A Book of Going Beyond the Frontier

Name: A Book of Going Beyond the Frontier
ISBN: 9787521203462

梁晓阳Writers Publishing House · ChinaAug 2026

3.5

Word count: 526K words
Chapters: 40
ISBN: 9787521203462

Report an error Find this book

Summary

The author began writing in 2003 and finished in 2018, spanning fifteen years. The book records and narrates the vicissitudes of two generations over more than fifty years, from the inland to Xinjiang.

The book has a polyphonic structure. One thread follows the previous generation's vicissitudes as they drifted to Xinjiang to escape hardship; the other follows "I," who, to pursue a literary dream, accompany his wife on family visits, and escape the pain of life in the South, persisted for fifteen years traveling between Guangxi and Xinjiang, ultimately completing a spiritual "transition."

The book was selected for the China Writers Association's 2016定点深入生活 (designated in-depth life experience) project.

Editor's review

The value of *Chusai Shu* lies in how fifteen years of writing sustain a narrative space that spans more than half a century and stretches from the mainland to Xinjiang. Liang Xiaoyang adopts a polyphonic structure: the previous generation's "drift to Xinjiang" and the narrator's fifteen years of "seasonal migration" between Xinjiang and Guangxi mirror each other, setting flight from hardship against the pursuit of dreams, trauma against healing. The book advances not through dramatic events but through details and emotional depth distilled by time, yielding a slow, solid power. It rewards quiet, attentive reading—especially for those interested in contemporary long-form documentary narrative and stories of regional migration. Its handling of the tension between the wounds of life in the south and the land of Xinjiang offers an honest case study of how individuals rebuild inner order through movement. As a project of the China Writers Association's immersive life-experience program, its fieldwork and first-hand immediacy are worth noting.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of contemporary long-form documentary narrative who enjoy polyphonic structures
Readers interested in migration between the mainland and Xinjiang and the fates of two generations
Aspiring writers or those living far from home in search of inner stability
Scholars of contemporary literature and observers of regional writing

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer plot-driven, fast-paced genre fiction
Readers seeking Xinjiang travel guides or quick geography lessons
Readers impatient with slow lyricism and wide temporal spans

Reading tips

Read the narrator's main thread of family visits and writing first, then return to the previous generation's drift to Xinjiang; reading the two in parallel makes the polyphonic design clearer.
Pause briefly after each time period to sort out how the two generations make different choices and inhabit different moods within the same space.
Keep a map or basic knowledge of Xinjiang's geography at hand to grasp the dual spatial and psychological meaning of "seasonal migration."
If time is limited, prioritize the chapters on visiting family with his wife and on southern wounds to feel the author's inner migration.

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.

版权信息
楔子
上部巩乃斯往事
盲流
巩乃斯河畔（一）
新源马场（一）
新源马场（二）
巩乃斯河畔（二）
哈萨克一大队
十月公社八大队
哈拉布拉
新源马场（三）
在后山草原上
下部十年转场
旅途（一）
南方（一）
旅途（二）
南方（二）
葬礼（一）
旅途（三）
牡丹汗
住居（一）
最大的理想
旅途（四）
住居（二）
插曲
南方（三）
月亮和星星
旅途（五）
这边风景
葬礼（二）
旅途（六）
南方（四）
旅途（七）
住居（三）
南方（五）
梦游者
谜底
隐秘乐曲
后记

FAQ

Is this book a novel or documentary writing?

The material suggests the book draws on the author's own fifteen years of travel between Xinjiang and Guangxi and on the previous generation's past, carrying a clear first-hand, documentary quality, while organizing the narrative in a polyphonic structure. Readers may regard it as a long work between documentary and literary narrative, focused not on fictional plot but on the authentic texture of two generations' fates.

What exactly does the "polyphonic structure" mean in this book?

It means two main threads unfold in parallel: one recounts the previous generation's years of drifting to Xinjiang to escape hardship; the other follows the narrator's fifteen years of travel between Xinjiang and Guangxi for his literary dream, to accompany his wife on family visits, and to escape the wounds of life in the south. The two threads illuminate each other and together complete an inner "migration."

Can readers with no experience of life in Xinjiang get into it?

Yes. The book's focus is not geographical knowledge but human relations and inner change amid migration. Readers need only follow the two generations' choices and emotions to understand what "migration" means here. If Xinjiang is entirely unfamiliar, learning the basic geography first will make for smoother reading.

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

梁晓阳 Author · Chinese

Liang Xiaoyang is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available; little can be confirmed about his personal life or career. According to the library's holdings, only one work by him is included, the social novel Chu Sai Shu (A Book of Going Beyond the Frontier). On the strength of a single work alone, it is difficult to form a full picture of his writing, but it does suggest an interest in social realism presented through fiction. Classified as a social novel, the book likely centers on the circumstances, relationships, and conflicts of people in contemporary society, showing a degree of concern with real-life issues. Existing materials do not allow for further judgment about Liang Xiaoyang's style, development as a writer, or the influence of his work; readers may begin with Chu Sai Shu and form their own sense of his narrative interests and focal concerns.