The Dust Has Settled tells the story before the collapse of Khampa chieftain system. Known as "Jiarong" in the distant past, they live in the northwest Dadu River canyon area, mainly engaged in agriculture. For a long time, chieftains command this land. Makkah chieftain is the largest chieftain on this land. He and his Han wife give birth to a fool son. This widely-recognized fool has extraordinary vision. Makkah chieftain rapidly becomes strong for growing opium…《尘埃落定》曾荣获第五届茅盾文学奖,讲述康巴土司制度崩溃前夕的故事。在遥远的称为“嘉绒”,他们生活在西北大渡河峡谷地带,以从事农业为主。长期以来,土司统领这片领地。麦加土司是这片土地上最大的土司。他和他的汉族太太生了一个傻瓜儿子。就是这个人人都认定的傻瓜,却有着超凡脱俗的观世眼光。麦加土司因种植鸦片而迅速强大起来……
This is perhaps the most famous novel about Tibet in China. It is written by a Tibetan who grew up in Tibet, and till now he's the most famous Tibetan writer in China. I read it when I was in primary school after watching a TV drama adapted from this book. It has explicit description of sex scenes which shocked me when I was reading it then. Generally, it's a fascinating book written with great skills, and as far as I remember, there is a beauty in its language and storytelling. Now I think of it, it is actually consistent with what the CCP says about the old Tibet--the serfdom/slavery, the cruel ruling of the noble, the arrival of PLA in Tibet. When I was reading this book, the cruel ways the nobles treated their slaves never shocked me, because by then I already knew that in feudal China, criminals were punished in ways that were similarly cruel.