Writer Yi Xiangdong shows a rare sensitivity in his portrayal of the heroine of his latest novel, The Mou Manor. Although the Shandong-born writer has an air of bluntness that natives of that province are known for, Yi explores the ties between women and land with great delicacy.

The 46-year-old former writer of military-camp stories has spent half his life in the army. His close observations of ordinary soldiers won him the Lu Xun Literature Prize in 2001 for the novella, Winds Blowing in the Valley.

But Yi says his specialty is writing about women from their perspective.

"I like looking at things closely, and don't let details go easily," he says, in a heavy Shandong accent.

With the Lu Xun Prize win, Yi felt he had nothing more to add to his stories on army life and sought inspiration back home, in Qixia, eastern Shandong.

"The biggest source of legends there is the Mou family," says the Beijing-based writer. "It has fascinated me from a young age."

Jiang Zhenguo, the novel's main protagonist, is a strong and charming woman. Actress Yuan Li, who played Jiang in the TV adaptation of the story, recalls how she could never relax during its shooting. The TV series drew wide acclaim when aired earlier in 2010, and put Mou Manor on the tourist trail.

Jiang was the first woman of the Mou family to take charge of its fortunes from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Covering 20,000 square meters in the center of Jiaodong Peninsula, Mou Manor already had 200 years of wealth and prestige behind it when Jiang took charge.

The family's expansion of wealth and power began with the 14th generation Mou family chief Mou Molin in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). That was also the time rigid rules based on Confucian doctrines came into play in the family.

Jiang is married to Mou Jin, who is young and capable, and also a loving husband, but in poor health.

Suddenly widowed, the beautiful woman takes over the running of the family. She has to contend with evil in-laws to protect what her beloved husband has left behind: a son, family property, and an aging mother.

Guided by the wisdom of her businessman father, Jiang successfully battles all prejudice and ridicule.

Her faith in the value of land and respect for those who cultivate it is what finally win her peace.

"The idea of the novel came to me when I saw droves of young people in villages leaving for jobs in the towns," says Yi, the son of a farmer.

"I believe the future of mankind lies in land, and I wanted to depict this in the novel."

Yi spent three years interviewing dozens of villagers who had previously served at the manor, to give his novel an authentic feel.

The time Jiang took charge was a period marked by internal and external problems, such as wars, disasters and foreign aggression.

To cope with them, Jiang restrains her attraction for Wang, hired to teach the children of the manor. Yi presents her internal turmoil with much skill.

Yet, as she lies on her deathbed, she can't change the fact that the manor is disintegrating, its wealth scattered and family members displaced.

China Daily