China in One Village
The Story of One Town and the Changing World
Published on 22. June 2021
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-83976-177-5 (ISBN)
Description
After a decade away from her ancestral family village, during which she became a writer and literary scholar in Beijing, Liang Hong started visiting her rural hometown in landlocked Hebei province. What she found was an extended family torn apart by the seismic changes in Chinese society, and a village hollowed-out by emigration, neglect, and environmental despoliation. Combining family memoir, literary observation, and social commentary, Liang's by turns moving and shocking account became a bestselling book in China and brought her fame.
Across China, many saw in Liang's remarkable and vivid interviews with family members and childhood acquaintances a mirror of their own families, and her observations about the way the greatest rural-to-urban migration of modern times has twisted the country resonated deeply. China in One Village tells the story of contemporary China through one clear-eyed observer, one family, and one village.
Across China, many saw in Liang's remarkable and vivid interviews with family members and childhood acquaintances a mirror of their own families, and her observations about the way the greatest rural-to-urban migration of modern times has twisted the country resonated deeply. China in One Village tells the story of contemporary China through one clear-eyed observer, one family, and one village.
Reviews / Votes
An engaging read, with lively first-person narratives . it is in these stories that the universality of people's hopes, fears and frustrations really shines through. * New Internationalist * A lucid, accessible account of rural Chinese life, its stories worth far more than the statistics usually invoked in accounts of the pro-found change that has swept China. -- Jonathan Chatwin * South China Morning Post * A true literary sensation ... [Liang] pulls no punches. -- Ian Johnson * New York Times * Stunningly insightful ... What makes Liang's study so compelling is the way in which it offers a glimpse of a world in which personal problems ... exist on the same level as broader social and political problems -- Mark Rappolt * ArtReview * Overburdened grandparents, children who don't see their parents, workers straining to make a living in unwelcoming cities: Liang Hong's book, "China in One Village" (tr. Emily Goedde), gives a platform for these voices from the countryside. -- Mike Cormack * SupChina * The immediacy of China in One Village brings to life how China is changing in a way that more academic works cannot do. * rs21 * Fair-minded and sanguine ... one of the clearest narrative accounts of China's countryside available in English. -- Amy Hawkins * Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
495 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83976-177-5 (9781839761775)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2021
Verso Books
€26.49
Available for download
Person
A professor of Chinese literature at Renmin University in Beijing, Liang Hong's literary career has spanned criticism, reportage, and fiction. China In One Village (Zhongguo zai Liangzhuang), sold over a quarter of a million copies. It was followed by Leaving Liang Village, establishing Liang Hong's reputation as a deft observer and chronicler of China's changing society. Since that time Liang Hong has been the recipient of many awards and honors. More recently she has published a collection of short stories and a novel.