Baijiang River
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Summary
The prose is vivid and alive, the emotion sincere and full. At the same time, the book weaves in the evolution of Wei Village's customs and appearance over the years, recreating local folk practices and handicrafts and recording folk tales, ditties, xiehouyu, and proverbs passed down in the area, giving the work a measure of historical value.
Editor's review
In literary terms, the novel's most striking qualities are its solid detail and deep emotional accumulation. Wei Yinliang clearly knows the land he writes about: the riverside scenery, the farmers' labor, the ethical relations of village life all carry the texture and warmth of soil. This is no mere nostalgic pastoral; it is an honest rendering that confronts the pain of development and the complexity of human nature. The book's presentation of the conflict between tradition and modernity, and its capture of individual glimmers within grand narrative, both demonstrate the author's considerable powers of observation and depth of thought.
For contemporary readers, White Descending River offers a window onto the inner fabric of Chinese rural society. It provides no simple answers or emotional release, but draws readers into a world that is complex, contradictory, and yet full of vitality. In an age of rapid urbanization, such a text helps us understand where we come from and examine the present; its value goes beyond ordinary regional literature, touching on universal questions of roots, memory, and identity.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in contemporary rural change and social transformation in China
- Readers who prefer deep, realistic literary fiction
- Readers seeking to understand Central Plains regional culture and customs through literature
- Those concerned with how individual fates are situated within the currents of history
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking strong plot, fast pacing, and dramatic conflict
- Readers with little interest in rural themes or slow-paced narrative
Reading tips
- Enter the text in a relatively calm frame of mind and feel its inner narrative rhythm and emotional pulse
- Deepen your understanding of the microcosmic fates in the book by drawing on a macro view of China's social change in recent decades
- Savor the author's plain descriptions of natural scenery and everyday detail, which often carry emotion and meaning
About the publisher
Founded in 1996, Henan Literature and Art Publishing House mainly publishes books on literature and art, social sciences and broadly cultural subjects, and also edits and publishes the journal Celebrity Biography, gradually forming a publishing style characterized by full-length historical novels and biographical literature. Judging from the 269 titles in the database, its publishing scope also covers mystery and detective fiction, foreign literature, classic works and world classics. Representative books include Ellery Queen's four tragedies, Slaughterhouse-Five, Blindness, The Siege of Lisbon, The History of the Siege of Lisbon, the ten-volume Collected Works of Wang Zengqi, Old Tales Retold and the two-volume Classic Short Stories of Stanisław Lem, the God of Science Fiction. In terms of authors, it includes foreign masters such as Kurt Vonnegut, José Saramago and Ellery Queen, as well as translators such as Yang Xi, Yu Jianhua and Fan Weixin.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序一 酷似一部文化“小百科”
- 序二 不虚此生，不虚此遇
- 序三 念故土史韵，报母亲春晖
- 序四 重逢
- 序五 见证白降河
- 第一编
- 第一章 白降河
- 第二章 蔚村
- 第三章 常岭·冢子堌堆
- 第四章 辘轳井
- 第二编
- 第一章 生儿育女
- 第二章 抱着娃子做活忙
- 第三章 根记
- 第四章 外婆走了
- 第五章 烧煤火
- 第六章 草房子
- 第七章 上屋
- 第八章 盖房子
- 第三编
- 第一章 摘花
- 第二章 安机
- 第三章 缝衣裳
- 第四章 纳鞋底
- 第五章 收谷子
- 第六章 抠蜀黍
- 第七章 推磨
- 第八章 吃红薯
- 第九章 妈妈菜
- 第十章 过节
- 第十一章 土法儿
- 第四编
- 第一章 母亲的教诲
- 第二章 母亲的牵挂
- 第三章 母子连心
- 第四章 我的生日
- 第五章 母亲的生日
- 第六章 耄耋之年，劳作不止
- 第七章 月梅的微信
- 第八章 母亲和她的孩子们
- 第五编
- 第一章 小曲儿
- 第二章 童趣
- 第三章 下雪
- 第四章 逮“小虫”·捉螃蟹
- 第五章 玩游戏
- 第六章 打“碟溜”
- 第七章 踩“拐棍”
- 第八章 画圈儿
- 附编
- 附录1 白降河故事
- 附录2 白降河童谣
- 附录3 白降河耍话
- 附录4 白降河民谚
- 附录5 白降河歇后语
- 附录6 白降河俗话
- 附录7 白降河（歌词）
- 附录8 悼念方宏勋
- 后记
FAQ
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About the author
Public information about Wei Yinliang is limited. What can be confirmed at present is that the author has written the documentary work Bai Jiang River, the only title by this author held in the collection. Based on the available information, Wei Yinliang writes in the field of documentary literature, focusing on real-life subjects and presenting true-to-life scenes through accounts of specific people, events, and places. Bai Jiang River is a representative work and the main entry point for understanding the author's writing. Because the author's biography, nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded, this introduction makes no speculation and offers only a brief account of the work's category and writing orientation. Readers may regard Wei Yinliang as an author who records reality in a documentary style and whose body of work has yet to be further explored; should more material become available, the author's creative development and literary position could be presented more fully.
