Green Grass

Name: Green Grass
ISBN: 9787530686928

罗伟章Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.8

Word count: 221K words
Chapters: 9
ISBN: 9787530686928

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Summary

This collection of novellas and short stories brings together eight recent pieces by Luo Weizhang: "Water-Colored Time," "Fine Waves," "Deep Water," "White Butterfly on the Peninsula," "The Century," "Small-Town Clamor," "Green Grass," and "A Lifetime's Flight." The texts are meticulous and finely wrought, and the language has an objective, austere quality. With the craft of probing the hidden and drawing out the subtle, the author sketches the glittering surface of the world, and with keen irony turns smoothly toward moral and aesthetic criticism. The collection seeks to refract social reality through the fortunes of ordinary people and to explore the self and the other. In these works he preserves a space and a distance, so as to examine, reflect, and argue, to know and to imagine, rather than to deduce and pronounce judgment on life.

Editor's review

This collection of novellas and short stories by Luo Weizhang gathers eight recently published works: "Water-Colored Time," "Fine Waves," "Deep Water," "White Butterfly on the Peninsula," "The Century," "Small-Town Clamor," "Green Grass," and "A Lifetime's Flight." The texts are meticulous and finely wrought, and the language presents an objective, austere quality. Its distinction lies not in telling a dramatic story but in using the craft of probing the hidden and drawing out the subtle to sketch the glittering surface of the world, and in turning toward moral and aesthetic criticism through keen irony. The author deliberately maintains a space and a distance in the text, not rushing to pronounce judgment on the characters but leaving room for examination, reflection, and argument, so that the fortunes of ordinary people may themselves refract social reality. This approach makes certain demands on the reader's patience, but the reward is a lingering aftertaste and space for thought. It suits readers willing to read slowly and to discern the world and the human heart between the lines, and also suits readers interested in the techniques of contemporary novella and short-story writing as a text for close reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who enjoy contemporary novellas and short stories and value the texture of language
Mature readers willing to read slowly and closely, receptive to irony and implication
Readers interested in the fortunes of ordinary people and the writing of social reality
Aspiring writers, who can learn restrained narration and a sense of distance from it

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace, and clear endings
Readers who prefer warm, healing fiction with directly stated emotion
Readers without the patience for close reading who are used to skimming

Reading tips

Read one or two pieces at a time, pausing between them to let the irony and implication continue to work in the mind.
Note the distance between the narrator and the characters, and consider why the author does not state judgments directly.
After finishing a piece, look back at the opening paragraphs to appreciate the meticulous structural arrangement of the text.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

版权信息
水色时光
细浪
深水
半岛上的白蝴蝶
世纪
小镇喧嚣
青草
一生逃离

FAQ

Which pieces are included in this collection?

It contains eight novellas and short stories: "Water-Colored Time," "Fine Waves," "Deep Water," "White Butterfly on the Peninsula," "The Century," "Small-Town Clamor," "Green Grass," and "A Lifetime's Flight," all recently published works by the author, centered on the fortunes of ordinary people.

Is the language style difficult to read?

The language is objective and austere, the narration restrained, and it does not rely on sentimentality to move forward; at first it may feel cool or even detached. But the sentences themselves are not obscure; the reader simply needs to slow down and attend to details and irony, and once accustomed to it, the meticulously wrought quality of the text comes through.

Why is it said that the author maintains a sense of distance?

The narration does not rush to conclude about characters and events but maintains a space and a distance, so as to examine, reflect, and argue rather than to deduce and pronounce judgment on life. This approach leaves judgment to the reader, and after finishing there remains room for further thought.

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About the author

罗伟章 Author

Luo Weizhang is a Chinese author whose work spans a fairly wide range of subjects. Public information about him is limited, and eight of his works are currently included in the collection. Judging from works such as Who Is Knocking at the Door, Dance of the Great River, and The Red Brick Building, his writing often takes social fiction as its entry point, focusing on people and relationships within real-life circumstances. Liangshan Narrative shows his engagement with documentary literature, presenting experiences of a particular region through narrative. Essay collections such as Seeing Oneself and Green Grass further reveal his interest in everyday feelings and inner observation. Overall, his works maintain a rather plain tension between social concern and literary expression, and he is skilled at unfolding narratives through concrete scenes and the fates of characters. His language is unassuming, with attention to readability and a sense of reality.