, braving all dangers. Later, Yu Erlong served as the commander of a cavalry unit, charging across the battlefields of the Liberation War, and later as a pioneering leader, building a large factory in the marshlands. However, his first wife had tragically passed away 40 years prior.
Lu Hua possessed an exceptionally firm and sensitive class consciousness and harbored an irreconcilable class hatred toward the High Gate Tower Wang family. She was like a formidable war goddess, hurling the head of the eldest Wang brother before the second, Wang Weiyu. Wang Weiyu, a class enemy who had infiltrated the revolutionary ranks, had been undermining Yu Erlong for decades, pretending to be "revolutionary" on the surface. He dug up his father's grave, wrote his Party application with blood, and constantly talked about "class struggle." He also exploited the guerrillas' desire for victory to make wrong decisions, nearly leading the entire unit to destruction. In the factory, he created the "Red Angle," leaning left by three points in everything he did. In the end, his butcher-like nature was exposed.
The novel's timeline is reversed, intertwining history and reality, and its plot is shrouded in mystery, further enhancing its artistic appeal.