With this compelling book, blending autobiographical elements with elements of fiction, Shanghai-born US-based university teacher and writer Yuang-Tsung Chen delves deep into the lives of China’s peasants in the 1950s. And in the process, he exposes the myth that life in the countryside is, in contrast to its urban counterpart, honest, straightforward and happy. The novel begins in the city, circa 1949, at a bourgeois home located in Shanghai’s French concession. Ling Ling, raised by a wealthy uncle, is tired of the good life and joins a group of cadres who wish to take part in the agrarian revolution. Together they bring the concept of “land reform” and hope to Longxiang (Dragon’s Village), a tiny village in the Northwest province of Gansu. However, they soon discover that village life is less than idyllic; indeed, it revolves around outmoded traditions, superstition and secrecy. Full of drama and suspense, The Dragon’s Village offers an intriguing look at the life of peasantry as it undergoes one of the greatest societal changes in its history.
Penguin Books

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue



Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue