The Door Faces South
Tags
Summary
The core revolves around the He family: He Shougu, starting out as a chosen barefoot doctor, navigates the tides of the times—a secret emotional attachment to Dr. Zou, being forced to take in He Xianzong as a live-in son-in-law, and the turning point of opening a private clinic—always struggling between professional dignity and family conflict; his son He Ding returns to the village after urban project funding falls short, and must both resolve the land division dispute with He Xianzong and uncover the family's hidden past.
At the same time, the novel portrays a gallery of characters: Huang Hai, who holds fast to the lake fields and fights mechanical farming boats and natural disasters; Shen Luoba, who returns after more than twenty years of drifting to demand his share of contracted land; and Tu Yinbao, struggling to survive with his disabled son Xian'er, among others. It intersperses Jianghan folk customs such as "Inviting the Seventh Sister," "Keeping the Tail Root," and "Chasing the Heavenly Dog," along with era events including the allocation of land to households, family planning, the migrant labor wave, water-grabbing for drought relief, and the Boutoufeng epidemic, fully presenting Yanzhi River Village's painful transformation from a traditional farming village to the high-speed rail era, and showing the villagers' perseverance and bewilderment amid survival, emotion, and epochal change.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in rural literature and the transformation of regional culture
- Literature lovers who appreciate plain, delicate, and poetic narrative styles
- Readers who hope to understand micro-level social change in twentieth-century China through family history
- Readers curious about or nostalgic for the customs and life of the Jianghan Plain
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking strong plot, fast pacing, and dramatic conflict
- Readers with little interest in or resonance with rural themes
Reading tips
- Read in a relatively quiet environment to better immerse yourself in its gentle narrative rhythm and atmosphere.
- Approach it as a 'book of memory'; don't rush to follow the plot—pay more attention to linguistic detail and emotional flow.
- If interested afterward, explore rural literature of a similar style for comparison.
About the publisher
Named after the Yangtze River, Changjiang Publishing House (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. publishes books on science and technology—water conservancy, hydropower, shipping and environmental protection—as well as works on the economy, society, history, culture and education. In literary publishing, it has released Cece Qinghan's Sinan series (including The Divine Mechanism, The Reverse Scale, The Mandate of Heaven and the four-volume set), Tang Que's Nine Provinces: Players in the Play, Bai Fanrushuang's The New Hunter (five volumes), Qingshan Huangzhong's Sealing the Blade (three volumes) and Shi Wucha's Saha. The titles in the library are commonly classified as time-travel and alternate-world fiction, otherworld-continent fiction and wuxia novels. These books show the press's sustained interest in fantasy, wuxia and alternate-world storytelling, bringing together authors such as Cece Qinghan, Tang Que, Bai Fanrushuang, Qingshan Huangzhong, Shi Wucha and Fan Ka. Based on the available library data, its literary publishing leans toward genre novels and serialized series, while further public information is needed to clarify its specific editorial direction and publishing features.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第1章
- 第2章
- 第3章
- 第4章
- 第5章
- 第6章
- 第7章
- 第8章
- 第9章
- 第10章
- 第11章
- 第12章
- 第13章
- 第14章
- 第15章
- 第16章
- 第17章
- 第18章
- 第19章
- 第20章
- 第21章
- 第22章
- 第23章
- 第24章
- 第25章
- 第26章
- 第27章
- 第28章
- 第29章
- 第30章
- 第31章
- 第32章
- 第33章
- 第34章
- 第35章
- 第36章
- 第37章
- 第38章
- 第39章
- 第40章
- 第41章
- 第42章
- 第43章
- 第44章
- 第45章
- 第46章
- 第47章
- 第48章
- 第49章
- 第50章
- 第51章
- 第52章
- 第53章
- 第54章
- 第55章
- 第56章
- 第57章
- 第58章
- 第59章
- 第60章
- 第61章
- 第62章
- 第63章
- 第64章
- 第65章
- 第66章
- 第67章
- 第68章
- 第69章
- 第70章
- 第71章
- 第72章
- 第73章
- 第74章
- 第75章
- 第76章
- 第77章
- 第78章
- 第79章
- 第80章
- 第81章
- 第82章
- 第83章
- 第84章
- 第85章
- 第86章
- 第87章
- 第88章
- 第89章
- 第90章
- 第91章
- 第92章
- 第93章
- 第94章
- 第95章
- 第96章
- 第97章
- 第98章
- 第99章
- 第100章
- 第101章（完）
FAQ
Is this book a novel or prose? Is it based on real people?
What is the narrative style? Is it difficult to read?
Is this book suitable for students?
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
Li Shide is an author about whom limited public information is available. The library currently holds only one work by this author, the social novel The Door Faces South. Since no clear records of birth and death dates, nationality, education, or literary career have been found, this introduction can only offer a brief account based on the work itself and its existing classification. Judging from the fact that The Door Faces South is categorized as a social novel, Li Shide's writing appears to observe real society, using spatial imagery from everyday life and the circumstances of characters to present ordinary people's choices and fates amid social change. The title itself carries a strong sense of direction and everyday life, suggesting that the narrative may revolve around family, dwelling, or urban and rural life. On the basis of the available information, it is difficult to determine the overall scale of the author's work or the evolution of style; readers may nevertheless come to know a writing orientation that attends to reality and stays close to life through this novel.
