Leaving the Pass
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Summary
Completely out of contact with their organization, the soldiers were filled with doubt: Was this real resistance against Japan, or were they being tricked into being massacred en masse somewhere? Political commissar Zhang Jiao, regiment commander Cheng Zihe, and all the captured Red Army soldiers faced a grave choice…
The road out of the pass was full of obstacles, and those who went out endured untold hardships. Under intricate circumstances, this new armed force made up of former mortal enemies was also undergoing a difficult process of adjustment—from mutual suspicion, guardedness, and furious secret assassination of the brigade commander to treating one another as equals and fighting side by side. A host of entirely new characters emerged from the chaos of history, lending this war story a complex and extraordinary coloring…
Editor's review
The book’s value lies in its profound historical reflection and literary texture. It goes beyond mere depictions of war to explore the intense collisions between ideals and reality, orders and emotions, the collective and the individual in desperate straits. For history enthusiasts, it is a literary window into the history of the West Route Red Army; for literary readers, it is a serious work full of tension and deep characterization. The sorrow and resilience permeating the book can guide readers to think deeply about historical complexity, the cost of revolution, and the power of faith. Its prose is concise and restrained, its emotional expression subtle yet powerful, embodying a quiet, weighty aesthetic style in military literature.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a strong interest in the history of the Red Army’s Long March, especially the history of the West Route Red Army, who wish to deepen their understanding from a literary perspective.
- Literary enthusiasts who appreciate serious historical fiction and value historical weight and deep human portrayal.
- Readers who wish to reflect on ideals, faith, and sacrifice through specific historical situations.
- Readers with a particular preference for military literature and works on revolutionary history.
Not a good fit for
- Readers of popular fiction seeking light entertainment and fast-paced narrative.
- Readers completely unfamiliar with modern Chinese history and unwilling to learn more about it.
Reading tips
- Before reading, a brief understanding of China’s political situation around 1936 and the general course of the Red Army’s Long March will help readers better enter the novel’s setting.
- The book’s emotional tone is rather somber; reading it in a calm state of mind is recommended in order to appreciate the weight and inner power of the writing.
- Readers may pay attention to how the author builds historical atmosphere and shapes characters through specific battles, marching details, and dialogue.
About the publisher
The PLA Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher distinguished by books and periodicals on military-themed literature and art. Judging from its titles in our catalog, its publishing covers social fiction, documentary literature, historical reading, biography and suspense, ranging from war novels such as Behind Enemy Lines to biographies and historical works such as Young Marshal and Chiang Kai-shek and The Scholar-General Xiao Hua, as well as works on modern military and regional history like The Sichuan Army Leaves the Gorges, Chengdu Street Fighting 1932 and Struggles for Supremacy in Sichuan; The True Colors of a Detective represents its suspense strand. Its authors include Feng Zhi, Wang Chaozhu, Tian Wenyi, Li Jing, Zhang Chenggong, Yang Haibo and Mo Ran. Public information on its signature series and full publishing scale is limited; this profile, based on the ten titles in our catalog, summarizes its emphasis on both military and historical narrative.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 八
- 九
- 十
- 十一
- 十二
- 十三
- 十四
- 十五
- 十六
- 十七
- 十八
- 十九
- 二十
- 二十一
- 二十二
- 二十三
- 二十四
- 二十五
- 二十六
- 二十七
- 二十八
- 二十九
- 三十
- 三十一
- 三十二
- 三十三
- 三十四
- 三十五
- 三十六
- 三十七
- 三十八
- 三十九
- 四十
- 四十一
- 四十二
- 四十三
- 四十四
- 四十五
- 自跋
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About the author
Li Jing is a contemporary Chinese author of documentary literature and biography, about whom limited public information is available; details such as his birthplace, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the five works held in the collection, he focuses mainly on revolutionary history and military themes. His representative works include The Great Migration, The Scholar-General Xiao Hua, Spring Snow over the Kunlun Mountains, and Serfs' Halberds, Heroes' Blood: A Documentary of the Qingjian and Weihua Uprisings, as well as Leaving the Pass. These works concentrate on major modern historical events and figures, spanning both biography and war and military writing. His approach emphasizes the organization of historical sources and on-site reconstruction, presenting individual fates and collective action within historical processes through a documentary style. The Scholar-General Xiao Hua reflects his attention to military and political figures, while the documentary on the Qingjian and Weihua uprisings shows his care for local gazetteers and regional revolutionary history. Overall, Li Jing's writing takes historical fact as its backbone and narrative as its flesh, maintaining a plain and restrained style between documentary and biography and offering readable texts for understanding the history concerned.
