Son of the Earth

Name: Son of the Earth
ISBN: 9787301114704

Zhao YuanPeking University Press · ChinaAug 2025

4.1

Word count: 236K words
Chapters: 28
ISBN: 9787301114704

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Summary

In China, this vast agricultural country, intellectuals are bound by countless ties to the countryside and peasants, and they harbor deep and broad cultural feelings for their native soil and the land. Through analysis and study of a large body of modern and contemporary Chinese literary works, this book explores intellectuals' cultural feelings and spiritual connections toward the land and peasants, revealing the cultural relationship between writers and the countryside and peasants and its modes of literary expression. A dedicated chapter introducing and discussing "educated youth literature" is also a highlight of the book.

Editor's review

Starting from a large body of modern and contemporary literary works, Zhao Yuan inquires into intellectuals' cultural feelings and spiritual connections toward the land and peasants, revealing the cultural relationships behind literary expression. The book offers meticulous readings of rural writing and a dedicated chapter on educated youth literature, where the author's skill is especially evident, analyzing a generation's rural experience and literary imagination at the level of cultural psychology. With clear critical awareness and prose that combines scholarly depth with readability, it is no mere listing of works but an exploration, through literature, of the emotional structure between intellectuals and the countryside. Suitable for readers interested in the relationship between rural Chinese society and modern and contemporary literature, and for researchers who may consult its analytical methods. Readers may pair it with the specific works discussed to appreciate how the author distills cultural propositions from textual details.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University teachers and students studying the relationship between modern and contemporary Chinese literature and rural culture
Readers interested in educated youth literature and the spiritual history of intellectuals
Deep readers concerned with rural writing who wish to understand rural China through literature
Graduate exam candidates in modern and contemporary literature, usable as reference for thematic research

Not a good fit for

Beginners unfamiliar with modern and contemporary literary works and lacking a textual foundation
Readers expecting analysis of the countryside purely from sociological or economic perspectives
Casual readers who want only novel stories and are unwilling to engage with analytical discussion

Reading tips

Read the dedicated chapter on educated youth literature first, then return to the earlier general discussion of rural feelings to grasp the book's central questions.
Read the original works discussed alongside the book to test the author's readings of textual details.
As you read, sort out the several types of intellectual-peasant relationships to form your own analytical framework.
Excerpt core concepts such as cultural feeling and spiritual connection, and reflect on their relation to modes of literary expression.

About the publisher

Peking University Press China · Founded in 1979

Peking University Press is a comprehensive university press whose publishing areas cover classical literature, popular science, social culture, world history, Western philosophy, and culture. Its catalogue contains 6,031 titles, with representative books including A Dream of Red Mansions, Relativity: The Special and General Theory (15th Edition) (with Einstein's classic papers on unified field theory and other topics), Elements, Conics, The Aristocratic Families of the Eastern Jin, The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume I), The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume II), and The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Representative authors include Cao Xueqin, Zhou Ruchang, Albert Einstein, Euclid, Apollonius, Tian Yuqing, Schelling, and Xian Gang. The press has developed distinctive strengths in classical Chinese literature and in the translation of Western philosophical classics, while also covering scientific classics and social and cultural studies. As public information is limited, this description is based only on the books in the catalogue and offers no further extrapolation.

版权信息
《文学史研究丛书》总序
自序
第一章大地·乡土·荒原
第一节大地
第二节乡土
第三节荒原
第二章农民与农民文化
第一节农民
第二节土地意识与性文化
第三节在群集中，死亡之际
第三章 “大地”的颜色
第一节模式及其变易
第二节色彩斑驳
第三节方言趣味及其他
第四节南北东西
第四章知青作者与知青文学
第一节知青一代·知青文学
第二节怀念与回归
第三节知青历史反思
第四节评价难题
第五节知青作者
附录知青作者的作品及其电影诠释
初版后记
再版后记
作者小传
学术史丛书
文学史研究丛书

FAQ

Does this book mainly discuss literary works or social problems?

Both, but the focus is on literature. By analyzing a large body of modern and contemporary literary works, the author explores intellectuals' cultural feelings and spiritual connections toward the land and peasants, revealing the cultural relationship between writers and the countryside and its modes of literary expression. Social background serves as context for understanding the works, but the book's footing remains in literary texts and cultural psychology.

What is the place of the dedicated chapter on educated youth literature in the book?

Educated youth literature is a highlight chapter of the book. The educated youth generation carries the dual identity of intellectuals and those with rural experience, and their writing集中 embodies the complex relationship between city and countryside, personal memory and era experience. This chapter can be seen as a concrete extension of the earlier discussion of intellectuals' cultural ties to the countryside, and can also be read first on its own as an entry point to the whole book.

Do I need to have read many modern and contemporary novels to read this book?

Not all of them, but some textual grounding helps. The book analyzes a great many works; without any exposure, the finer points of the argument are hard to appreciate. It is advisable to have read at least several representative works on rural themes and educated youth themes, and to turn back to the originals when reading the relevant chapters for a more concrete understanding.

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About the author

Zhao Yuan Author · Chinese · 1945

Zhao Yuan was born in Lanzhou in 1945, with ancestral roots in Weishi, Henan. She is a researcher at the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University in 1969 and received her master's degree in literature from Peking University in 1981, studying under Wang Yao. Her early research focused on modern and contemporary Chinese literature, and she later turned to the study of scholar-officials in the Ming-Qing transition. Her representative works include Difficult Choices, On Ten Novelists, Beijing: City and People, Son of the Earth, Family Members, Father and Son, In Search of Yitang, and the three-volume selected edition Classic Masterpieces of Shen Congwen. Her writing spans literary appreciation and social-science research, combining close reading of fiction and classics with deep inquiry into the intellectual world of scholar-officials and urban culture. Her style is solid and intellectually rigorous, and she has had a lasting influence in both modern Chinese literary studies and Ming-Qing intellectual and cultural history.