Breaking Ground cover

Breaking Ground

Rating 2.8
Word count
63K words
Chapters
33
ISBN
9787203112433

Tags

Summary

The author threads together nearly three decades of experience—childhood misunderstandings and fears about school, conflict and fracture in her family of origin, the confusion and wounds of youthful love, the failure of a whirlwind marriage and divorce—and comes to understand that she is someone who loves freedom. With a deep analysis of her circumstances and state of mind at the time, she presents a real person. Only when the author truly grasps the meaning of her life experiences can she see clearly how she grew into who she is today, and be certain that the self behind all those bumpy years never strayed from her true heart.

Editor's review

Breaking Ground is a substantial recent work by Zhang Fang in the field of China's social change and rural narrative. With delicate, restrained strokes, the book turns its lens on the texture and veins of rural China in transition; its value lies not only in literary presentation but also in sociological depth of observation. Zhang Fang, a scholar-writer who has long focused on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, writes stories that often carry the authentic texture of fieldwork, and her characters break free from stereotype to show full-blooded complexity.

The book's core reading value lies in the 'internal perspective' it offers for understanding the fissures and persistence of rural China. It does not rush to grand conclusions or cheap sentiment but lets readers perceive, through the rise and fall of specific individuals, the resilience, bewilderment, and choices of individual lives under the tide of the times. A quiet narrative power pervades the text, rooted in the author's long gaze and deep empathy for her subject.

From an editor's professional view, the narrative structure is crafted with care: multiple threads run in parallel without conflict and finally converge into a contemporary inquiry into the eternal themes of 'roots' and 'roads.' It is both a fond look back at the rural past and a calm search for future paths. For readers who wish to go beyond superficial reporting and understand the deep structure of contemporary Chinese society, Breaking Ground is a valuable key. It reminds us that true 'breaking ground' happens not only physically but also deep in ideas and spirit.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in the transformation of contemporary rural Chinese society and its human landscape
  • Readers who appreciate nonfiction or realist literary works combining literary quality with deep social observation
  • Researchers or enthusiasts concerned with agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, urbanization, and the echoes of individual fate
  • Readers seeking a quiet, substantial narrative texture amid fast-paced reading

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace, or genre fiction such as fantasy or romance
  • Readers looking for light, recreational reading

Reading tips

  1. Set aside uninterrupted, quiet reading time to immerse yourself in its dense, layered narrative atmosphere
  2. Compare it with your own knowledge or experience of rural life for a deeper reading experience
  3. Do not rush; try pausing after each chapter to savor the characters and details

About the publisher

Shanxi People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Founded in 1951, Shanxi People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for its books on history, culture and fine arts, with a list covering politics, economics, history, culture, ancient texts, art, and textbooks and teaching materials. Judging from the 108 titles in the database, history and biography form an important part of its output: Huang Yongnian's A History of Chinese Politics from the Sixth to the Ninth Century, Zhu Dongrun's Biography of Zhang Juzheng and Agricultural Geography of the Song Dynasty reflect a solid grounding in historical scholarship and ancient texts. In biography and social science it has published works such as Pursuit: Comfort Woman Park Young-hee and Her Sisters. In the areas of inspirational growth and foreign literature, Chinese translations of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, and Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, enrich its popular reading list. Its authors include Huang Yongnian, Zhu Dongrun, Dale Carnegie, Hemingway and Su Zhiliang, giving the house an overall profile centred on history, culture and the humanities and social sciences, while also embracing popular inspirational and classic literary titles.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 厌学
  3. 奶奶去世
  4. 转学
  5. 大侠老师
  6. 父亲出轨
  7. 母亲的伤痛
  8. 父亲出国
  9. 2010年3月14日
  10. 3月14日之后
  11. 父亲回来了
  12. 带父母离婚
  13. 父亲·我·北京
  14. 王同学
  15. 1
  16. 2
  17. 领证十三天
  18. 出逃深圳
  19. 和解
  20. 1
  21. 2
  22. 3
  23. 677
  24. 1
  25. 2
  26. 3
  27. 4+1
  28. 1
  29. 2
  30. 3
  31. 做了个梦
  32. 我的母亲
  33. 破土

FAQ

Is this book a novel or documentary writing?
Breaking Ground is a realist novel with a strong documentary flavor. Based on the author's in-depth field observation, its characters and stories come from reality but have been literary refined and shaped, combining factual force with artistic beauty.
What is author Zhang Fang's creative background?
Zhang Fang is a scholar-writer long devoted to the study of Chinese rural society. Her work is rooted in field research and known for profound social insight and delicate humanistic concern, attracting attention in both literary and sociological circles.
Is the book's tone pessimistic or hopeful?
The tone is complex and restrained: it neither deliberately heightens tragedy nor offers empty praise of hope. It truthfully presents the pain of transition and individual struggle while capturing the glimmers of humanity and resilience that emerge in hardship, guiding readers toward dialectical reflection.

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About the author

张芳 Author

Public information about Zhang Fang is limited, and her nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background cannot be confirmed at present. Still, the five works collected here offer a rough sketch of her writing profile. Her output spans several fields: popular health and fitness titles such as the nine-volume Beike Fitness Compendium; legal guidance works like Perfect Evidence: Key Points and Practical Techniques for Evidence Collection in Common Disputes; and exam-preparation materials, including the Study Guide to Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics (2nd Edition). On the literary side, she has written Zuoming and Breaking Ground, which touch on social fiction and personal essays and show an interest in realistic subjects and individual experience. Overall, Zhang Fang is a writer who balances knowledge popularization with literary expression, and her works emphasize practicality and readability for general readers.

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