"Yanshiji" Author: Ge Liang Publisher: People's Literature Publishing House Douban 2022 Chinese Literature (Fiction)

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Recommended by experts

The taste of the world is to know the taste of food, and the affairs of the world are ultimately to adjust the pot and cook small fresh food. In "Yanshiji", time passes, the world is renewed, and people come and go, like a dream of Hualu and a painting of the river. In this grand world, the taste on the tongue and the sound by the ear are the easiest to dissipate, the hardest to keep, the most rooted, and the most worthy of living. ——Li Jingze

"Yanshiji" focuses on the food customs of Lingnan and describes the vicissitudes of the Greater Bay Area over the past century. Compared with "Beiyuan", it has more of the flavor of human life and a more steady and dense structure. It involves many anecdotes, and the author's research and imagination can be seen in it. It is amazing to be able to go from the imaginary to the real. ——Wang Dewei

In Ge Liang's writing, Lingnan is profound, with an additional historical dimension and deep affection; reading his new work "Yanshiji", which uses food to outline the century-old history of Guangdong and Hong Kong, adds a layer of depth because of its authenticity, making me, a Hong Konger, feel familiar, friendly and fresh. - Ann Hui

The beauty and charm of "Yanshiji" lies in the fact that it uses skillful words to so accurately outline the vast historical territory of southern China. Ge Liang's understanding of food is beyond my imagination. Between the lines, it is like slow cooking over a low fire. The writing is inclusive, warm, deep and powerful. The times change in the tripod, which is both a daily feast and the warmth and coldness of the world. - Chen Xiaoqing

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Introduction

It is rumored that the century-old Lingnan Tongqinlou will close at the end of the year. A group of old friends saved the day and bought the store. Master Rong Yisheng, the retired chef of Tongqinlou, explained the reason... The novel follows the development of food culture, and witnesses the ups and downs of Guangdong and Hong Kong since the Revolution of 1911 through the legendary life stories of the master and his apprentice. The novel goes deep into the gathering and migration of Lingnan in modern times, from legendary figures such as merchants and politicians, revolutionary patriots, the clans of the rich and powerful, and guild giants to the people's livelihood in the market, vividly depicting the magnificent picture of China's social changes and the world in the past century.

Ge Liang is a writer and scholar. He studied at Nanjing University and the University of Hong Kong and holds a doctorate in literature. He is currently a professor in the Chinese Department of a university. He has written novels such as Beiyuan, Zhuque, Clay Cat, Qisheng, Xi Nian, Wenmi, Raccoon, and Mystery Crow, and cultural essays such as Xiaoshanhe and Pear and Date. His works have been translated into English, French, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. He has won the "China Good Book" Award, the "Chinese Good Book" Jury Special Award, the first Hong Kong Book Award, and the Hong Kong Arts Development Award. His representative novels have been selected as the "Top Ten Chinese Novels in Asia Weekly" twice. The author was awarded the "Cross-Strait Writer of the Year" and the "Chinese Person of the Year" by Southern People Weekly. Beiyuan was shortlisted as one of the ten nominated works for the 10th Mao Dun Literature Award in 2019. Yanshiji is his latest novel.