The Story of Hulan River

"The Field of Life and Death" is a long novel written by Xiao Hong, a talented woman writer in the Republic of China, in Hong Kong. It is also her masterpiece. The novel is based on the author's hometown and childhood, depicting the author's memory of her hometown, Hulan, a small town in Northeast China in the 1920s and 1930s, with its monotony and beauty, and the kindness and ignorance of the people. The book has seven chapters: the first and second chapters describe the small town's style, the third and fourth chapters talk about the family's close and distant relatives, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters depict independent side characters. The seven chapters can be independent and yet integrated.