Li Er spent 13 years to complete his latest novel Brother Ying Wu. The saga is a record of the life courses and spiritual journey of the intellectuals in China for the latest 30 years. In the novel, Li Er made up a celebrated scholar, Brother Ying Wu, who is in charge of establishing a Confucian school in a university. He interacted with all sorts of characters and the ways they talk and behave are depicted in detail, showcasing the glory and downfall, hope and disappointment in their lives which therefore constitute a vivid paint of an era.

Each chapter in this book takes two or three words from the first sentence of the chapter as its title. Therefrom it unfolds naturally: either narrates or discusses, praises or satirizes, sings or cries. The chapters are interlinked and constantly reassembled to produce more diverse forms and meanings, representing a new poetic construction rooted in tradition.

Brother Ying Wu marks the exploration of new-generation writers in terms of literacy subjects and writing skills. The author creates detailed rules of the history and knowledge in his imaginary academic world, yet all are well narrated and organized in a convincingly reasonable manner. The vast array of characters, knowledge, dialogues, and anecdotes culminates in a fascinating depiction of our secular times. A ground-breaking Chinese contemporary writing that you will not want to miss.