APPRECIATION OF CHINESE LITERATURE(2)

Wang Quan is a member of the China Writers Association. His short fiction Assuming Great Responsibilities won second prize of the Chinese Fiction Society Award. His novel Dry Lake won first prize of the Dunhuang Literary Award and the Yellow River Literary Award. His medium-length fiction Jiaque won the Liang Bin Award for Fiction.

Alxa’s Snow

Wang Quan

Taibai Literature amp;

Art Publishing House

October 2021

46.5 （CNY）

This book contains a collection of 4 medium-length novels， including Jiaque （directly translating to sparrow）， Hug， Black Noodles， and Alxa’s Snow. The protagonist of those fictions is consistent. Hug focuses on the protagonist’s childhood. Jiaque describes his teenage life. Black Noodles tells of his college life. Alxa’s Snow is about his middle-aged life. Their plots are mutually related. From the protagonist’s childhood encounters， to his muddled teenage life and his period of youth， the stories demonstrate the fragments and experiences of the protagonist and his relatives and friends during those periods， reveal the mood changes and thoughts of those characters throughout different life stages， and reflect the writer’s positive and optimistic attitude towards life.

A thick and soft thing wound around my neck. It breathed out a hot breath and shouted in my ear， “Wolf！” The cry struck my ten-year-old heart like a gong. My heart almost jumped out of my ear. I trembled. As my body was swelling， I almost exploded. I let out a cry. When I looked sideways， I saw the excited Sanxiwa behind me， not a wolf. I turned around and threw him far away. I felt the wind spinning all around me， and as he swayed outside the wind he nearly fell. I flung at him three words heavier than a stone from my mouth， which were as dirty as three stone arrowheads falling into a latrine pit.

The enthusiasm in Sanxiwa’s eyes suddenly disappeared. He withdrew his eager eyes. He blushed and said from afar， “Zhang Lang really caught a live wolf and tied it to a stone mill. Let’s go and see.”

That gradually calmed me down. It turned out that Sanxiwa’s joke went too far. I looked sideways at him and said， “You should’ve just said it！” “I wanted to surprise you！ It is true. This is good news！” He slowly approached me from afar. I could feel the gradual excitement. “A live wolf？” “If I lied to you， I would be a bastard brought up by a low-class single mother！” Sanxiwa cursed in the most vicious way.

I had just calmed down， but after hearing that， I got riled up again： “Hey！ Zhang Lang is a great hero！” Sanxiwa tilted his head and moved his body aside quickly. “Zhang Lang， Zhang Lang. He is the ancestor of the wolves. When they saw him， their legs turned weak！” I felt weak in the knees and thought： Does Zhang Lang look like a wolf？ Although I have heard the sound of a wolf howling on Lingshan and have seen a wolf’s eyes far away at night， I have not seen a wolf face to face. I have heard Zhang Lang’s name many times. But I have not seen him with my eyes. How can I miss this opportunity today？

The story of Zhang Lang catching a wolf alive had been made known extensively in the village. As long as I saw three or five people， men or women， gathering together near the stone wall of the vegetable garden， under the big apricot tree of the Zhang family， at the foot of the stockade， or wherever I went， I was certain that they were talking about Zhang Lang. Soon there was a smell of joy in the village. It was like the smell of a pot of delicious stewed vegetables that spread slowly before people knew it， and then pervaded the whole village. I knew the smell came from Zhongchuan because Zhang Lang was from Zhongchuan. Why wasn’t he from Xiachuan？ It would be great if he were！

The loudspeaker at the production brigade office was too far away to be seen. But its sound was round and full and could be heard clearly. At this moment， it was broadcasting an energetic， lively， and resounding song as if the whole people of Xiachuan were singing a song of victory for Zhang Lang.