A Thousand-Day Drought

Name: A Thousand-Day Drought
ISBN: 9787220135613

安昌河Sichuan People's Publishing House · ChinaAug 2026

3.5

Word count: 245K words
Chapters: 121
ISBN: 9787220135613

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Summary

A novel, *A Thousand Days of Drought* reconstructs through the experience and perspective of An Ziqian, an ordinary peasant in Qin Village, an apocalyptic landscape wrought in 1930s China by floods, drought, war, and human cruelty. It is a book of suffering and a book of hope, showing that faith and hope can bring forth a stronger life even from death and affliction. The manuscript has passed four rounds of review at Wenxuan's editorial office and is being resubmitted for topic approval.

Editor's review

*A Thousand Days of Drought* turns its gaze on Qin Village in the 1930s, seeing through the eyes of the peasant An Ziqian an apocalyptic vision compounded by flood, drought, war, and human calamity. The work's value lies not in retelling famine itself but in embedding individual fate within the disintegration of rural society, giving suffering a concrete face and weight. The narrative is steady and the detail solid, with patient layering of grain, kinship, and neighborly relations in a disaster year, producing both a sense of oppression and a vitality that struggles up from the soil. The long drought of the title is at once natural catastrophe and human trial; the author does not paint hope as cheap brightness but lets faith and the will to live surface slowly through the cracks of death. Best read continuously in quiet hours; slow down slightly in the early sections where character relationships unfold, as the pace naturally quickens once the disaster intensifies in the middle and later parts. For readers familiar with rural themes, this is a work that offers historical texture and emotional impact; for those unaccustomed to narratives of suffering, it is advisable to prepare yourself before entering.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in rural history of the 1930s
Those who enjoy rural-themed novels and can bear heavy narratives
Literary readers interested in individual fate under social catastrophe
Readers willing to seek resilience of life within narratives of suffering

Not a good fit for

Those who prefer light, sweet, warm stories and are sensitive to famine depiction
Readers used to fast-paced, plot-driven works who lack patience for rural layering
Young readers unwilling to engage with themes of death and suffering

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to clarify the relationships among Qin Village characters before entering the main disaster storyline; reading will flow more smoothly.
The famine passages carry heavy emotion; read in segments and allow time to digest after each part.
Pay attention to shifts in An Ziqian's perspective; his observations and feelings are the key thread for understanding the book's central theme.
After finishing, revisit the opening descriptions of village daily life to feel the contrast with the post-disaster landscape.

About the publisher

Sichuan People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1952

Sichuan People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list spans social fiction, art, foreign literature, finance and biography; the 358 titles in the database show a catalogue balancing classics with general reading. Representative books include Lu Xun's A Madman's Diary, Feng Zikai's Paintings for the Protection of Life, works associated with Li Shutong, and foreign-literature translations such as André Gide's Strait Is the Gate and Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country and The Dancing Girl: Classic Works of Yasunari Kawabata. In finance there is Security Analysis, and in biography the New Biography of Su Dongpo. Authors represented include Lu Xun, Feng Zikai, Li Shutong, Li Yumin, Zhu Zuci and Ye Zongmin. The publishing profile emphasizes literary classics alongside art books, and uses thematic series such as the "banned books" collection to address intellectual and scientific themes. Public information is limited, so this introduction focuses on the directions reflected in the database.

版权信息
序章
第一章旱前12年
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
第二章旱前6年
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
第三章旱前3年
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
第四章旱前1年
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
第五章旱元年（上）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
第六章旱元年（下）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
第七章旱2年（上）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
第八章旱2年（中）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
第九章旱2年（下）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
第十章旱3年（上）
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
第十一章旱3年（下）
1
2
3
4
5
6
第十二章旱4年
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

FAQ

What is this book mainly about?

Through the experience and perspective of the Qin Village peasant An Ziqian, the novel presents rural life in the 1930s under the intertwined forces of flood, drought, war, and human calamity, writing both of suffering and of how people preserve faith and hope in extremity.

Is it too depressing to read?

The depictions of famine and death are indeed heavy, but the author does not stop at displaying suffering; hope and vitality grow through the cracks. Reading in segments is recommended, pausing to adjust when emotions run high.

Do I need to know the history first?

Prior systematic historical knowledge is not necessary; the novel naturally brings out the era's background through characters' experiences. A basic understanding of rural conditions in the 1930s will deepen your grasp of famine causes and the impact of war.

Is it suitable as an introduction to rural literature?

It can be, but its concentration of suffering is high and it is not light reading. If you have had little exposure to rural themes, start by understanding the story background and character relationships, then gradually enter the main disaster storyline.

Comments

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About the author

安昌河 Author

An Changhe is an author about whom limited public information is available. The database currently holds three of his works: Blood and Bone, A Thousand Days of Drought, and Mountain Peach Blossoms. Judging from their common classification, these works are mostly regarded as social fiction, suggesting that his writing attends to real life and social relationships and tends to present ordinary people's circumstances and choices through specific characters and events. On the basis of the available information alone, An Changhe's writing focuses on social themes and leans toward realism. Though the number of works is small, the themes are concentrated, and his grasp of real-life experience appears deliberate. Titles such as Blood and Bone also imply that his fiction may deal with somewhat heavy or conflict-laden subjects. Since his dates of birth and death, nationality, education, awards, and specific experiences cannot be confirmed, no further inferences are made here about his biography; this note merely outlines his writing direction based on the works in the database, so that readers may enter his fictional world with the limited background available.