I Want to See the Big River

This book series tells a story of how the boy Amo grew from a mother’s point of view. From his birth to beginning to speak， learning to read and paint， and getting to know this world， it contains interesting ideas from a child’s eyes， uncontrollably tender affection from a mother， and bumps along the road of life between the mother and the son. It accurately records the details of Amo‘s upbringing， in which it reflects all kinds of human feelings and the way of the world as time goes on. This is not a praise of the traditional nature of the mother but a sketch of real life. Only a writer who truly knows love can tell such an interesting story.

Ye Meng

A member of China Writers Association， Honorary Chairman of Hunan Writers Association. She has obtained many literary awards such as the 1st Women’s Literary Award. Her literary works Xiunyu Mountain， Creation Series， The Inexorable Doom of Soul， The Purple Warm Nest， and The Memory of Homeland were collected by more than 300 kinds of prose annuals， appreciation dictionaries， and prose treasuries. Her works are listed in many literary histories like The History of Chinese Contemporary Proses.

“I want to see the big river！” said Amo.

“OK！ Let’s go.” Mum agreed at once.

Amo and Mum went through the garden in the yard. All the Osmanthus trees， gardenia trees， Chinese roses， cotton roses， peach trees， camphor trees and fig trees， waved their branches at Amo. Amo said back to them in his heart， “I’m going to see the big river！”

They passed by the children’s playground. Through the fence， Amo said to the swings， slides and small trains， “I’m going to see the big river！”

Amo and Mum passed through the geese pond and the vegetable market， and came to the old street. After crossing the old street， they arrived at the dam. They went onto the dam and saw a very big river.

Amo came to the riverside， and saw the waves surging against the bank， mirroring brilliant light under the sun. Amo found himself dangling together with the river and the whole world.

The crowds of waves were merrily running towards the endless horizon.

Mum said， “This river is formed by numerous streams on both sides of the upstream. They run eastwards into Dongting Lake， gather in the Yangtze River， and end up in the sea...”

How far is the sea？

The river and the distance gave Amo large room for imagination.

Amo bent down by the riverside， closed his eyes and listened carefully. “I heard it. I heard the river’s breath. The river seems to be singing！” Amo felt intoxicated.

Mum said， “Every kid by the riverside grows up with the songs of the river.” To watch the river， Mum and Amo took a ferry. The ferries shuttled back and forth between the north and south shores of the big river. Lying on the south river bank were mountains.

Not until the ferry reached the middle of the river did he feel the surging green waves swaying the ferry. An inexplicable pleasure came to Amo’s mind. He laughed heartily to the river！

On the eve of Spring Festival each year， barges shipping goods in big rivers returned to Goose City for suspension of navigation. Tens of barges lined in a row， nearly extending to the middle of the river. All of them were big wooden boats， painted in bright yellow and giving off the aroma of tung oil.

Mum took Amo’s hand and walked from the barge on the bank to the barge in the middle of the river. Households on the barges housed people the same as on the land： burning wood， cooking， and raising chickens and dogs. Amo thought： Won’t the chickens fall into the river？

The shipboards formed a world of land on the river. On each barge lived a household. Wisps of smoke rose from the barges， with the special aroma of Laba beans and steamed preserved meat. What warmful households floating on the river！

After the Spring Festival， the barges in the river disappeared， as they had gone to bigger rivers for shipment！ Left along the riverside were barges of long-distance passenger liners and ferries at the wharf.

One day， Amo went for a walk with Mum along the river， and they saw an older man leading a big white buffalo. The buffalo， not afraid of water， walked into the river step by step. How hurried Amo was！ He quickly opened his sketchbook. At this moment， most of the buffalo’s body was immersed in the river. Amo only sketched a buffalo’s head above the water.

A cormorant fishing boat rowed towards the bank.

The cormorant flew onto the boat with a big fish in its beak. The fisherman took the big fish and fed the cormorant with a small fish. Then the cormorant ate it and flew back to the middle of the river for fishing. The black cormorant flew away from the boat， flapping its black wings and hovering over the middle of the river. It acutely spotted its prey in the choppy flow of the river， snatched it from the water， took off， and returned to the boat... Amo was in a daze watching these events unfold in front of him.

Amo was following Mum on the soft fine sand along the beach when they saw a small fishing boat lying on the bank. An old fisherman was putting away his fishing net. Mum immediately began to talk with the old man， inviting him to sit on a big stone along the riverside， and asking Amo to sketch him. The old man sat there happily and allowed Amo to sketch him. After a few minutes， Amo finished the sketch with several strokes. The old fisherman looked at the sketch and laughed， saying it resembled him. Mum also praised Amo.

On the way home， Amo walked and thought， imagining how the big river ran into Dongting Lake， the Yangtze River， and finally into the sea. What a long journey the surging rivers would make after all！ There must be many stories along the whole journey！

The source and end of the big river aroused endless imaginations in Amo. How he wished to travel together with the rivers！ After returning home， he spread a large piece of feather edged paper on which he drew a ship. It looked like a huge warship. On the warship there was a flagpole， on which was flying a big red flag and standing a big white bird. On the deck， a cat was fast asleep， and a dog was barking on the shipboard， bidding farewell to the fish in the river. On the bridge， a small person in a big brimmed cap was pulling the ship’s wheel. That was Amo！

Amo said to himself： When I grow up， I will make such a ship. I will drive it from the wharf， along the river， to Dongting Lake， the Yangtze River， and finally to the sea.

Amo’s Story Series

Ye Meng

Hunan Juvenile amp; Children's Publishing House

September 2021

96.00 （CNY）