Mao Dun Literature Prize winners cover a wide range of topics

Liu's work resets time to where the epic story ends and restarts from where the imagination of its ancient authors paused, Guan says.

She adds that it highlights the power of innocence that drives the dreamland characters to fight for their tribes in the real world despite the fact it might end up in vain.

Liu grew up and lives in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Many of his previous works, such as prose collections A Village of One and In Xinjiang, are rooted in the land that nourishes him and bear his reflections on humanity, language, the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the impact of modernity.

According to Guan, the novel has attracted a surge in attention since the announcement of the prize and 100,000 more copies are in print.