Distant Village

Name: Distant Village
ISBN: 9787555039853

陈忠坤Fujian Straits Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

3.2

Word count: 96K words
Chapters: 31
ISBN: 9787555039853

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Summary

Through a child's eyes, *Far Village* tells the story of generations of struggle and defiance in a fishing village on a small island in southern Fujian. The local customs and changing times of the Minnan fishing village are woven into the narrative. Readers encounter playful Minnan folk songs and festival foods, daily customs, and living traditions distinct to the region, as the vivid textures of everyday life rise from the story.

The poetic language, reflections on life, devotion to dreams, and lingering nostalgia—stories etched into flesh and bone—are steeped in genuine feeling and deeply moving.

Editor's review

*Far Village* is a novel that views a century of change in a Minnan fishing village through the eyes of a child. Author Chen Zhongkun does not turn rural life into a static postcard of scenery; instead, folk songs, festival foods, and daily customs emerge naturally alongside generations of struggle and resistance, with everyday life and the currents of history rising together within the story. What moves readers most is the poetry and restraint of the language: reflections on life, devotion to dreams, and inescapable nostalgia are woven into the fates of specific characters rather than expressed through empty sentiment. The child's clear-eyed gaze is both a narrative anchor and a mirror, reflecting the resilience and helplessness of the adult world. It is a book to read slowly on quiet evenings, and one suited to parent-child reading and discussions about hometown and growing up. For readers interested in Minnan culture and maritime fishing-village life, it offers rich folk detail and emotional depth; for general readers, it is more like a long letter to one's native soil—after finishing it, you may find yourself thinking of the place you came from.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Adult readers who enjoy regional literature and coming-of-age novels
Readers interested in Minnan fishing-village customs, folk songs, and food culture
Parents hoping to read with their children about hometown and family themes
Readers of nonfiction and fiction concerned with the changing times of maritime fishing villages

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plot and fast-paced suspense or genre fiction
Readers seeking systematic folklore materials or local-gazetteer-style documentation
Young children reading independently; some reflections on life require adult guidance

Reading tips

Read through in story order first; slow down at passages with Minnan folk songs and food to feel the rhythm of the language.
Keep a sheet of paper to note the relationships and timeline of the generations, which helps clarify the village's arc of change.
When reading with a child, discuss one topic after each chapter: What does hometown look like to you?
After finishing, look up the locations of Minnan island fishing villages on a map and place the fictional story back into real geography.

About the publisher

Fujian Straits Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1984

Fujian Straits Literature and Art Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused on literature and art. Its publishing areas cover documentary literature, literary appreciation, classic works and social novels. Although the library holds only nine of its books, they show a balance between original and translated titles: documentary works such as The Madhouse at the End of the World: The “Belgica” Antarctic Journey, literary appreciation like Terry Eagleton’s The Art of Reading Literature, social novels such as Who Has a Heart Without Scars and Empty Nest, and historical works such as Xiang Yu with Double Pupils. Its representative authors include Julian Sancton, Li Houren, Terry Eagleton, Huang Xiaoyang, Xue Yiwei, Xiao Xiaoshu and Chen Zhongkun, reflecting attention to both Chinese and foreign author resources. The publisher also touches on film and television and otherworldly fantasy categories, but publicly available information is limited, making it difficult to describe its series system and full publishing features in detail.

版权信息
序一故乡的诗意抒写与理性反思
序二故乡是一根若隐若现的狗绳
一、决堤
二、收获
三、庆功
四、海娃
五、心事
六、下跪
七、命运
八、傻叔
九、订婚
十、黄昏
十一、女娃
十二、叔公
十三、娶亲
十四、离乡
十五、变化
十六、涟漪
十七、闹热
十八、死生
十九、海龟
二十、土沙
二十一、水鬼
二十二、变故
二十三、狂风
二十四、告别
二十五、眷念
附录远去了的《远庄》
部分评语
《远庄》：一曲闽南渔村的深情咏叹

FAQ

Is this book suitable for elementary school children to read on their own?

The book unfolds from a child's perspective and the language is poetic, but it involves generations of struggle, defiance, and reflections on life, some of which require adult explanation. Upper-grade students can try it; for younger children, parent-child reading is preferable, with parents discussing as they go.

Can readers without Minnan life experience understand it?

Yes. Folk songs, festival foods, and customs appear naturally in the story, and the author sets no barrier to reading. Readers unfamiliar with Minnan culture may actually come to understand the meaning of these customs through the characters' fates, and the experience feels like a journey to a hometown on paper.

How is this book different from ordinary regional fiction?

It maintains a child's perspective and does not turn rural life into a nostalgic specimen; instead, folk details unfold naturally alongside generations of daily life. The language is poetic and the emotion restrained, with emphasis on reflections on life and nostalgia rather than dramatic conflict—a book to read slowly and savor.

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About the author

陈忠坤 Author

Chen Zhongkun is an author about whom relatively limited public information is available. His representative work is the novel Yuanzhuang (Remote Village). According to the information available, the book is classified as a social novel, suggesting that his writing focuses on the circumstances and relationships of people in real social life rather than on fantasy, alternate worlds, or purely personal lyricism. Social novels usually take a concrete social environment as their background and reflect the spirit of the times and the warmth and coldness of worldly life through the fates of their characters. It may therefore be inferred that Yuanzhuang leans toward realism in subject matter and may tell a story set in a village or at the grassroots level of society. As far as the existing materials show, Chen Zhongkun's body of work is not yet extensive, with only one title recorded. Nothing can be verified about his life, native place, education, or creative career, so it would be inappropriate to draw further conclusions about his writing style. At present, the main clue to understanding this author is his work Yuanzhuang, and readers may explore its narrative orientation and central concerns through the text itself.