On an early summer afternoon, book lovers gathered along Nanjing's Changjiang Road for "Our Nanjing — Having Afternoon Tea with Ye Zhaoyan", a literary salon centered on the city's history, memory and everyday life. Through conversations with readers, musicians and local bloggers, renowned writer Ye reflected on how Nanjing has shaped his work, from grand historical narratives to stories of ordinary families living through decades of social change.
Coorganized by local authorities, the Yilin Press, the Nanjing City of Literature Promotion Association, and the Nanjing 1912 Investment Group, the event was part of the first Changjiang Road "City Reading" Literary Festival, which began on April 23 and ran through May 20. The literary salon highlighted Ye's efforts to tell the story of China through the lens of Nanjing, a city he describes as being deeply intertwined with the history of the nation.
It was in 2019 that 62-year-old native Nanjing writer Ye published a nonfiction work titled Nanjing: The Biography. Published by Yilin Press, the book was well-received by readers and hailed as a foundational work of urban biography.
Using historical events from 211, when Sun Quan, the leader of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period, moved his capital to Moling (an ancient name for Nanjing), to 1949, when troops of the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River to liberate the city, Ye weaves a narrative of Chinese history through the lens of Nanjing.
He highlights the rise of Eastern Wu, the splendor of the Six Dynasties (222-589), the brief stability of the Southern Tang Dynasty (937-975), the rise and fall of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and the tumultuous times of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Through this window of Nanjing, the writer tells the broader story of China's history.
"No other city can so clearly showcase the vicissitudes of Chinese history as Nanjing does. Nanjing is the best history textbook, closely tied to the nation's fate. From this perspective, Nanjing: The Biography is an alternative history of China, a Chinese history with Nanjing as its focal point," he said, explaining his motivation for writing the book.
How to continue writing Nanjing's contemporary story? In the summer of 2024, Ye published a novel titled Qujia Huayuan (The Garden of the Qu Family).
The work focuses on an old house in the southern part of the city, exploring the intertwined lives and emotions of two families across three generations. It spans more than 70 years, capturing epic stories of civilian life in the People's Republic of China.
The plot covers significant events like the "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside" movement during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), the reinstatement of the college entrance exam, the wave of migration abroad, entrepreneurial ventures, State-owned enterprise reforms, and the renovation of shantytowns. By weaving together major historical events with the lives of ordinary people, the narrative creates a contemporary history that belongs to everyday individuals.
At the event, Ye said, "Through my writing, I want to depict a Nanjing that is not only the one in my heart, but also the Nanjing imagined by those who live here and those who have left."
Nanjing: The Biography focuses on emperors, generals, and the city's thousand-year history of drama and upheaval. In contrast, Qujia Huayuan delves into the lives of ordinary people and their daily experiences. Ye views Nanjing as a window into Chinese history. Through the city, he shares the stories he wants to tell, capturing the essence of everyone's story and, ultimately, China's story.
The event also introduced nostalgic items mentioned in Qujia Huayuan, such as an old Butterfly sewing machine, a set of small tables and chairs, and an electric kettle. For those who grew up in the 1950s, a sewing machine was considered a significant household item.
