An Appointment with Anhui
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literary readers who enjoy small-town subjects and southern scenery
- Readers who prefer short emotional stories and read in spare moments
- Readers interested in text-image combinations and collecting artistic illustrations
- Urban readers seeking to feel human warmth in a gentle atmosphere
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking strong plots, fast pacing, or suspenseful twists
- Readers needing systematic local gazetteers or folklore research materials
- Readers who prefer long continuous narratives and dislike switching between short pieces
Reading tips
- No need to read in order—open to any piece, finish it, then look at the corresponding artwork to appreciate how text and image respond to each other.
- Pause after every two or three pieces, recall similar people and places from your own hometown, and make brief notes.
- View the artwork first as an independent work, then read the story, and check whether the text changes the expectations the image gave you.
- Read one piece before bed or on the commute; avoid reading too many in one sitting, which would dilute each piece's distinctive atmosphere.
About the publisher
Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 一 青檀坊
- 二 徽家酒楼
- 三 丹凤黄梅
- 四 油纸伞
- 五 半山寺
- 六 兰香茶舍
- 七 老胡家具
- 八 小小网店
- 九 水墨花砖
- 十 东山枇杷
- 十一 小芳油坊
- 十二 褶皱烟田
- 十三 石坊春雨
- 十四 酒哥老六
- 十五 梅林朱砂
- 十六 榔桥人家
- 十七 落雪翻红
- 十八 采桑子
- 十九 云涯之上
- 二十 樱花红陌
- 二十一 听竹轩
- 二十二 故人心上
- 二十三 来处归途
- 二十四 半世花开
- 二十五 山那边
- 后记
FAQ
Is this book fiction or prose?
What is the relationship between the paintings and the stories?
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About the author
Lao Ma is an author about whom limited public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name have not been clearly recorded. Judging from the two works held in the collection, Wan Yue and Qing Cong, Lao Ma's writing falls mainly between the genres of social fiction and youth literature. The title Wan Yue carries a clear regional reference, suggesting that the work may be connected to the people, customs, and everyday life of the Anhui region, while Qing Cong is closer to the vein of youthful memory and coming-of-age narrative. Placed side by side, the two works show that the author can handle both social realist subject matter and the emotional and developmental experiences of the younger generation. Only these two works can currently be confirmed, which is not yet enough to sketch a complete picture of his creative trajectory or the evolution of his style, but the choice of subjects suggests that Lao Ma tends to start from concrete scenes of life and write about the circumstances and inner states of ordinary people. More public information is needed to fill in his personal history and creative background.
