Nanhuodian

Use a southern goods store to hold the entire world and era.
Desserts. Pickles. Dried fruits. Seafood.
Window lattices. Lanterns. Signboards. Abacus.
Beneath the shiny old things lies the life we ​​once thought was solid.
“Writing ‘Leaving a Monk’ was about seeing myself, and writing ‘Southern Goods Store’ was about seeing all living beings.”
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【Content Introduction】
Written in a clean, unadorned southern dialect and set in a southern goods store, the novel depicts the vibrant life of Jiangnan towns from the late 1970s to the early 1990s: delicacies, utensils, and everyday life; the ebb and flow of social trends and the subtle shades of human nature... It is a contemporary echo of the nostalgic "classical Chinese narrative." The work unfolds through the life of Qiulin, a southern goods store clerk, weaving together the stories of characters within the supply and marketing cooperative system. The story unfolds through the business acumen of a master craftsman, the warmth of a tofu vendor, the absurd affairs of love between men and women, the cold relationship between fathers and sons... life and death, the ups and downs of fate. Amidst the turbulent times, people offer gentle comfort, yet fragile yet clinging to the fundamental values ​​of love and dignity.
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【Celebrity Recommendation】
He enjoys observing the various interpersonal relationships. His writing doesn't progress at a frenetic pace, but rather with a calm, yet profoundly insightful quality. This gives the impression of a writer both intelligent and patient, and his characters are remarkably distinct. A good writer, whether writing about villains or scoundrels, from the lower classes to the upper echelons, must first give their heart and completely immerse themselves in the characters. Zhang Ji excelled in this regard.
—Shi Zhanjun (Editor-in-Chief of People's Literature)
If Yasujiro Ozu were to write a novel, he would probably be like Zhang Ji.
—— Mao Jian (writer and scholar)
This is the nature of the world, empty and yet requiring a patient brushstroke to unfold, continue, and conclude. This is the most moving aspect of "The Southern Goods Store." The novel opens with meticulously detailed descriptions of a world of objects: counting goods, ordering wine, eating noodles, washing clothes—life is both trivial and rich, and time seems slow, even static. However, after many characters leave the southern goods store, the novel begins to flow like a whirlwind. The initial abundance of material things gives way to the emptiness of human fate.
——Hu Sang (poet, scholar)
"The Southern Goods Store" seemingly opens with the suspense of a missing piece of cloth, but Zhang Ji actually gets straight to the point. The novel features a diverse cast of characters, each with their own distinct aspirations and aims, like the wind blowing from all directions, its myriad forms and forms invisible. Yet, the wind bends the grass, and the author hopes to discern the roughly uniform gestures of the wind through the grass, the waves of wheat, and the ripples of the waves. This is the pragmatic, understated, yet flexible and adaptable practical wisdom embodied by Master Ma, permeating the common people. This is the foundation of "The Southern Goods Store."
——Jin Li (critic)
What's valuable about Zhang Ji's novels is that there isn't a central character, Qiulin, with the others serving him. Every person in "Southern Goods Store," even if their time and space are limited, has their own personal destiny. Each person has their own world, and these worlds interact with one another, intertwining, illuminating, and potentially harming one another.
——He Ping (critic)
The small, trivial, everyday, even humble gathering place of southern goods stores perhaps embodies Zhang Ji's understanding of the world. He is not interested in grandiose things. In his eyes, the world is simply composed of countless small things and daily life. That is the essence of the world in Zhang Ji's eyes. The entire world and era are contained in a southern goods store.
——Yi Zhou (writer)
This book can be said to have created a Ningbo on the tip of the tongue, and provided a hall-like practice for our local writers on how to write about their hometown in literature and how to give the land where they live a literary direction.
——Rongrong (poet)
Zhang Ji uses sharp writing and calm narration to outline scenes of worldly life, and vividly depicts the embarrassing way of life, emotional entanglements and real difficulties of a group of ordinary people from the inside out.
——People's Daily, "People's Literature Award" Award Ceremony

2020-07-01

中信出版集团

Generous

480

9787521717693