The Years of Returning to the City (2 Volumes)

Liang XiaoshengGuizhou People's Publishing House · ChinaJun 2022

Rating 4.0
Word count
458K words
Chapters
31
ISBN
9787221170330

Tags

Social Fiction Fate and FortuneFamily BondsTraumatic Memory1980sSocial Observation

Summary

A representative work by Liang Xiaosheng, *Returning to the City* tells the bittersweet stories of several families of sent-down youth who returned to Harbin in the 1980s, reflecting a generation's struggles and wounds after the fervor had passed.

Centered on the intertwined fates of characters such as Lin Chaoran, He Ningzhi, Luo Yimin, Yang Yifan, and Zhang Jihong, the novel artistically and from multiple perspectives and levels portrays the hardship, confusion, bewilderment, bitterness, and even despair these educated youth experienced after returning to the city. Yet they never bowed to fate or yielded to life; through struggle and hard work, they ultimately found their place and sense of belonging.

Editor's review

*Returning to the City* is another major novel by the renowned writer Liang Xiaosheng, following *A Lifelong Journey*, focusing on the fate of ordinary people amid great historical change. Set between 1979 and the early 1980s in a city in Northeast China, it depicts a generation of sent-down youth—represented by Lin Chaoran, He Ningzhi, and Jingzhi—struggling after their return to the city amid the vast gap between ideals and reality, striving and seeking spiritual belonging in a collective spiritual history. Liang Xiaosheng's writing is, as always, deep, weighty, and full of warmth. He is not content merely to retell history; instead, he delves into the spiritual folds of his characters to explore how, in an era of material scarcity and uncertain prospects, they safeguarded dignity, love, and faith. The value of this book lies in the fact that it is not only a social memorandum recording a particular historical period but also a mirror reflecting the resilience and warmth of human nature. Compared with the century-long span of *A Lifelong Journey*, the narrative of *Returning to the City* is more concentrated, and its portrayal of a generation's spiritual "second rustication" is incisive, demonstrating Liang Xiaosheng's precise grasp of historical detail and profound compassion for his characters' fates as a realist writer. Reading this book helps us understand our parents' youth and confusion and draw from their almost primal striving and perseverance a spiritual strength that transcends eras.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Reading it alongside Liang Xiaosheng's *A Lifelong Journey* or works on similar themes is recommended for a better sense of his creative trajectory and concern for his times.
  2. There is no need to rush the plot; savor the descriptions of characters' psychology, atmosphere, and period details.
  3. Pay attention to the different choices and shifts in mindset of the main characters as they face real difficulties, and reflect on the era and human logic behind them.

About the publisher

Guizhou People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Guizhou People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher based in Guizhou, with publishing directions covering architecture, foreign literature, Eastern philosophy and history. Its library currently holds 232 titles, including representative works such as Liang Sicheng's A History of Chinese Architecture, Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, The Old Capital, The Izu Dancer and Thousand Cranes, Mou Zongsan's Nineteen Lectures on Chinese Philosophy, Jiang Tingfu's Modern Chinese History and Rashomon. Its author resources span architecture, foreign literature and philosophical studies. These titles show that the press both introduces foreign literary classics, including Japanese literature, and continues to publish academic and general-interest works on Chinese architectural history, Chinese philosophy and modern history, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign works and combines classics with accessible reading. Public information on its fuller publishing history and key series is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 自序 我和我的那些“知青小说”
  3. 第一章
  4. 第二章
  5. 第三章
  6. 第四章
  7. 第五章
  8. 第六章
  9. 第七章
  10. 第八章
  11. 第九章
  12. 第十章
  13. 第十一章
  14. 第十二章
  15. 第十三章
  16. 第十四章
  17. 第十五章
  18. 第十六章
  19. 第十七章
  20. 第十八章
  21. 第十九章
  22. 第二十章
  23. 第二十一章
  24. 第二十二章
  25. 第二十三章
  26. 第二十四章
  27. 第二十五章
  28. 第二十六章
  29. 第二十七章
  30. 第二十八章
  31. 第二十九章

FAQ

What is the connection and difference between *Returning to the City* and *A Lifelong Journey*? Both are novels by Liang Xiaosheng with partially overlapping backgrounds (*A Lifelong Journey* spans a longer period), and both profoundly depict the fate of ordinary people in great eras. The difference is that *Returning to the City* has a more concentrated timeline, focusing on the specific historical turning point of sent-down youth returning to the city and the social upheaval and personal spiritual transformation of the following year or two, with a more unified narrative perspective and cast of characters.
Is the tone of this book heavy? The novel draws on a historical period full of disillusioned ideals and survival pressure, so its tone is inevitably serious and profound. But Liang Xiaosheng's writing always carries a warm current of humanity: the resilience, mutual aid, and simple pursuit of a better life shown by the characters in hardship form warm, powerful spots of light against the heavy background.
Can readers without a sent-down youth background understand and relate to it? Absolutely. Liang Xiaosheng's excellence lies in using specific historical events as a stage to perform universal life themes: the conflict between ideals and reality, the test of love, the sustaining of family, and the pursuit of personal value. Any reader who has experienced life choices, setbacks, or reflected on the meaning of existence can find emotional resonance and spiritual projection in it.

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About the author

Liang Xiaosheng Author · Chinese · 1949

Liang Xiaosheng is a contemporary Chinese writer, born in 1949 in Harbin, with ancestral roots in Rongcheng, Shandong. His original name is Liang Shaosheng. In 1968 he went to the Great Northern Wilderness as a sent-down youth, and in 1977 he graduated from the Chinese Department of Fudan University. He later worked as an editor at the Beijing Film Studio and as a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University. Known for his novels about educated youth, he draws much of his material from his years in the Great Northern Wilderness and from the lives of ordinary people. His plain, substantial style intertwines personal fate with social change. His representative works include *Tonight There Is a Snowstorm*, *Snow City*, *The Ring of Years*, and *The Human World*; in 2019 he received the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize. His writing also touches on themes of inspiration and personal growth and has reached a wide readership.