Search
  • Home
  • Media center
    • News
    • Biz updates
    • Life
    • Specials
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Government
    • News release
    • Personnel changes
    • Annual reports
    • Officials
    • Bureaus
  • Living
    • Life
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
      • Craftworks
      • Theater performances
      • Museums
      • Galleries
      • Art zones
    • Transportation
    • Services
    • FAQ
  • Doing business
    • Biz updates
    • Introduction
    • Planning
    • Procedures
    • Policies
    • Industries
    • Industrial parks
    • Enterprises
  • Visiting
    • Travel log
    • Attractions
      • Historical
      • Parks
      • Religious
      • Museums
      • Nature
      • Landmarks
    • Itineraries
    • Maps
    • Transportation
    • Hotels
    • Dining
  • Study
    • Student stories
    • Overview
    • Universities
    • Scholarships
    • Services
    • Learning Chinese
    • Testing
  • About
    • Profiles
    • Maps
    • Districts
    • Special areas
    • Festivals and events
    • History
  • Events
    • Dates
    • Categories
  • Forum
 
Home / Life

Path to inner calm

Updated: 2015-01-07 /By Liu Zhihua (China Daily)
  • printer
  • mail

 

Path to inner calm

Author Zhao Defa. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In 1985, at the age of 30 when he had already become the deputy director of a county-level government agency, he quit his job to become a full-time writer.

"Writing is the most natural way to bring out emotions and thoughts that people accumulate in their lives, and that desire cannot be suppressed," Zhao says.

"I just wanted to write and nothing else seemed important."

The theme for his first published novelette in 1990, Tong Tui Er (Sleeping Head to Toe), was based on his memories of the countryside where he grew up. The story-friendship between two rural women whose husbands had joined the Communist army-won him the Baihua Literature Award. After winning the national literary honor, Zhao's writing career took off.

Having published more than 6 million words, he was nominated for China's top Maodun Literature Award in 2011.

Many of his early works reflect the impact of both rural and traditional values on society and discuss the effects of Confucian doctrines that urge people to follow integrity, tolerance and altruism.

But Confucianism is less and less influential in modern Chinese society than egocentrism, Zhao says.

His book Junzi Meng, which he began writing in the late 1990s, tells how a rural intellectual and his offspring try to lead their fellow villagers to live an altruistic life but fail, no matter what doctrines they follow. The novel, published in 1999, received praise from readers and critics for highlighting the conflict between traditional values and modern aspirations.

Previous 1 2 3 Next
Previous 1 2 3 Next

News:
  • Peking Opera thriving in Hawaii
  • Americans go 'Hao' over Jingju
  • Beijing holds Feast of Golf
  • Li Lei brings his visual symphony to Beijing
  • A better Beijing in the Year of the Rooster?
  • 刷脸进站(shuāliǎn jìn zhàn): 'Face ticket' at train stations
Specials:
Tsinghua Holdings Co. Ltd launched “Top 10 Talents” in response to the 13th Five Year Plan goal of building Beijing into a national Technology & Innovation Center with a creative spirit and innovative cultural atmosphere.
Top 10 Talents of Tsinghua Holdings read more
Videos:
Easy Talk: Advocating environment protection through storytelling read more

Turn the page and discover Beijing in all its eclectic delights.

Explore the charm of the city in our promo videos

    • Contact
    • Site Map
    • Disclaimer
Copyright © 2011 China Daily All Rights Reserved Sponsored by Beijing Municipal Government Powered by China Daily              京ICP备10023870号-9