Flower Alley cover

Flower Alley

Rating 4.0
Word count
144K words
Chapters
79
ISBN
9787540493882

Tags

Summary

Living with care is exhausting, yet it is the only path to happiness. A definitive selection of classic essays by the renowned contemporary writer Feng Jicai, authorized by the author himself, who chose the title and approved the contents. Illustrated collector's edition. Centered on the theme of "living with care," the book gathers 58 classic essays, 29 of which—including "The Mountain Porter," "The Pearl Bird," and "Painted Face"—have been included in Chinese-language textbooks across different regions. Reading Feng Jicai's essays is like reading model texts from a textbook: their scenes, feelings, and reflections are equally captivating.

Editor's review

Flower Lane is a selection of essays by Feng Jicai from recent years, gathering more than fifty representative pieces written over four decades. It is not a simple compilation but uses "flower lane" as an image to link the author's deep observations and warm records of life, art, culture and human affairs. Feng's writing combines a painter's acuity with a writer's philosophical reflection. The book includes classics such as "The Mountain Porter" and "The Pearl Bird," which have been anthologized in textbooks and show the resilience and beauty of ordinary life, as well as cultural essays like "The Past Like Smoke" and "Stones of Ancient Greece," which reveal the concerns and sense of responsibility of an author who is also a protector of cultural heritage. The language is plain and precise, the narration unhurried and well-paced; beneath the seemingly casual tone lie lament for vanishing traditions, cherishing of everyday human warmth, and an unremitting pursuit of the essence of beauty. Reading this book is like walking with a learned and kindly elder down a lane blooming with flowers of memory and thought, gaining rare calm and nourishment in a noisy age.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who love plain, profound essays rich in the texture of life
  • Those interested in Tianjin's regional culture and street life
  • Readers hoping to draw quiet strength and life wisdom from the writing
  • Writers and language educators wishing to study a master essayist's craft

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking strong plot and fast-paced narrative
  • Readers hoping for systematic academic viewpoints or theoretical analysis

Reading tips

  1. Read slowly and quietly in leisure time, savoring the visual sense and emotional tension behind the words
  2. Pair the reading with Feng Jicai's paintings or other accounts of old Tianjin to deepen understanding
  3. Some pieces are emotionally rich and reward repeated reading for their rhythm and atmosphere

About the publisher

Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 树后边是太阳
  3. 垂柳
  4. 雄风
  5. 野花
  6. 思绪如烟
  7. 冬日的诗
  8. 放晴
  9. 太行夕照
  10. 往事
  11. 雪村
  12. 树影躺下
  13. 期待
  14. 深巷
  15. 粉墙
  16. 华灯初上
  17. 山间挑夫
  18. 第01章 用心生活
  19. 挑山工
  20. 珍珠鸟
  21. 吃鲫鱼说
  22. 无书的日子
  23. 黄山绝壁松
  24. 旧与老
  25. 献你一束花
  26. 空信箱
  27. 灵感忽至
  28. 夕照透入书房
  29. 书房花木深
  30. 绵山奇观记
  31. 第02章 生命真趣
  32. 哦,中学时代……
  33. 书桌
  34. 花脸
  35. 歪儿
  36. 捅马蜂窝
  37. 日历
  38. 除夕情怀
  39. 摸书
  40. 墓地
  41. 年意
  42. 白发
  43. 空屋
  44. 小动物
  45. 逛娘娘宫
  46. 往事如“烟”
  47. 马年的滋味
  48. 花巷
  49. 第03章 艺术人生
  50. 小说的眼睛
  51. 文化眼光
  52. 话说中国画
  53. 致大海
  54. 天籁
  55. 水墨文字
  56. 绘画是文学的梦
  57. 理性的境界
  58. 文人的书法
  59. 我的书法生活
  60. 行间笔墨
  61. 我与《清明上河图》的故事
  62. 第04章 远方诗意
  63. 奥地利的象征是什么?
  64. 维也纳春天的三个画面
  65. 维也纳森林的故事
  66. 维也纳生活圆舞曲
  67. 看望老柴
  68. 翁弗勒尔
  69. 永恒的敌人
  70. 古希腊的石头
  71. 巴黎的天空
  72. 阿尔卑斯山的精灵
  73. 精神的殿堂
  74. 细雨品京都
  75. 今天的布拉格
  76. 意大利断想
  77. 拉丁区,我们那条小街
  78. 散漫的天性
  79. 萨尔茨堡的性格

FAQ

How is this book different from Feng Jicai's other essay collections?
Flower Lane is a selection spanning more than forty years, with broader subject matter; it includes both classic pieces and later cultural reflections, offering a fuller picture of the author's essay writing and intellectual trajectory.
Is the "flower lane" in the book a real place?
"Flower lane" is both a real alley in Tianjin remembered by Feng Jicai and a literary image carrying his aesthetic ideals and cultural nostalgia, symbolizing things that are beautiful, fleeting and worth remembering.
Is this book suitable for young readers?
Very much so. Many pieces have beautiful language and positive themes, making it an excellent reader for literary initiation and aesthetic education, helping young people cultivate observation of life, perception of beauty and love for their native language.

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About the author

Feng Jicai Author · China · 1942

Feng Jicai, born in Tianjin in 1942 with ancestral roots in Cixi, Zhejiang, is a contemporary Chinese writer, painter and cultural scholar. His work spans fiction, essays and folk literature. His social novels focus on the lives and fortunes of ordinary city dwellers, while his essays reflect on rural life, ancient towns and everyday experience in a plain yet engaging style. The collection includes 12 of his works, among them a selected works edition, the essay collections Where the Soul Belongs Is My Hometown and The Nest of the Soul, as well as Hao Zui Yang Ba, Each Has Their Own Way of Living, Ancient Cities Abroad, Ancient Villages and Folk Customs, and Chronicle of the Mount Tai Porters. He has long been devoted to rescuing and protecting folk cultural heritage, a concern that also runs through his writing.

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