Jing speaks to students at Peking University about her new book Na Nian, Na Xin in Beijing on June 29.[Photo provided to China Daily]

In 2017, she published another book titled Wo, Modai Gongnongbing Xueyuan (I, the Last Generation of Worker-Peasant-Soldier Student) that recorded the years when Jing and her peers went to the countryside to work in the 1970s.

Jing says her inspiration for her latest book, Na Nian, Na Xin, came from her former colleague Cui Yongyuan's oral history project, which seeks to keep the memories of the older generations alive.

Yu Hong, a professor of journalism and communication at Peking University, says she can relate to the book.

"With the experience of five generations of the Jing family over the last 68 years, the book also shows the close connections between individuals, families and the times," Yu says.

In the book, with the letters and background information, Jing shows how members of the older generations fell in love, got married, what they ate and wore, how they traveled, how they celebrated holidays, what they believed in, what their dreams were, how they entertained themselves, how they received education and their strong sense of family.

"I expect the young generations will read the book and know how we arrived here today and how to continue with the journey," Jing says.

Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn