DESERT RITES

Description

Book Description – Desert Rites 

Author’s Note

Among all my literary works, Desert Rites is like a seed planted deep in the soil of China’s western frontier. It draws its life not from technique or embellishment, but from the raw, unfiltered essence of the land. There is no ornamentation here—only a faithful record of the rhythms of rural life. Yet it is through these seemingly mundane details that the novel reveals the arc of human fate. The departure of Lingguan, for instance, has long stirred debate—his destination unclear, his ending unresolved. But before he leaves, he utters a single line: “What matters is how we live.” That line became the source of everything I would later write. From it grew the Soul Trilogy, Wild Fox Ridge, The Sound of Broadbeans Late at Night—each tracing its roots back to this beginning. Where there is life, there is limitless possibility.

—Xuemo

About the Book

Desert Rites explores survival on every level—material, spiritual, cultural, and ecological. Rooted in the finest traditions of Chinese realism, it carries a deep awareness of looming hardship and a clear-eyed courage to face the truths of life. The novel makes no attempt to soften or avoid the harsh truths of rural life—whether it’s the crushing burdens placed on farmers or the stark poverty of the Northwest. Its aesthetic foundation lies in revealing reality as it is, even when it’s severe. In this, it finds its power—not only to portray, but to awaken.

At its core, Desert Rites is a chronicle of one year in the life of a farming family and their village on the edge of the Tengger Desert: training hawks, fox hunting, digging wells, gathering brushwood, chatting over roasted sweet potatoes between hunts, delivering grain to the state, paying land taxes, complying with family planning policies, arguing, having secret affairs, worshipping local gods, and holding funerals. The author once said, it’s nothing more than the pain of survival, the sweetness of love, the suffering of illness, and the helplessness of death. And yet, what makes the novel unforgettable is not the weight of these experiences, but its unflinching look into the soul—into the quiet wars of conscience, into the complexity of rural character.

Key Features

1. Crowned with over ten major literary awards, including the Feng Mu Literature Prize and the Shanghai Novella Excellence Award—Desert Ritesstands as a landmark of western Chinese literature.
2. Adapted into the national television series Desert Bondby the Jiangsu and Gansu provincial media bureaus, sparking public attention to the realities of western life.
3. Written over twelve years and repeatedly revised—Xuemo poured his soul into this desert requiem—a work completed with the breath of his life.
4. Studied at prestigious universities such as Peking University and Fudan University—now a core text in contemporary Chinese literature courses.

Critical Acclaim

“Contemporary literature is in dire need of spiritual sustenance. Desert Rites is rich in exactly that.” —Lei Da, acclaimed writer and literary critic

“Xuemo’s Desert Rites is a deeply layered novel—worthy of reflection from multiple angles. Its themes are profound, its storytelling direct, its characters and events deeply representative. It holds both educational and philosophical value.” —Yang Wenlin, poet and former editor-in-chief of Flying Sky magazine

“In an era where culture grows ever softer, stripped of grit and inner conviction, this novel pulses with desert vitality—it may well be the cure for our inner fatigue.” —Scholar Liao Xiaodong

Who Is This Book For?

Readers drawn to rural China and social realism:
If you’re interested in works that illuminate rural life, social change, and the fate of ordinary people, Desert Rites offers an unvarnished, vibrant portrait of the Chinese Northwest. Set against a backdrop of poverty and environmental hardship, it reveals the endurance of farmers and their moral grit.

Readers seeking psychological and philosophical depth:
With characters rich in contradiction and full of inner tension, Xuemo’s writing delves deep into the soul. The novel confronts the full range of human experience—goodness and cruelty, desire and repression, numbness and awakening, despair and hope. It explores the tensions between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and neighbors—while delving into life, death, and the search for meaning. These truths, though rooted in one village, carry a deep universality.

Readers interested in western Chinese culture:
Bursting with regional flavor, Desert Rites is a window into the customs, dialects, rituals, and folk beliefs of the Liangzhou region in Gansu province. From desert hunts to ancestral rites, from temple offerings to weddings and funerals—this is a cultural tapestry few novels capture.

Readers in search of inner strength and resilience:
Though steeped in hardship, this is ultimately a story of endurance. In its quiet, rugged characters—like Old Shun and his family—we glimpse something primal: a silent, almost tragic strength. In an age of comfort, it asks whether we still carry that same will to survive.

Readers who appreciate bold, powerful literary voices:
Xuemo’s prose is raw, muscular, and unafraid. His storytelling is filled with images that strike hard and stay long. With its epic scale and steady rhythm, Desert Rites will appeal to readers who value immersive, weighty fiction that doesn’t flinch from truth.

This is not an easy read. But for those willing to face its honesty and feel its weight, Desert Rites is a journey of deep value—a descent into the spiritual heart of China’s west, and a mirror held up to the human condition.