Awakening

Name: Awakening
ISBN: 9787559843111

冉正万Guangxi Normal University Press · ChinaJun 2022

3.9

Word count: 136K words
Chapters: 8
ISBN: 9787559843111

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Summary

This collection of novellas and short stories by Ran Zhengwan comprises six works: “Awakening,” “A Broad-Billed Bird,” “The Poet and the Mushroom,” “The Woman on Stilts,” “The Crossbow,” and “Slow Living.” Starting from the theme of “holding fast to oneself,” it constructs six distinct personal worlds whose settings range across history and the future, exploring how individuals keep faith, keep conscience, and keep their better human nature...

With delicate, gentle narration that is at once ethereal and imaginative, it confronts lived reality head-on, striving to capture the “raw state” of life’s myriad forms and the joys and sorrows of the world, and to convey the idea that in a chaotic world every individual is both a hider and a cover for others, so that staying clear-headed and holding fast to something is the fundamental way—letting readers ruminate on their own circumstances through other people’s stories.

Editor's review

Awakening is the latest novel by Guizhou writer Ran Zhengwan. Continuing his consistent regional style, it is set in a village in northern Guizhou, yet it breaks free from the framework of plain rural narrative to construct a literary world where reality and illusion intertwine, rich in metaphor. Through the perspective of the boy Wanwu, the novel tells of the strange years he spends with his mother, sister, and the villagers after his father's disappearance. Local-gazetteer-style historical追溯, folk legends, and the collision with modern life are woven throughout, creating a distinctive narrative density.

In literary terms, Ran Zhengwan's touch is calm and restrained; his descriptions of rural daily life are meticulous, yet full of poetry and philosophical reflection. He is not content merely to tell a coming-of-age story but seeks, through the central image of "awakening," to explore the subtle yet tenacious connections between memory, time, identity, and the individual's ties to land and history. The seemingly absurd episodes—the father transforming into a deer, the village shrouded in thick fog—are in fact the author's purification and symbolization of reality, guiding readers to consider another kind of truth beyond the visible world.

The reading experience is not light or breezy; it asks readers to be patient and attentive, to follow the author's quiet narrative rhythm and slowly enter the fog-laden village where legends grow. Its value lies in offering a literary sample for re-examining the relationship between the "rural" and the "modern"—not nostalgia but exploration. In an age when local knowledge is gradually dissipating, this kind of writing is itself a form of resistance and "awakening." It suits readers who value literary quality and do not mind a slow-paced narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in contemporary Chinese rural literature and local narrative
Readers who enjoy slow-paced novels that emphasize atmosphere and imagery
Those who wish to look beyond the surface of story to ponder memory, identity, and history
Literary enthusiasts who appreciate the blending of folk legend, the strange, and realist technique

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace, and a clear resolution
Readers who feel alienated by regional cultural backgrounds and subtle metaphorical expression

Reading tips

Try reading it alongside other works by Ran Zhengwan (such as Tianyan) to better grasp his creative trajectory and stylistic evolution.
Do not rush to seek the "truth" of the plot; immerse yourself instead in the distinctive atmosphere and texture of the language.
The book involves many local customs and folk legends of northern Guizhou; some familiarity with or curiosity about them will enhance the reading experience.

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
不敢马虎（代序）
唤醒
一只阔嘴鸟
诗人与香菇
高脚女人
十字弩
慢生活

FAQ

Is this a purely realist rural novel?

Not purely realist. It blends magical realism, tales of the strange, and local-gazetteer elements, building a literary space full of metaphor and symbol on a foundation of solid rural detail; the boundary between real and surreal is often blurred.

Is the tone heavy or warm?

The tone is generally calm, restrained, even somewhat cool, with a faint melancholy and mystery. Yet in the depiction of relationships (mother and son, brother and sister) and attachment to the land, there is a tenacious warmth and vitality—not unrelieved gloom.

Do I need to know Guizhou or northern Guizhou culture to understand it?

Not necessarily. The author renders local customs and practices sufficiently in literary terms for ordinary readers to enter the story. But some interest in or knowledge of southwestern regional culture will help capture the cultural details and deeper implications more finely.

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About the author

冉正万 Author

Ran Zhengwan is a contemporary Chinese author. Systematic information about his life and educational background is not publicly available. Four of his works are included here: Awakening, Hongbian Gate, Paper House, and The Aged Fingernails and the Night-Fleeing Cat: Selected Works of Ran Zhengwan, the last belonging to the "Seven Peaks of Guizhou" series. These works are often classified as classic literature and social fiction. Rooted in the everyday life of Guizhou, they focus on ordinary people's circumstances and inner turmoil amid social change, with delicate prose that combines realistic texture and allegorical overtones. Judging from the available titles, he uses concrete human relationships to carry deeper social observation, and his work has drawn some attention in regional literary circles. Given the limited reliable material, his full creative trajectory and literary influence remain to be further examined.