Qingmuchuan

Name: Qingmuchuan
ISBN: 9787530218037

Ye GuangqinBeijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

4.2

Word count: 240K words
Chapters: 10
ISBN: 9787530218037

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Summary

This book follows the legendary life of Wei Futang, the bandit chief of Qingmuchuan, as its main thread, with three subplots involving Feng Ming, Feng Xiaoyu, and Zhong Yishan running alongside. The narrative moves freely between history and the present, lending the work a rich and full artistic appeal while showcasing its tension across history and reality, character, multiple threads and structure, and time and space. At the same time, the author's respect for and questioning of history, culture, and humanity, and her treatment of the good and evil of human nature and the merits and faults of history—seemingly casual yet deliberate—give the work considerable height and depth.

Editor's review

Ye Guangqin takes the legendary experiences of Wei Futang, the bandit chief of Qingmuchuan, as the main thread, supported by three subplots involving Feng Ming, Feng Xiaoyu, and Zhong Yishan, moving freely through the intersection of history and reality. The structure is ingeniously crafted: multiple threads run in parallel without becoming chaotic, and time and space are handled with flexibility and restraint, creating a narrative rhythm that balances tension and ease. The author maintains a respectful questioning stance toward history, culture, and humanity itself, refraining from simple judgments on the good and evil of human nature or the merits and faults of history. Instead, deep meaning is hidden within seemingly casual narration, giving the work room for reflection beyond its readability. Readers can follow the story into the historical mist of a particular region and feel the author's deep affection for the land and its people through the ups and downs of the characters' fates. It is suitable for careful reading in a quiet environment, especially for readers interested in regional history, character legends, and family narratives. After finishing, readers may look back at those details at the boundary between history and reality and discover more thought-provoking layers.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy regional history and legendary character narratives
Fiction readers interested in multi-threaded structures and the interweaving of history and reality
Readers who hope to reflect on the good and evil of human nature and historical judgment through literature
Readers interested in Shaanxi local customs and modern historical backgrounds

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer fast pacing and strong plot momentum
Readers looking for light diversion and sweet, warm emotional works
Beginners lacking patience for multi-threaded narration and time-space shifts

Reading tips

First clarify the relationship between the main Wei Futang thread and the three subplots; keep brief notes on character threads while reading
Pause briefly at transitions between history and reality, and pay attention to how the author handles different perspectives on the same event
After finishing, revisit the opening and ending to appreciate the structural echoes the author has arranged

About the publisher

Beijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Founded in 1983, Beijing October Arts & Literature Publishing House is a professional literary publisher under the Beijing Publishing Group. Public information is limited; judged from the 21 titles in the catalog, its publishing focuses on social fiction, documentary literature, quality fiction, classical poetry, folk literature and prose miscellany, covering both contemporary full-length works and popular classical readers. Representative books include Ye Guangqin's Last Year's Weather, the Old Pavilion and The Top Scholar's Matchmaker, Zhou Zuoren's Reminiscences of Zhitang, Zhou Meisen's In the Name of the People, Chen Yan's The Broad Mansion of the Human World, and Shi Jiepeng's My Heart Lingers: Twenty Lectures on King Hui of Liang's Classical Poems. Its authors include Ye Guangqin, Zhou Zuoren, Chen Yan, Zhou Meisen, Shi Yifeng, Ma Xiaosheng and Sunan, giving it a solid publishing character in contemporary fiction, prose and poetry.

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
我写《青木川》

FAQ

This book has a multi-threaded structure. Will it be confusing to read?

The work takes Wei Futang's legendary experiences as the main thread, with three subplots involving Feng Ming, Feng Xiaoyu, and Zhong Yishan interspersed. Although there are many threads, the author leaves clear narrative markers when switching between history and reality. On a first reading, there is no need to rush to sort out all the relationships; follow the narration, and by the middle section you will naturally form an overall impression of each thread's place and function.

Can I understand this book without relevant historical background knowledge?

Yes. Although the work involves a specific region and historical background, the narrative itself does not depend on the reader's prior knowledge of historical sources; the characters' fates and emotions are the main channel into the story. If you want to read more deeply, pay attention to the author's questioning of historical merits and faults and the good and evil of human nature; these reflections do not require specialized knowledge.

Is this book suitable for reading in one sitting or in stages?

Both approaches work. The work has many threads, and reading it in one sitting helps grasp the overall structure and the rhythm of time-space handling. If time is limited, you can also read in stages according to relatively concentrated sections of the main and subplots. Finishing a relatively complete section before putting it down may actually make it easier to remember the ins and outs of characters and events.

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About the author

Ye Guangqin Author · Chinese · 1948

Ye Guangqin, a woman born in Beijing in 1948, is of Manchu ethnicity and bore the ancestral surname Yehe Nala. She is a first-class writer, a member of the China Writers Association and vice chair of the Shaanxi Writers Association. She went to Shaanxi in 1968, where she worked as a nurse and a journalist, and studied at Chiba University in Japan in 1990. Her work spans social fiction, classic works, folk literature and prose, with representative titles including Last Year's Weather, the Old Pavilion, Cai Sangzi, Huanglian Houpo, Qingmuchuan, Zhuangyuan Mei, Douzhi Ji, The Luofu River Without a Diary and Shanggui Muke. Drawing on family memory, Beijing life and the local scenery of Shaanxi, her writing is delicate and rich in both social observation and cultural flavor. She has received the Lu Xun Literature Prize, the Lao She Literature Prize and the Junma Prize, and is known as the "Gege writer."