The Sky Walker

Name: The Sky Walker
ISBN: 9787020075584

Liu XinglongPeople's Literature Publishing House · ChinaOct 2025

4.4

Word count: 199K words
Chapters: 23
ISBN: 9787020075584

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Summary

There were once as many as four million minban (community-hired) teachers in rural China. In extremely harsh conditions, they shouldered the task of imparting knowledge and enlightening minds to more than a hundred million rural primary and secondary school students in the compulsory education stage, spreading modern civilization to the most remote corners, giving enormously and receiving very little. More than a decade ago, the story "Phoenix Qin" brought before the nation these minban teachers who had quietly dedicated themselves for years in mountain villages, and countless readers were moved to tears. Now author Liu Xinglong, still not having said all he wanted to say, continues with The Skywalkers, telling the story of minban teachers' arduous struggles and hopes, and offering a moving, tragic and heroic song for these "folk heroes who quietly endured hardship on the land of China in the second half of the twentieth century."

Editor's review

The Skywalkers is a representative work by Mao Dun Literature Prize winner Liu Xinglong. Taking China's rural minban teachers as its entry point, it unfolds a panoramic view of nearly half a century of change in rural education in China. With delicate strokes, the book portrays a group of minban teachers represented by Zhang Yingcai, Sun Sihai, and Deng Youmi, telling their moving stories of dedicating their youth to rural basic education under extremely difficult conditions. Drawing on deep literary craft, Liu Xinglong skillfully interweaves individual fates with the tides of the era, presenting both the survival difficulties and spiritual perseverance of this special group of minban teachers and reflecting the complex face of Chinese society during its transformation. The work's value lies not only in its artistry as literature but also in the precious historical record it leaves for a group that was about to disappear. Reading this work, readers can deeply feel how educators in an era of material scarcity ignited the light of hope in rural areas with meager means, and this spiritual power still has strong contemporary relevance. The characters are full and three-dimensional, the plot is authentic and moving, and the language is plain yet full of tension, demonstrating Liu Xinglong's profound insight into rural life and deep humanistic concern.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in contemporary Chinese literature and realist themes
Thinkers concerned with rural education, social change, and the humanistic spirit
Readers who wish to understand the face of rural Chinese society before and after reform and opening up
Literature lovers who appreciate finely drawn characters and deeply felt emotional expression

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking fast-paced, plot-heavy, entertainment-oriented reading
Readers with no interest at all in rural themes or historical narrative

Reading tips

While reading, it is helpful to consider the historical background of rural education development in China to better understand the characters' choices and fates
Notice how the author uses details of daily life to reveal the characters' complex inner worlds and spiritual pursuits
After finishing the novel, consider the value and meaning of themes such as dedication and perseverance in contemporary society

About the publisher

People's Literature Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

People's Literature Publishing House publishes across classical literature, foreign literature, documentary writing and folk literature, with 492 titles in its catalogue. Representative books range from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Lao She's Teahouse and Longxu Ditch in the Selected Works of Lao She, as well as translated foreign literature such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Dante's Divine Comedy and Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, alongside documentary and fictional works including Primo Levi's If This Is a Man and João Guimarães Rosa's The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Its authors include Chinese writers such as Lao She, translators such as Shen Emeri and Li Wenjun, and foreign authors such as James Wood. Overall, the house has a strong record in editing classic works and translating foreign literature, with a publishing character that bridges Chinese and foreign writing and values textual quality.

第一部凤凰琴第一章（一）
第一部凤凰琴第一章（二）
第一部凤凰琴第二章（一）
第一部凤凰琴第二章（二）
第一部凤凰琴第二章（三）
第一部凤凰琴第三章（一）
第一部凤凰琴第三章（二）
第二部雪笛第四章（一）
第二部雪笛第四章（二）
第二部雪笛第五章（一）
第二部雪笛第五章（二）
第二部雪笛第五章（三）
第二部雪笛第五章（四）
第二部雪笛第五章（五）
第三部天行者第六章（一）
第三部天行者第六章（二）
第三部天行者第六章（三）
第三部天行者第六章（四）
第三部天行者第七章（一）
第三部天行者第七章（二）
第三部天行者第七章（三）
第三部天行者第七章（四）
第三部天行者第七章（五）

FAQ

How is The Skywalkers related to Liu Xinglong's other works?

The Skywalkers is an important novel by Liu Xinglong and is continuous with his earlier creative vein of focusing on reality and rooting himself in rural life. His other famous work, Phoenix Qin, can be regarded as a companion piece or prelude to The Skywalkers; both focus on the group of rural minban teachers, but The Skywalkers expands on a grander scale in temporal span and thematic depth.

What is the literary style of this book?

The book employs a realist approach, with a plain and profound style and sincere, full-bodied emotion. The narrative is solid and steady, emphasizing detail and environmental description, and the language has a strong rural flavor and texture of lived experience, containing strong lyrical power and intellectual depth within its understated narration.

What major awards has this book won?

The Skywalkers won the 8th Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2011, one of China's highest literary honors, marking high recognition of its literary value and social significance.

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About the author

Liu Xinglong Author · Chinese · 1956

Liu Xinglong, born in 1956 in Huangzhou, Hubei, with ancestral roots in Tuanfeng, is a contemporary Chinese realist writer. In his early years he worked as a water conservancy construction worker and a valve factory laborer, and in 1984 he published his first work, Black Butterfly, Black Butterfly... His writing is rooted in real life, often drawing on rural society and the lives of ordinary people, with plain yet warm prose. His representative works include Fengqin, The Skywalker, and Saint Heaven's Gate; The Skywalker won the 8th Mao Dun Literature Prize, and Carrying Tea to Beijing won the Lu Xun Literature Prize. The library holds 14 of his works, including The Skywalker, Selected Works of Liu Xinglong, Life Is Labor and Benevolence, Drunk in the Autumn Wind, If the Days Ahead Are Long, and Listening for Leaks, commonly categorized as social fiction and classic works. He has served as chairman of the Hubei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles and has long focused on the fate and dignity of ordinary people.