Path to inner calm

Author Zhao Defa tells Liu Zhihua why he prescribes traditional ethics and values for people in present-day China.

There was a time when Zhao Defa was famous for his stories about life and politics in rural China. But these days, readers find the author more at home with his so-called "culture novels". Although fictional in nature, these tend to be nonfictional approaches to traditional Chinese values that face numerous challenges in modern society.

Last month, in Beijing, the Shandong Provincial Writers Association and Anhui Literature and Art Publishing House jointly released the revised edition of Zhao's culture novel trilogy: Junzi Meng (Dream of Chinese Gentlemen), Shuangshou Heshi (Praying Hands) and Qiandao Kundao (The Tao of Heaven and Earth).