Past·Chinese Stories

Author: Qu Lijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The tumultuous changes of the 20th century brought a series of major historical events, bringing earth-shaking transformations and unprecedented development to China. "Reminiscences—Chinese Stories" takes the family, the most basic unit of society, as its starting point, and from the perspective of ordinary people's lives, presents a panoramic review of the 20th century. With romantic and heartwarming prose, it tells the stories that unfolded around us and were closely intertwined with our destinies throughout the century. The book follows the life of the protagonist Baosheng as its narrative thread, recounting twenty interconnected yet independent stories from his childhood to his old age. The twenty stories nearly cover all the major historical events of the 20th century, from the southern town at the beginning of the century to the capital in the 1940s, from the dazzling dream of old Shanghai to the reform and opening-up era of Shenzhen. They broadly showcase the joys and sorrows of ordinary people in different eras, reflecting the development and changes of the times from the perspective of the family. Each story is narrated in a gentle and detailed manner, meticulously portraying vivid artistic figures with distinct characteristics of their time, forming a "River Scene at Qingming Festival" of the human landscape in 20th-century China.