Rebirth

Name: Rebirth
ISBN: 9787201157528

Liang XiaoshengTianjin People's Publishing House · ChinaJul 2020

3.9

Word count: 155K words
Chapters: 11
ISBN: 9787201157528

Report an error Find this book

Summary

The novel portrays a controversial and doubted "cowardly man" and tells an extraordinary, twisting, vivid and moving story of resistance against the Japanese. The refined and gentle protagonist is inwardly forbearing and resilient. During a Japanese village sweep, to save the life of a reckless fellow villager, he exposes his special identity in a moment of urgency and from then on falls into a difficult situation in which he is forced to deal insincerely with the Japanese and incurs the hostility of the local villagers... On the surface he complies with and even ingratiates himself with the Japanese and suffers bullying and humiliation, but in his heart he is filled with hatred, and in the end he personally cuts off the Japanese officer's head and moves toward rebirth. He resists arrogance with compliance and displays strength through weakness; he is a "cowardly man" who never loses integrity and kindness and struggles bitterly in the crevice between the brutality of the enemy and national indignation. The novel not only demonstrates reverence for life, concern for human nature, and longing for peace, but also interprets a life wisdom of overcoming strength with weakness and conquering the hard with the soft.

Editor's review

If Mr. Liang Xiaosheng were to create a new work titled Rebirth, we could fully expect a profound and weighty powerful work threaded with the warmth of history and the radiance of human nature. Liang Xiaosheng's writing has always focused on ordinary people in great eras, and he excels at carving the textures of individual fate and the transformations of the spiritual world against the backdrop of grand historical narrative. In his hands, the theme of "rebirth" would never be a simple reversal of fate or a fantasy narrative; it would more likely be the tempering of the soul, the rebuilding of faith, and the return of values amid drastic social change and personal predicament. Readers will follow his steady and restrained narration and witness how characters seek support in trauma and confusion and piece together the meaning of life after rupture and loss. This "rebirth" goes beyond the physical or circumstantial level and points directly to the renewal and growth of the spiritual core, full of the power of realism and the concern of humanism. For readers familiar with Liang Xiaosheng, this will be another precious journey of dialogue with the memory of the era and the depth of human nature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love serious literature and realistic themes
Readers interested in thinking about the relationship between contemporary Chinese social change and individual fate
Lovers of Liang Xiaosheng's works who wish to savor his steady narrative style
Readers seeking spiritual settling and inner reflection through reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who pursue fast-paced, plot-driven online literature styles
Readers who hope to see purely entertaining or alternate-world fantasy themes

Reading tips

It is recommended to read immersively in a relatively quiet and uninterrupted period of time, savoring the details and emotional tension
While reading, you may reflect in light of modern and contemporary Chinese historical background and appreciate the symbiotic relationship between the characters and the era
There is no need to rush toward rapid plot advancement; it is better suited to carefully chewing over the metaphors in the text and the characters' complex psychological activities

About the publisher

Tianjin People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Tianjin People's Publishing House publishes across such fields as classic works, foreign literature, architecture, social culture and social sciences, with 749 relevant titles in the collection. In the areas of classics and scholarship, works such as Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua and Fei Xiaotong's From the Soil and Fertility and Reproduction reflect a sustained attention to social culture and classic texts of thought. Architectural books are represented by Liang Sicheng's Annotated Yingzao Fashi and A History of Chinese Architecture, showing an emphasis on architectural heritage and building traditions. In foreign literature, translations of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don and Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through the work of translators such as Li Gang and Yu Dawei, form a substantial series of translated works. Overall, the press combines classic texts, scholarly works and fine translations, with a publishing character oriented toward humanistic depth and the dissemination of knowledge.

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
后来的事

FAQ

Is this book a new work by Liang Xiaosheng? Is its style similar to that of The World?

Based on the available search, the physical book information corresponding accurately to this title, author, and ISBN is not yet clear. If it is a work by Liang Xiaosheng, its core concerns—ordinary people in the torrent of the times, family ethics, and social change—are very likely to be continued in the same vein, but there will be new exploration in specific subject matter and narrative focus.

What exactly does the concept of "rebirth" in the book refer to?

In Liang Xiaosheng's creative context, "rebirth" most likely points to renewal at the spiritual level and in the social sense. It may involve the reshaping of values after characters endure hardships, the search for a new direction in life amid era transformation, or the revival and preservation of traditional virtues and human goodness in difficult circumstances.

What kind of preparation is needed for reading this book?

No special knowledge preparation is needed, but maintaining a heart willing to feel, think, and empathize with the characters is most important. A basic understanding of the development of Chinese society since the second half of the twentieth century may help you more deeply understand the story's background and the profundity of the characters' choices.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Liang Xiaosheng Author · Chinese · 1949

Liang Xiaosheng is a contemporary Chinese writer, born in 1949 in Harbin, with ancestral roots in Rongcheng, Shandong. His original name is Liang Shaosheng. In 1968 he went to the Great Northern Wilderness as a sent-down youth, and in 1977 he graduated from the Chinese Department of Fudan University. He later worked as an editor at the Beijing Film Studio and as a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University. Known for his novels about educated youth, he draws much of his material from his years in the Great Northern Wilderness and from the lives of ordinary people. His plain, substantial style intertwines personal fate with social change. His representative works include *Tonight There Is a Snowstorm*, *Snow City*, *The Ring of Years*, and *The Human World*; in 2019 he received the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize. His writing also touches on themes of inspiration and personal growth and has reached a wide readership.