Once Upon a Time There Was a Mountain

Name: Once Upon a Time There Was a Mountain
ISBN: 9787511556547

深圳市南山区作家协会People's Daily Press · ChinaAug 2020

3.6

Word count: 68 words
Chapters: 6
ISBN: 9787511556547

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Nanshan District, home to the Shenzhen Nanshan Writers Association, is a national powerhouse in economy and technology and a birthplace of reform and opening-up. This year marks 40 years of reform and opening-up. Under the auspices of the district's Publicity Department and Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Nanshan Writers Association launched an essay contest commemorating the 40th anniversary. The best entries are collected in this book, which captures the sweeping changes reform and opening-up have brought to Nanshan. Its 120 essays span the economy, technology, education, culture, and daily life, preserving Nanshan's memories of these 40 years.

Editor's review

*Once Upon a Time There Was a Mountain* is not a single-author literary work in the traditional sense but a regional documentary prose collection collectively compiled by the Writers Association of Nanshan District, Shenzhen. Its unique value lies in its distinct regional perspective and its function as a slice of its era. As a frontline area of reform and opening up, Nanshan District's transformation is itself a condensed epic of China's contemporary urbanization. Most of the essays are written by those who lived through it, sketching with delicate strokes the vivid journey of a new district from "there was a mountain" to "blazing a trail" as a high-tech and cultural highland, covering everyday life, industrial upgrading, and cultural landscape. Its literary quality may not be as polished as the work of classic masters, but the plain sincerity and the "local" recording of historical detail give it unique documentary value. For readers seeking to understand the inner texture and emotional pulse of Shenzhen's—and indeed China's special economic zones'—development, this is a rare window. When reading, it is advisable to set aside expectations of grand narrative and instead savor the subtle echoes of individual fates interwoven with the tide of the times.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers or enthusiasts interested in the development history of Shenzhen, especially Nanshan District
Readers who enjoy documentary prose with a local-chronicle flavor
Readers who want to understand China's urbanization from ordinary people's perspectives
Aspiring writers, who can use it as a model for observing life and gathering material

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot and fast-paced fiction
Readers expecting deep philosophical reflection or highly individualized style from a single author

Reading tips

Read alongside a map of Shenzhen or before-and-after photos of Nanshan to strengthen the sense of place and time
No need to read in order; dip into chapters by theme according to interest
After reading, reflect on themes such as 'home,' 'change,' and 'memory,' and try recording stories from your own surroundings

About the publisher

People's Daily Press China · Founded in 1956

People's Daily Press is a social science publisher directly under People's Daily, covering fields such as Party and government affairs, journalism, history, culture, philosophy, economics, and society, with main publishing directions in Party and government titles, journalism, history and literature, and civil service examination materials. Its library of 238 titles includes Party and government readings such as Xi Jinping's Use of Classical Quotations (Volumes I and II), historical and world history works such as Five Hundred Years of Iran, Guardians of Dunhuang, and Seeing History through Geography: The Age of Exploration, as well as legal titles such as Li Jianwei on Civil Law and military books such as 100 Years of Small Arms. Its authors include Abbas Amanat, Ji Kaiyun, Xing Wenhai, the People's Daily Commentary Department, and Dong Hongliang, reflecting a publishing profile that draws on media and academic resources and combines thematic publishing with humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
1
2
3
4
5

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a collection of essays? What is it mainly about?

It is a collection of documentary prose: essays by many local writers from Nanshan District, Shenzhen, on the district's natural geography, history, social development, local customs, and personal memories, intended to record and portray Nanshan's changes and character.

What does the author 'Shenzhen Nanshan Writers Association' mean? Is the book's quality assured?

It means the association organized, solicited, and selected pieces by members and local literary enthusiasts, making it a collective work. Its quality lies in the authenticity and regional representativeness of its content: it offers vivid, diverse grassroots perspectives beyond official historical records and has particular cultural value. Literary quality varies from piece to piece, but the overall style is plain and the feeling sincere.

Is this book suitable for someone who knows nothing about Shenzhen?

Yes. It offers such readers a detailed, inside-out introduction to Shenzhen (Nanshan). The stories grow out of specific people and places, helping readers grasp how this land grew from 'a mountain' into what it is today. Some basic background on China's reform and opening-up will, of course, make for a deeper reading experience.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

深圳市南山区作家协会 Author

The Shenzhen Nanshan District Writers Association is a collective writing force based in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, engaging in literary creation and editorial publication under the association's name. Public information about it is currently limited, and the library holds only one work under this name: the prose collection Once Upon a Time There Was a Mountain. Judging from this work, the association's writing draws largely on everyday observations and local life, in a plain and natural style with the relaxed quality of familiar essays, focusing on distilling feeling and reflection from ordinary things. As a district-level writers' organization, its main function is to connect local writers, promote literary creation and exchange, and present members' work through collected publications. Once Upon a Time There Was a Mountain can be seen as a sample of this collective writing practice: modest in length, yet reflecting the ongoing efforts of a grassroots literary organization to collect and share local prose writing.