Winning the Battle on the Old River Course

Name: Winning the Battle on the Old River Course
ISBN: 9787214257796

陈恒礼Jiangsu People's Publishing House · ChinaMar 2021

3.2

Word count: 208K words
Chapters: 30
ISBN: 9787214257796

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Summary

Suining County in Jiangsu Province is a provincial-level poverty-stricken county. The old course of the Yellow River once flowed through this land for 661 years, crossing 69.5 kilometers of the county and leaving behind an old riverbed—and a poor and backward Yellow River floodplain. After the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Suining became the first county-level city in China to issue a "Three-Year Action Plan for Advancing the Rural Revitalization Project," aimed squarely at poverty alleviation. The goal was not only economic prosperity but also a healthy environment and, above all, the well-being of the people. After three years of struggle, a number of national model villages for beautiful countryside, one of China's ten most beautiful villages, and Jiangsu Provincial Characteristic Pastoral Villages have emerged here, and the grand blueprint has been realized step by step. A land of a thousand years, a dream of a hundred—through real people and real stories, this book shows how the fate of new farmers in the new era has been rewritten and how the picture of a new countryside has been painted.

Editor's review

Victory on the Old Riverbed is a work of nonfiction about poverty alleviation in the Yellow River's old course region. With solid fieldwork and delicate writing, author Chen Hengli goes deep into the old Yellow River course where Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shandong meet, recording how this land, long plagued by floods and poverty, achieved prosperity and renewal under national strategy through industrial transformation, ecological governance and human effort. The book's value lies not only in faithfully documenting a grand historical undertaking but in focusing on specific villages and individuals; through the changing fates of vivid characters, it reflects profound shifts in rural China's social structure, modes of production and spiritual outlook. Avoiding simplistic policy illustration or lists of achievements, the author uses literary narrative to show the choices, confusions and resilience of grassroots officials, returning youth and ordinary farmers at a historical turning point, making "poverty alleviation" tangible, moving and worthy of respect. For readers seeking to understand contemporary rural China—especially how the national strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin is implemented at the grassroots—the book offers an on-the-ground perspective with human warmth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers concerned with rural change and social development in China
Literature lovers interested in nonfiction and documentary writing
Geographical and cultural explorers who want to understand the history and present of the old Yellow River course region
Social science researchers in grassroots work, community studies or related fields

Not a good fit for

Entertainment-oriented readers seeking purely fictional stories or strong dramatic conflict
Readers expecting systematic theoretical analysis or rigorous academic argument

Reading tips

Read at a slower pace, following the author's route and savoring each village and character's unique story
Reflect in light of China's rural revitalization strategy and appreciate where literary record meets historical process
While reading, note the recurring depiction of the "old riverbed" as a geographical and cultural image and consider its symbolic meaning

About the publisher

Jiangsu People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Jiangsu People's Publishing House is known for works in history, literature and the social sciences. Judging from its catalog, it focuses on modern Chinese history, classical literary appreciation and scholarly research. Representative titles include historical works such as Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation and the National Revolution, 1924–1927 and A Record of Combat on the Front Lines of China's War of Resistance Against Japan, literary and visual documents such as Sun Wen's Illustrated Complete Dream of the Red Chamber, and scholarly collections such as Chen Yinke's Collected Works of Hanliu Hall. Translations such as The Dust Bowl and Anti-Intellectualism in American Life reflect an interest in overseas social and cultural studies. Its authors include historians Wang Qisheng, Huang Yuzhang and Guo Rugui, as well as figures associated with classical literature such as Cao Xueqin and Sun Wen. Common categories include history, literary appreciation, essays and miscellaneous writings, and social-science and cultural titles, showing a balance between historical scholarship and literature and between academic and popular publishing. Because public information is limited, this overview is based only on the books in the catalog.

版权信息
自序
引言
上部黄河的怀抱
第一章民谣古黄河的悲苦
第二章村庄的名字叫黄河
第三章植入心中的那棵大树
第四章旧州新颜
第五章半山军魂
第六章乡村里的传说
第七章羊山庙会
第八章期待龙街复活
下部奔跑的号子
第九章古黄河畔领号人
第十章血染的土地
第十一章高党示范
第十二章章鲤鱼归来
第十三章陈井新泉
第十四章诗意的大官庄
第十五章官山龙抬头
第十六章岚山之岚
第十七章王圩有“余（榆）钱”
第十八章富民的“沙集模式”
第十九章龙集新故事
第二十章奔跑的姚集
第二十一章程刘的小康快车
第二十二章创新的“11841”
第二十三章睢宁驰进新时代
朝霞铺满古黄河
后记

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of documentary writing?

It is a work of literary nonfiction. Based on extensive field interviews and research, the author truthfully records the poverty alleviation process in the old Yellow River course region; the people and events have real-life prototypes.

Which geographical areas does the book mainly cover?

The core area is the old course of the Yellow River running through Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shandong, with a focus on rural change within this distinctive geographical unit.

What is the author's background?

Chen Hengli is a native Jiangsu writer long devoted to rural themes, with deep knowledge of and affection for northern Jiangsu and surrounding areas; his style is plain, delicate and close to everyday life.

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About the author

陈恒礼 Author

Chen Hengli is an author about whom limited public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented. What can be confirmed is that the library holds four of his works: Flowers Blooming in Northern Jiangsu: From a Weak Village to the Most Beautiful Village, Chasing Dreams in Xiapi, Winning the Battle of the Old Course, and Gazing Across the Long River. These are commonly classified as documentary literature and cultural writing. Judging from their titles and subjects, his writing focuses on rural transformation, poverty-alleviation efforts, and local history in northern Jiangsu and the Xiapi area. He records the development of grassroots society in a documentary style, placing the changes in specific villages and towns within a broader historical context. His works combine on-the-ground observation with humanistic concern, use plain language, and emphasize ordinary people's life experiences and local memory, giving his writing a distinctive direction within rural documentary literature and offering readers a useful perspective on the realities of rural northern Jiangsu.