A Writer's Dream

Name: A Writer's Dream
ISBN: 9787800948749

周永生Writers Publishing House · ChinaSep 2014

3.2

Word count: 221K words
Chapters: 11
ISBN: 9787800948749

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Summary

To pursue his dream, he had to give up what he loved, for in life one cannot have everything. Zhou Yongsheng was a native of Songjiang, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai). He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1937. He served as workshop director and head of the engineering department at the Yan'an Central Printing Factory, printing department director of the North China Xinhua Daily, and deputy director of the Taihang Xinhua Daily. After the founding of the People's Republic, he held posts including deputy general manager of the New China Printing Administration, director of the Beijing Xinhua Printing Factory and the Beijing Art Printing Factory, head of the Beijing Printing Technology Research Institute, adviser to the China Printing Company, vice chairman of the first China Publishing Association, and deputy director of the first council of the China Printing Technology Association.

Editor's review

On first encountering Zhou Yongsheng's Writer's Dream, one might be misled by its plain title and the author's humble background. This is not a work that pursues ornate narrative or avant-garde technique, but a weighty, autobiographical collection of realist prose. Zhou Yongsheng, a farmer by trade, persistently records his understanding of and yearning for literature under the heavy pressures of life and amid the dust of reality; his words are like crops growing from the ridges of a field—plain, rough, yet full of life's most primal force. The core of the book is not a success story but the most honest analysis of the act of writing itself—a spiritual redemption, a way of resisting oblivion, and the concrete effort of an ordinary person to build an infinite spiritual world within a finite life. For readers accustomed to elaborate plotting, the fragmentation of some passages and the directness of emotion may feel unfamiliar, but this is precisely where its authentic value lies. The book's value lies in showing us that literature is not suspended in hallowed halls; it grows in the hearts of every ordinary person who loves life and thinks diligently. It is written not only for those with a "writer's dream" but for all who persist in "dreaming" within an ordinary life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nonfiction writing and folk literature
Observers seeking insight into the spiritual world and emotional expression of contemporary Chinese farmers
Writers exploring the literary path who hope to draw strength from plain, sincere expression
Readers looking for an alternative mode of life writing beyond fast-paced reading

Not a good fit for

Fiction lovers seeking highly structured plots and dramatic conflict
Readers of serious literature with high expectations for literary technique

Reading tips

Slow down your reading pace and approach the book as a "spiritual diary" rather than a conventional book.
Reading alongside background on the author and his era will deepen your sense of the emotional weight in the text.
Pay attention to the records of everyday details, which often contain profound emotion and observation.

About the publisher

Writers Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Writers Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused mainly on literary publishing. Its output covers classical literature, foreign literature, folk literature and Eastern philosophy, with some extension into popular reading such as social fiction and parenting books. Its catalogue contains more than 900 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber and its edited editions, Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and foreign literary classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and Lost Illusions. In terms of authors, it includes classical writers such as Cao Xueqin and Gao E, foreign masters such as William Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Balzac, and translations by translators such as Zhu Shenghao, Geng Jizhi and Fu Lei. Overall, its publishing profile balances Chinese and foreign literary classics, emphasizes quality translations, and serves both academic and general readers; publicly available information on its specific publishing plans is limited.

第一部追梦
第二部说梦1
第二部说梦2
第三部酿梦
第四部造梦
第五部圆梦
第六部逐梦
第七部揽梦
第八部惊梦
第九部魇梦
第十部幻梦

FAQ

What is this book mainly about?

This is a selected prose collection by the farmer-author Zhou Yongsheng, faithfully recording his love of literature as a farmer, the hardships of his creative process, and his inner journey of dialogue with life through writing, offering a slice of a life devoted to spiritual pursuit under difficult circumstances.

How is the literary quality of this book?

This is raw creation from the front lines of life, whose value lies first in the sincerity of its emotion and the truth of its record. It does not pursue academic literary craft; its charm lies in unpolished plainness and the texture life itself gives. It should be judged by standards different from those for pure literature. No verifiable mainstream Douban rating is available for this book.

What is the background of the author Zhou Yongsheng?

Zhou Yongsheng is a farmer-author who has long lived at the grassroots and persisted in literary creation in his spare time. His experience is itself the most vivid interpretation of the "writer's dream" theme—realizing infinite spiritual pursuit under limited material conditions.

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About the author

周永生 Author

Public information about Zhou Yongsheng is currently limited. He is known only for one work, Writer's Dream, commonly classified as a social novel. Based on this, his writing focuses on the growth and aspirations of young literary figures, using fiction to present the tension between personal ideals and real-world circumstances. The subject matter stays close to everyday life and carries a certain social observation. The title Writer's Dream itself suggests a concern with the path of creative writing and the identity of a writer, likely resonating with readers who harbor literary ambitions. Since his dates of birth and death, nationality, education, and writing career are not reliably recorded, this entry makes no further inferences and only briefly describes his writing direction based on the work information available; the entry may be supplemented if public information emerges later.