A Record of the Alms Bowl

Name: A Record of the Alms Bowl
ISBN: 9787551326988

汪泉Taibai Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJun 2026

3.4

Word count: 120K words
Chapters: 12
ISBN: 9787551326988

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Summary

A collection of eleven short stories, Ti Bo Ji draws its settings from Gansu and Guangdong—the two places the author knows best—and uses them as both the starting point and the anchor of the narrative. The stories portray contemporary ordinary people: educated young people who have left the countryside for big cities, elderly people worn down by age and illness, women suffering domestic abuse, village schoolteachers, and students from impoverished families. Together they represent different social groups, revealing both the hardships, helplessness, and bewilderment of ordinary people and their fine qualities of diligence, kindness, and unwavering hope. Each group faces its own predicament, yet their shining moments are all the more precious in a noisy, restless era. The collection reflects the author's thinking on social issues, and its exploration of human nature is thought-provoking.

Editor's review

Tobo Ji is a short story collection by Wang Quan. Its eleven pieces are set in Gansu and Guangdong, turning their gaze on ordinary people easily overlooked in contemporary life. The author does not deliberately manufacture dramatic conflict; instead, characters such as educated youth, frail elderly, women harmed by domestic violence, rural teachers, and impoverished students gradually come into focus within their own circumstances. He writes of their helplessness and bewilderment, and also of the kindness and hope within them that refuse to be extinguished. The collection's strength lies in how it hides its observations of social problems within everyday details—no slogans, no rush to provide answers—letting readers walk alongside the characters into those hard-to-articulate predicaments. The narrative language is restrained, yet the emotional weight is substantial, making it suited to reading one story at a time in quiet moments. For readers drawn to realistic themes and short fiction, this book offers a window onto the intersection of urban and rural life today, and prompts a fresh look at the silent majority around us in a noisy age.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy realistic short fiction and care about the fates of ordinary people
Those interested in life at the urban-rural divide and eager to see ordinary people's circumstances
Readers who need short-form reading suitable for commutes or bedtime in segments
Literary fans concerned with social issues and human nature who prefer restrained narration

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, humorous, plot-driven, fast-paced stories
Readers hoping for clear solutions or grand narratives
Readers prone to emotional stress from heavy realistic themes

Reading tips

Read in the order of the stories, pausing briefly after each to let the emotions settle before moving to the next.
Note the shifts between Gansu and Guangdong settings, and compare how characters' circumstances change across regions.
After finishing, pick the character who left the deepest impression and recall which details the author used to present their predicament.
Best read with a notebook, recording the moments in each story that feel "awkward yet true."

About the publisher

Taibai Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1993

Taibai Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional publisher focused on literature and art. Its publishing areas cover classics, foreign literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, modern poetry, philosophical reading, and social novels. Judging from the books in the database, the press introduces foreign literary classics such as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Dostoevsky's The Insulted and Humiliated, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, and the complete novels of Jane Austen, while also publishing essay works such as Xiang Xing Za Ji: Huang Yongyu Illustrated Edition, modern poetry such as Zha Lie Zhi, and philosophical reading such as On the Art of Choice. Its translators and authors include Hu Zhongchi, Shao Quanlin, Feng Zikai, and Li Jihong, reflecting a publishing profile that combines classic translation with domestic literary creation. Due to limited public information, its complete publishing scope and features require further supplementation.

版权信息
毡
助威团
自封为司令的爸爸
掘墓时刻的微火
燃烧的冰川
广州印象系列
托钵记
四手联弹
热水壶
旧日燃烧的火车
跋原乡情结的隐秘还原——汪泉短篇小说叙事研究

FAQ

How many stories does this book contain, and what do they have in common thematically?

The book contains eleven short stories, set mainly in Gansu and Guangdong. What they share is a focus on portraits of ordinary people today, writing of their respective predicaments and the kindness and hope they preserve amid those predicaments, together presenting a sustained attention to ordinary lives.

I haven't read any of Wang Quan's work. Can I start with this book?

Yes. This is a short story collection; each piece stands alone and requires no prior reading experience. It is suggested to begin with the type of character that interests you most—such as a rural teacher or a young person who has moved to the city—to get a feel for the author's narrative voice before reading the other pieces.

Are the stories too heavy, making them stressful to read?

The themes do involve real hardships such as poverty, domestic violence, and illness in old age, but the author does not sensationalize suffering; rather, he reveals the glimmers of light within the characters amid their predicaments. The overall tone is restrained; reading may leave a sense of heaviness, but hope remains. It is suited to reading in segments rather than all at once.

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About the author

汪泉 Author

Wang Quan is an author about whom limited public information is available. At present, only one work by this author is included in the collection, namely The Bowl-Begging Record (Tuobo Ji), commonly classified as a classic work. As the author's dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are not clearly recorded, it is not yet possible to outline a complete biography or to determine the span of their writing career and overall stylistic development. Based on the available material, readers may focus on the themes and writing characteristics presented in The Bowl-Begging Record itself and treat it as a starting point for understanding this author. Wang Quan's literary profile still awaits further works and additional public information before it can be presented more clearly.