Mountains and rivers enter the dream - The Second in the Trilogy "Human Face and Peach Blossoms"

Author: Ge Fei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The motivation for a novel often comes from a simple metaphor. While writing The Face of Peach Blossoms, I accidentally thought of ice. The ice flower melting rapidly in a pot of coarse rice water is the past and future of Xiumi. This metaphor was my guardian angel, running through the entire writing process, determining the rhythm and tone of the language, and bringing me comfort and confidence. So, what is the metaphor for The Mountains and Rivers in Dreams? I thought of an endless field of white clover flowers under the sun. Suppose there stands a solitary Neem tree in the field; suppose, the shadow of a floating cloud covers it. Looking at this shadow, Yao Peipei makes a wish in her heart and closes her eyes. No matter how hard Yao Peipei struggles, that shadow will never move, because it is engraved in her heart. Why is my heart so dark, yet others' faces are bright with sunshine? This is Yao Peipei's question, and it is also my question. — Ge Fei
After winning the Chinese Literature Media Award and the Ding Jun Biennial Literature Award following The Face of Peach Blossoms, the renowned writer Ge Fei presents his new full-length novel, a powerful work of pure literature that upholds the path of literary excellence! The story takes place in a Jiangnan rural area between 1952 and 1962. The female protagonist, Yao Peipei, arrives in Meicheng from Shanghai after her family suffers a tragedy. She sells bath tickets in a bathhouse and meets Tan Gongda, the county magistrate of Meicheng, who becomes her secretary. Although Tan Gongda admires her, his feelings are merely emotional and restrained by propriety. Later, after Yao Peipei is raped, she furiously kills her attacker and begins to flee. Meanwhile, Tan Gongda's idealistic plans for Meicheng are repeatedly frustrated. After being sidelined and sent to Huajiashu, he astonishingly discovers that his long-sought "Peach Blossom Spring" has already been realized here. On the very day he decides to find Yao Peipei, she is arrested and executed by a gunshot, while he dies in Meicheng prison for covering her up, convicted of complicity and counter-revolutionary crimes.