Mother

Name: Mother
ISBN: 9787521228717

彭学明Writers Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

4.0

Word count: 197K words
Chapters: 52
ISBN: 9787521228717

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Summary

The long-form documentary prose *Mother* is an epic about women. *Mother* vividly portrays the life of a Chinese mother deep in the mountains of western Hunan, recording in panoramic view, through her son's eyes, how she sacrificed her reputation and endured untold suffering, raising and protecting her children with her blood, tears, and very life, and educating and nurturing them through her moral character and spirit. In a deeply affectionate voice and with a retrospective touch, the author tells of being abandoned by his father in childhood, of depending on his mother alone until her death, and of the years of hardship in which his mother gave all her energy and spent all her blood and tears for her children. Forced by circumstances, his frail yet strong mother remarried twice, bringing her children with her. Yet to protect her son's upbringing, she resolutely divorced and never remarried again. With an iron will she toiled relentlessly, single-handedly holding the whole family together. She came close to paralysis; her son failed the college entrance exam three times and sat it again and again; her younger daughter married the wrong man—yet through ordeal after ordeal, with the endurance and self-sacrifice characteristic of Chinese women, she supported her son all the way out of the mountains...

Editor's review

This is a long-form documentary prose work that looks back on a mother's life through her son's eyes, rendering the suffering and resilience of an ordinary Chinese mother deep in the mountains of western Hunan with poignant restraint. What moves readers most is that it does not evade the fractures within the family or the son's guilt, placing the mother's two remarriages, her single-handed support of the household, and her backing of her son through three years of repeated exam attempts on the way out of the mountains within concrete details of daily life, so that the word "Mother" carries both the weight of private emotion and the universality of Chinese women's endurance and self-sacrifice. The author narrates in a retrospective vein; the emotional intensity is high but never sentimental, making it a book suited to slow reading in a quiet setting. For readers interested in writing about family bonds, women's fates, and rural themes, it offers strong immersion and readily prompts reflection on one's own family relationships. A reminder: suffering and emotional impact are densely packed, so there is no need to rush—pausing appropriately helps the reading settle.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers seeking emotional resonance in writing about family bonds
Nonfiction readers interested in Chinese women's fates and the figure of the mother
Readers who enjoy prose set in western Hunan and rural themes
Adult children who want to reflect on their own relationships with their parents through reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, breezy reading and dislike heavy emotional content
Fiction readers looking for invented plots and dramatic twists

Reading tips

Read chapter by chapter, allowing time to process the emotions after each section to avoid emotional fatigue from reading straight through.
Jot down family details that strike you as you read, then reflect on them against your own upbringing afterward.
If you are distant from your parents, use the mother's choices in the book as a way into understanding the older generation rather than as grounds for judgment.
Suitable as a family read-aloud or book-club text, with discussion centered on "sacrifice and fulfillment."

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
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
四十六
四十七
四十八
四十九
五十
五十一

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of documentary writing?

The materials identify it as long-form documentary prose, recalling a mother's life through her son's eyes—nonfiction writing. The people and events are based on the author's family experience rather than invented, so it is best read as a genuine family memory.

Are the episodes of the mother's two remarriages too heavy?

The mother's two remarriages and her single-handed raising of her children are indeed central threads, and the depictions of hardship are concentrated. But the author writes in a retrospective, grateful vein, focusing on the mother's resilience and devotion rather than playing up pain. The emotional impact is strong, so reading in sections according to your tolerance is advisable.

Why is the son failing the college entrance exam three times and repeating included in the book?

It is one of the key experiences through which the mother supported her son's way out of the mountains. Behind the three repeated years lie the family's financial pressure and the mother's iron-like toil; the author writes it as concrete evidence of her self-sacrifice, and it also shows readers the heavy price education as a path to changing one's fate exacts in an ordinary family.

Is it suitable as a gift for parents or elders?

Yes, but it depends on the elder's reading habits and emotional tolerance. The book dwells on the mother's hardships and devotion; elders of the same generation will readily resonate, though it may also stir painful memories. If giving it as a gift, read it yourself first, then decide whether to recommend it based on the recipient's state, and be prepared to talk it over.

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About the author

彭学明 Author

Peng Xueming is a Chinese author of prose and miscellaneous writings, though the publicly verifiable information about him is limited, and his work is known to readers mainly through a single title. The collection includes his work Niang (Mother), classified as prose and miscellaneous writings. Judging from the title and genre, the book appears to be prose writing centered on a mother or on family affection, a common theme of family and rural life in contemporary Chinese prose; such works often use personal memory as a thread to portray relatives and the details of daily life, expressing an understanding of and longing for family ties. Because the author's biography, native place, and personal experience are not clearly recorded in the available materials, no inferences are made here; the writing orientation is described only in terms of the work itself: prose that addresses themes close to everyday experience, in a plain style with natural emotional expression. Readers who wish to learn more about this author may turn to the text of Niang to sense its choice of subject and manner of narration. Public materials are limited, so no further extension is offered here.