Despite vast changes since the 1990s, Liang Xiaosheng's impassioned voice remains uniquely powerful — his works continue to offer readers genuine intellectual fulfillment.
—Zhang Yiwu, Literary Critic

Liang Xiaosheng is the pioneer of educated youth literature and also one of the core writers of contemporary Chinese literature.
——Meng Fanhua, Literary Critic

His writing steadfastly maintains its moral stance, upholding intellectual conscience and humanistic ideals. Never does he sacrifice social critique for so-called "pure literature".
—Wu Yiqin, Director of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature

The same age as the People’s Republic, he has witnessed the changes of the times with his writing. Fond of the 1980s, he laid a solid foundation with his educated youth literature; compassionate towards the fate of the underprivileged, he pointed his pen at the bureaucrats and the powerful to uphold justice. He rejected the hustle and bustle of the times, yet the times took away the readers’ patience; he paid attention to the livelihood of the people and spoke for them, but felt powerless; as reality moved forward reluctantly, his writing remained sharp and vigorous.
—Phoenix News

★Liang Xiaosheng's Guide for the Perplexed: This book offers profound reflections on life, along with insightful interpretations of love, family, work, adversity, and solitude. Life presents many difficulties, but what doesn't defeat you ultimately makes you stronger.
★Detachment Leads to Ease: In our age of relentless competition, learning to let go and see clearly is the path to a comfortable, fulfilling life. As the saying goes, "We yearn for life's dramatic waves, only to discover that its most exquisite scenery lies in inner peace and composure."
★A Window into Liang's Mind and Wisdom: This collection features Liang's most poignant, philosophical, and inspiring essays — exploring ordinary lives and dilemmas while revealing his warm yet profound meditations on human affairs and life's true essence.
★Tranquil Stewardship of One's Life: More than an attitude, this represents a spiritual attainment.

For most people, life is fundamentally a series of responsibilities. Understanding this truth reveals love as serendipity, friendship as serendipity, and family bonds as the greatest serendipity of all — each relationship a pearl formed from life's grit.
—Liang Xiaosheng

This book by Mao Dun Literature Prize winner and author of "A Lifelong Journey" serves as both a compass for the lost and Liang Xiaosheng's personal philosophical testament. Within these pages, readers will find memories of bygone days, tender Portraits of family bonds between fathers and sons, mothers and children, brothers, as well as provocative Musings on society and existence.
True to Liang's maxim, "Life may be a dream, but we must live with clarity", these essays champion authentic, purposeful living brimming with warmth and resilience.
Ordinary moments constitute life's predominant state. To mindfully steward one's existence with equanimity is both an attitude and a spiritual accomplishment.

Liang Xiaosheng

He was born in 1949 in Harbin with ancestral roots in Rongcheng, Shandong. He is a renowned contemporary Chinese writer and scholar. Currently, he serves as a senior professor at the School of Humanities of Beijing Language and Culture University, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a researcher at the Central Research Institute of Culture and History. To date, he has authored over ten million words of literary works, including essays, novels, commentaries, and documentary literature. His representative works include "Tonight There’s a Snowstorm", "The Rings of Time", and "Educated Youth". In 2019, he won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize for his novel "A Lifelong Journey".

I. Days of Yore
My First Fountain Pen / 002
My Boyhood Years / 006
Elder Brother / 009
My Parents · My Elementary School · My Middle School / 028
Oh, That Little Street / 054

II. Where the Heart Rests
From Fudan to Beijing Film Academy / 076
Wujiaochang · Yangchun Noodles · Wax Museum / 178
Looking Back on Bygone Years / 187
Father's Belongings / 190

III. Blood Still Burns
Several Spring Festivals, One Lifetime / 196
My Dream / 202
An Aspiration, An Ideal / 213
My Chinese Dream / 219
Are Our Children Really "Little Gods"? / 230
Let Our Passion Flow Like Blood / 235

From Fudan University to Beijing Film Academy (Excerpt)

The day I arrived at Fudan University, my legs were swollen, and it was difficult to take off my shoes and socks. I thought it was because of sitting on the train for too long, but it wasn't — it was a symptom of acute hepatitis.
That evening, the students who had already reported to our major gathered together for an "acquaintance meeting". People from all over the country brought out the delicious food they had brought and piled it on a table. I only had a few small apples left and felt embarrassed to take them out. I also felt shy about just eating others' food, so I smoked instead.
My fellow Northeasterner, C, a female, had placed on the table two "big breads" unique to Harbin, each as big as a small washbasin. I had only tasted them a few times when I was very young. They were hard to find in Harbin at that time. Everyone found them novel, and after cutting them into pieces, they passed them around, each taking a slice and commenting on how delicious they were. I also picked up a slice and ate it. Since it was from my fellow townsman, being too polite would seem distant. I was from the First Normal School, and C was from the Fifth Normal School, we didn't know each other before. I thought to myself, it's really nice to have a fellow townsman and a former militia comrade among my classmates.
One student asked, "I heard that people in Harbin eat this kind of 'big bread' every day?"
C replied, "Of course. Every Harbiner grows up eating 'big bread' from childhood!"
I felt it was necessary to correct her, so I said, "Only five percent, or perhaps even fewer Harbiners grow up eating 'big bread'. Over ninety-five percent of people grow up eating corn cakes."
What I said was correct. At that time, the grain ration for Harbiners was — one kilo of flour, half kilo of rice, and the rest were coarse grains. Rice and flour were generally only for those who worked and were used for making boxed meals during holidays.
C immediately countered me, "Just because you grew up eating corn cakes doesn't represent all Harbiners. I grew up eating 'big bread' with sausage!"
I argued based on reason, saying that I was one of the ninety-five percent and of course represented the majority of Harbiners. She was just one of the five percent "small minority" and couldn't represent Harbiners at all.
She got angry and said, "Who are you calling a 'small minority'? Let me tell you, my family is a 'revolutionary cadre family'! You're insulting revolutionary cadres!"
I said, "I didn't know that! But why do you have to lie? Why deceive so many classmates we've just met? You clearly know that over ninety-five percent of Harbiners eat coarse grains! If Harbiners all grew up eating 'big bread' with sausage, Harbin would have entered communism long ago!"
I believe that it is essential to debate clearly whether over ninety-five percent of Harbiners grew up eating "big bread" with sausage or corn cakes. I am particularly sensitive to such issues and can't tolerate anyone lying to my face.
She said, "Your words clearly express dissatisfaction with reality!"
I got angry and said, "We're both workers, peasants, and soldiers students, so don't pull this on me! Even if I am dissatisfied with reality, what can you do to me?"
She said, "I am a member of the Communist Party, and I have the right to criticize you!"
I said, "You're just a Communist Party member who grew up eating 'big bread' with sausage. If you do a survey, you're still in the five percent among Communist Party members!"
The other students tried to mediate. The more they tried to calm us down, the angrier I became. I wished they would all believe my truth instead of C's lies. But they seemed completely uninterested in the issue I was arguing with C about and were only interested in the "big bread", which made me even more furious than if they had believed C. If this had been in the militia, and if C were a man instead of a woman, claiming that over ninety-five percent of Harbiners grew up eating "big bread" with sausage and sticking to it, he would have been beaten up by Harbin youths who grew up eating corn cakes!
How can one lie with such seriousness and determination?
C slapped the table and said aggressively, "You're trying to divide our Party ranks!"