The River Diagram

1. Read the preface or afterword first to understand the creative background, then enter the main text to adapt more quickly to the shifting perspectives.
2. Keep a simple character-relationship chart, noting each narrator's identity and timeline as you read, to reduce confusion.
3. Slow down when encountering passages on legends and folk remedies; they are often the key to understanding the characters' predicaments of faith.
4. After finishing, consult historical materials on the Luokou railway bridge in Jinan to revisit how the novel turns local history into world history.

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.