Life is a box of chocolate, you never know what is gonna happen. This is quite true with Liu Yudong—a failure of college entrance examination in 1989, but a winner of Shandong Literary Award later on.

Getting Intimate with Literature

It was quite by chance that Liu Yudong stepped into the literary world. Unable to further his study in college, he became a worker, living in some suburban area, facing the waste land day-in and day-out, with nobody to talk with. He was lonely, frustrated, and did not know where his future was.

Days dragged on like this for over half a year, until one day, another worker—a guy with literary learning— came into his life. The literary dream this guy talked about woke the ambition in Liu’s heart. Through talking, he got to know some famous writers, and after a while started to read some essays and magazines, and fell in love with literature. Later, he joined in a literary society—Green Field—and began writing some essays and poems when encouraged by his friends. It was "love at first sight", as he recalled, when writing a novel, he felt quite at ease with his imagination and rid of his frustration. These immature works he wrote in early years nourished his soul, and brought him closer to this charming world. He became an amateur novelist ever since.

A Breakthrough

In 1990, Liu got a job in a state-owned enterprise in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. The library possessed by the company captured the heart of this young man, and he spent almost all of his spare time in reading the literary books and magazines there. At that time, he was even more enthusiastic about writing. In 1992, Liu started to submit his works for publication but rarely did he get reply. Not losing heart, he finally succeeded, with his novel My Wondering Years published in Shandong Literature.Oct,1993, a literary magazine, which made him overjoyed. However, it was just a start; his career blossomed in the following years when quite a few novels were approved by the public. This writing experience also helped him acquainted with many friends of letters, with whom Liu would often communicate and exchange ideas; and this communication, in turn, spurred him to carry on with his creative writing.

For all these years, Liu never halted writing. But in the winter of 1998, when reviewing his early manuscripts, he was suddenly troubled with dissatisfaction and confusion, for, as he later concluded, the early writings were only for writing’s sake, while emotions in himself were absent. As a matter of fact, these works are just like walking bodies, with no blood or ideas attached. The only way to enrich the content, he thought, is to unearth more facts and broaden his horizon.

As he was reflecting himself, the childhood memories flew into his mind, evoking his life philosophy and experience. His creativity was alive again. With novels We Have Our Share of Land, Bury the Horse Head, Cremation, and others, published, Liu Yudong was since regarded as a rising literary star.

A New Start

He was not carried away though surrounded by praises and admiration. Once again, he anatomized his works and shook his head—memories are not enough for a writer, because they are limited, and once drained, creative writings would have nowhere to go. By readjusting his ideas, he started anew, concerning more about life, and paying more attention to his readers. As we can see in Lemme Talk with You, Fire-colored Horse, Open Sesame, and Early Spring, his works are more thought-provoking and more impactive as well.

"Liu Yudong’s novels are just like sunshine, sympathizing with the people in trouble, and reminding the readers of their hometown." another writer commented, "They are a combination of wits and honesty, of elegance and hard facts. We can see a master-to-be maturing in his sensitivity, affection for literature and ever-improving capability that revealed in his works."

By Yuan Yue (Shandong Bureau)

Editor: Liu Fang