Order One

by Ye Zhaoyan

Order One made in 1969 by Li Biao, the then vice President of China, shocked China. Zhao Wenlin who retired from a military school had no idea of his place. He used to be a Kuomintang officer battling with the Japs and having a narrow escape from death. He revolted on the eve of liberation. Though a member of the Peoples Liberation Army, he seemed different. His wife Ziman, a positive woman, had this feeling that she was married with a wrong man, so she took her life, leaving Zhao Wenlin behind with a sense of guilt for the rest of his life. Going back to his hometown, Zhao Wenlin ran into Shen Jiemei, his ex-girlfriend. Shen used to be a beautiful lady and a teacher in university, yet she was almost impoverished now. Zhao did not recognize this woman with whom he once fell in deep love with. The cruelty and brutality of vicissitudes and personnel changes always make people sigh.

156 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2013

About the author

Ye Zhaoyan was born in Nanjing in 1957. After graduating from high school in 1974, Ye worked as a fitter in a factory for four years. Afterwards, he was admitted to the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Nanjing University. He gained his master's degree there in 1986.

Ye Zhaoyan came to literary prominence in the early 1980s. He has written a total of some 5 million words. His major works include the seven-volume set of "Selections from Ye Zhaoyan (Ye Zhaoyan wenji)," "Ye Zhaoyan Collected Works (Ye Zhaoyan zuopin zixuanji)" and several other selections.

His full-length novels include "Nanjing 1937: A Love Story (Yijiusanqinian de aiqing)," "Flower Demon (Huasha)," "Other People's Love Stories (Bieren de aiqing)," "No glass greenhouse (Meiyou boli de huafang)" and "Our Stubborn Hearts (Women de xin duome wangu)."

Ye's prose collections include "Wandering the Night (Liulang zhi ye)," "Old Nanjing: Reflections of Scenes on the Qinhuai River (Jiuying qinghuai)," "Ye Zhaoyan's Wonderful Essays (Ye Zhaoyan juemiao xiaopinwen)," "Ye Zhaoyan Prose (Ye Zhaoyan sanwen)," and "Miscellaneous Peanut Tree (Za huashengshu)."

(from Wikipedia)