Rich resources
Standing as the capital city for 1,000 years from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Xi'an has long been the cultural center of China, along with neighboring areas of Shaanxi Province.
"Shaanxi has a strong significance in history, a place of diverse cultures," said Lei.
According to him, the northern parts of the province integrated nomadic culture, while the central area inherited culture from the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BC) to the Tang Dynasty. The southern area was influenced by Bashu Culture, a branch of Chinese culture dating back to the late Neolithic Age, mainly taking shape in southwest Sichuan Province.
"This area is immersed in traditional Chinese culture," said Qiu Huadong, deputy chief editor of People's Literature, China's flagship literature magazine. "Local lives represent a good deal of Chinese history. Writing about local life is writing about the Chinese [identity]," Qiu told the Global Times.
"They depicted the life of these locals, reminding us of being Chinese and our roots," he added.
The historic Yan'an Talks on Literature and Art in 1942, a speech given by Mao Zedong on the role of literature and art in the society was held in Shaanxi. This later influenced the development on literature, encouraging authors to write about the realities of workers and farmers.
"Being held in Yan'an also gave Shaanxi writers an advantage, influencing their writing direction," said Lei.
A voice in the community
Though focusing on rural subjects earned Shaanxi writers a strong domestic following, they are often under scrutiny for being limited in their subject.
"These writings revolve around traditional life in the countryside, featuring Shaanxi dialect, Confucius beliefs and feudal patriarchal systems in ancient China," said Qiu. "Writing in the native language and dialect poses difficulties for their works to be translated."
"It's valid that they write about country life, as we have 900 million farmers in a country with a population of 1.3 billion," said Lei.
Besides, Shaanxi is the birthplace for Chinese civilization. Writing in the local dialect remains true to the heritage set from the Zhou to the Tang Dynasty, Lei said.
Emerging Shaanxi writers are widening their areas of expertise. Wang Hai, an author in the region, is being increasingly known for approaching urban subjects in Paradise, Lao Fen and City Gate.
Meanwhile, writers like Kou Hui, a representative of Magic Realism which is a mainstream literary style today, and Wang Yan, a writer of children books like Large-Headed Turtle and Red-Faced Rabbit are all trying their hands at different genres.
"In the future, more writers may write about contemporary issues, as the country is in the process of urbanization and industrialization. But the countryside will remain a rich source for Shaanxi writers," Lei said.
Urbanization brings many problems to rural areas, such as land requisition and compensation, employment, and psychological adjustment to city life for farmers.
"Meanwhile Shaanxi is an inland region less exposed to outer influence and maintains much of the Chinese tradition," he explained.
Source: Global Times
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