Origin Hometown

Name: Origin Hometown
ISBN: 9787550048782

季玉Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaMar 2024

2.9

Word count: 258K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787550048782

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Summary

This novel tells the story of Chengjiazhuang in Chaxi Township on the Northern Jiangsu Plain, following two generations from the 1980s to the present. Cheng Jiabao is the long-awaited son born to his parents after five daughters. Through portraits of Cheng Jiabao's uncle's family, the widow Li Chuntao's family, Cheng Yougen, Liu Cuilan, Cheng Sanlou, Cheng Guixiang, Xu Dapao and others, the book vividly presents the rural landscape of Northern Jiangsu and Chinese-style village relationships, reflecting progress of the times, social change, human decency, and the fate of ordinary individuals against the backdrop of era, society and nature.

Editor's review

Set in Chengjiazhuang, Chaxi Township, on the Northern Jiangsu Plain, Source Village uses Cheng Jiabao—the son finally born after five daughters—as its narrative thread, unfolding two generations of daily life along a timeline from the 1980s to the present. Author Ji Yu does not rely on dramatic conflict; instead, village social ties, family relations, attitudes toward childbearing, and the bond between land and people seep through gradually, reading like an elder from a familiar village telling old stories at a leisurely pace. The novel's value lies in its portrayal of "Chinese-style village relationships"—not a curiosity-driven folk display, but a placing of ordinary people's choices, such as those of the widow Li Chuntao, Cheng Yougen and Liu Cuilan, back into the context of social change, letting readers see how individual fates are gently shifted by social processes. The language is plain and the details solid, suited to slow chapter-by-chapter reading on quiet evenings, and also to readers interested in rural themes and family narratives as a literary entry point for understanding change in Northern Jiangsu villages.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy rural literature and care about village change
Those interested in family narratives and the fate of two generations
Readers who want to learn about Northern Jiangsu Plain customs through fiction
Readers who prefer plain language and slow-paced narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace and twists
Readers uninterested in rural themes who prefer urban or fantasy fiction
Readers hoping for systematic social analysis rather than literary narrative

Reading tips

First clarify the character relationships in Chengjiazhuang; jotting down each family's connections while reading can lower the barrier to entry.
Read along the timeline and note how the era from the 1980s onward shapes characters' choices.
Slow down when reading side threads such as Li Chuntao and Cheng Yougen; these characters carry the rich layers of village relationships.

About the publisher

Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1990

Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literature and art publisher. Judging from the books in the database, its publishing focus is on foreign literature, world classics, prose and miscellaneous writings, and classic works, while also covering literary appreciation and cultural reading. Representative titles include The Painter of Modern Life, Jane Eyre, Six Chapters of a Floating Life, The Moon and Sixpence, Selected Prose of Ji Xianlin, A Sportsman's Sketches, and Collected Prose of Famous Masters, involving Chinese and foreign authors such as Charles Baudelaire, Charlotte Brontë, Shen Fu, and W. Somerset Maugham, as well as translators including Guo Hong'an, Chen Jinhui, Jing Xing, and Jiao Haili. Overall, the press emphasizes the introduction of classic texts and the compilation of prose works, presenting a publishing profile centered on literary reading and cultural accumulation. As public information is limited, other aspects are not elaborated here.

版权信息
第一章
第二章
第三章
第四章
第五章
第六章
第七章
第八章
第九章
第十章
第十一章
第十二章
第十三章
第十四章
第十五章
第十六章
后记语言有时候真的苍白无力

FAQ

Is this book nonfiction or a novel?

Source Village is a novel; its characters and plot are literary fiction, though it is set in Chengjiazhuang, Chaixi Township, on the Northern Jiangsu plain, and the rural scenes and human relationships it presents have the texture of real life. It should not be read as a local gazetteer or documentary report.

Can I get into it without experience of rural life?

Yes. The novel follows the birth and growth of Cheng Jiabao as its main thread; the narrative is plain, and although there are many characters, they revolve around a single village, so readers can gradually become familiar with the setting by following the main thread. No prior knowledge of Northern Jiangsu rural life is required.

What time span does the book cover?

The story runs from the 1980s to the present, covering the lives of two generations in Chengjiazhuang; through the everyday changes in a single village, readers can feel the impact of progress and social transformation on individual lives.

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About the author

季玉 Author

Ji Yu is an author about whom very little public information is available; the only confirmed detail is a single work, Yuanxiang (Source Village). This full-length work is classified as a social novel, suggesting that its writing addresses real life and the human relationships of rural society rather than purely imaginative narrative. The title itself hints at a connection with one's hometown and roots, implying that the author is concerned with how individuals find their place amid their native land and changing times. Because birth and death dates, nationality, education, and writing career cannot be verified, it is difficult to sketch Ji Yu's literary trajectory further or to judge where Yuanxiang stands within it. On the available evidence, Ji Yu's profile emerges mainly through this one work, whose subject matter leans toward social reality and whose style may favor plain narrative carrying observations of rural experience. Readers seeking to know this author can for now begin only with Yuanxiang, in the hope that more public information will later fill out the full picture of their writing.