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“No matter where life goes, there is always a beginning.”
Bai Song, documentary director and cross-media professional, presents his first work of documentary literature.
A true story set in the filming location of "The Piano in a Factory," chronicling a century in the life of an ordinary contemporary Chinese family.
In a small town buried by heavy snow, traversing decay and desolation through streets and alleys, searching for the distant winters of family members.
Jointly recommended by Liang Xiaosheng, Xu Tong, Lao Lang, Wild Children Band, Lu Qingyi, Jia Xingjia, Yang Suqiu, and Ban Yu.
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In 2021, after many years away from home, my father and I returned to our hometown, the Lingshan area of Anshan City, Liaoning Province—the birthplace of China's first high-horsepower crawler tractor and bulldozer—one after another in the dead of winter. As the Lunar New Year approached, we cared for my 94-year-old grandfather, prepared New Year's goods, swept tombs and burned paper offerings, and visited relatives and friends. My father and I also had another plan: to buy my grandfather's old house and fulfill a wish left unfulfilled 20 years ago.
During numerous reunion dinners, the life experiences and inner worlds of three generations, the 30-year changes in customs and scenery of the Hongqi Tractor Factory, Lingshan Railway Station and its vicinity, and past events such as various family disputes and the reform of state-owned enterprises all surfaced. When I started writing, my grandmother and grandfather were still calling me to chat about everyday life, but unexpectedly, by the time the manuscript was finished, both had passed away…
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Bai Song’s work moved me, reminding me of my own grandparents. Occasionally, I would recall childhood memories with sentimentality, but then quickly put them away, fearing I was being overly sentimental. It seems adults are supposed to keep moving forward, relentlessly pursuing one goal after another, but as we run, constantly gaining, we are also constantly losing. —Lao Lang (Singer, folk musician)
The destiny of cities and families rises and falls with the tide of the times, embodying the shared joys and sorrows of countless families. This book is a deep retrospection of home by a wanderer far from it—the farther away, the deeper the longing, the truer the understanding. —Wild Children Band
Returning to one's hometown is a physical journey, but also a process of sifting through and rewriting consciousness. Bai Song picks up his camera and pen, tracing past footprints and exploring possibilities for new changes. In this northeastern story, the accumulated grievances between two generations of the Lao Bai family have solidified over the years, yet they yearn to thaw. The factory buildings and the croaking of frogs are gone, old objects and old affections pile up. On nights when grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, and nephews gather for intimate talks, the hands of the grandfather clock slow down, and we see: hearts re-converge, and fissures slowly mend.
—Yang Suqiu (Non-fiction writer)

2026-02-01

上海人民出版社

Shanghai Century Publishing Group

352

9787208198722