十一 年輪轉動了 The Wheel of Time Turns
，，！In the snowy weather, a flag the villagers had never seen before was unfurled and raised into the sky!
- 雪
- Xuě — surname Xue (HSK 2)
- 天
- tiān — 1. day 2. sky 3. heaven (HSK 1)
- 裡
- lǐ — 1. lining 2. interior 3. inside 4. internal 5. also written 裏 (lǐ) (HSK 1)
- 村
- cūn — 1. village 2. (dialect) to scold 3. rustic; boorish (HSK 3)
- 人們
- rén men — people (HSK 2)
- 永
- yǒng — 1. forever 2. always 3. perpetual
- 沒
- méi — (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not (HSK 1)
- 見
- jiàn — 1. to see 2. to meet 3. to appear (to be sth) 4. to interview 5. opinion 6. view (HSK 1)
- 過
- Guō — surname Guo (HSK 1)
- 的
- de — 1. of; ~'s (possessive particle) 2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) 3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) 4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 (pí gé de) "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 (pǎo táng r de) "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 (xīn de) "new one") 5. also pr. (dì) or (di) in poetry and songs (HSK 1)
- 旗子
- qí zi — 1. flag 2. banner 3. classifier: 面 (miàn)
- 飄揚
- piāo yáng — 1. to wave 2. to flutter 3. to fly
- 起
- qǐ — 1. to rise 2. to raise 3. to get up 4. to set out 5. to start 6. to appear 7. to launch 8. to initiate (action) 9. to draft 10. to establish 11. to get (from a depot or counter) 12. verb suffix, to start 13. starting from (a time, place, price etc) 14. classifier for occurrences or unpredictable events: case, instance 15. classifier for groups: batch, group (HSK 1)
- 升上
- shēng shàng — 1. (of an employee) to be promoted to (a higher rank) 2. (of a student) to enter (a higher grade at school)
- 天空
- tiān kōng — sky (HSK 3)
雪天里，村人们永没见过的旗子飘扬起，升上天空！
，，。The whole village fell silent; only the Japanese flag before the makeshift military camp on the hilltop fluttered noisily in the wind.
- 全
- Quán — surname Quan (HSK 2)
- 村
- cūn — 1. village 2. (dialect) to scold 3. rustic; boorish (HSK 3)
- 寂靜
- jì jìng — quiet (HSK 7-9)
- 下去
- xià qù — 1. to go down 2. to descend 3. to go on 4. to continue 5. (of a servant) to withdraw (HSK 3)
- 只有
- zhǐ yǒu — 1. only have ...; there is only ... 2. (used in combination with 才 (cái)) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈 (zhǐ yǒu tōng guò zhì liáo cái néng quán yù) "the only way to cure it is with therapy") 3. it is only (someone) who ... (as in 只有男性才有此需要 (zhǐ yǒu nán xìng cái yǒu cǐ xū yào) "only men would have such a requirement") 4. (used to express lack of alternatives) can only; have no choice but to (as in 只有屈服 (zhǐ yǒu qū fú) "the only thing you can do is give in") (HSK 3)
- 日本
- Rì běn — Japan
- 旗子
- qí zi — 1. flag 2. banner 3. classifier: 面 (miàn)
- 在
- zài — 1. to exist; to be alive 2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at 3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) (HSK 1)
- 山
- Shān — surname Shan (HSK 1)
- 崗
- gāng — variant of 岡 (gāng)
- 臨時
- lín shí — 1. as the time draws near 2. at the last moment 3. temporary 4. interim 5. ad hoc (HSK 4)
- 軍營
- jūn yíng — 1. barracks 2. army camp
- 前
- qián — 1. front 2. forward 3. ahead 4. first 5. top (followed by a number) 6. future 7. ago 8. before 9. BC (e.g. 前293年) 10. former 11. formerly (HSK 1)
- 振蕩
- zhèn dàng — 1. vibration 2. oscillation
- 的
- de — 1. of; ~'s (possessive particle) 2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) 3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) 4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 (pí gé de) "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 (pǎo táng r de) "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 (xīn de) "new one") 5. also pr. (dì) or (di) in poetry and songs (HSK 1)
- 響
- xiǎng — 1. echo 2. sound 3. noise 4. to make a sound 5. to sound 6. to ring 7. loud 8. classifier for noises (HSK 2)
- 著
- zhāo — 1. a move in chess (Taiwan pr. (zhuó)) 2. trick; tactic 3. (dialect) okay; all right 4. (dialect) to put in; to add (HSK 1)
全村寂静下去，只有日本旗子在山岗临时军营前，振荡的响著。
：？The villagers wondered: What times were these?？Had the Republic of China changed its name?
- 村
- cūn — 1. village 2. (dialect) to scold 3. rustic; boorish (HSK 3)
- 人們
- rén men — people (HSK 2)
- 在
- zài — 1. to exist; to be alive 2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at 3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) (HSK 1)
- 想
- xiǎng — 1. to think (about) 2. to think of; to devise 3. to think (that); to believe (that) 4. to desire; to want (to) 5. to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) (HSK 1)
- 這
- zhè — 1. (pronoun) this; these 2. (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun) 3. (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. (zhèi), esp. in Beijing) (HSK 1)
- 是
- shì — 1. to be (followed by substantives only) 2. correct; right; true 3. (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well 4. (adverb for emphatic assertion) (HSK 1)
- 什麼
- shén me — 1. what? 2. something; anything (HSK 1)
- 年月
- nián yuè — 1. months and year 2. time 3. days of one's life
- 中華
- Zhōng huá — 1. Zhonghua, historical and cultural term for China, often used to denote Chinese civilization and identity (as in 中華文化 (Zhōng huá wén huà) "Chinese culture") 2. used in the official name of the Republic of China, 中華民國 (Zhōng huá Mín guó) (HSK 6)
- 國
- Guó — surname Guo (HSK 1)
- 改
- gǎi — 1. to change 2. to alter 3. to transform 4. to correct (HSK 2)
- 了
- le — 1. (completed action marker) 2. (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) 3. (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) (HSK 1)
- 國號
- guó hào — official name of a nation (includes dynastic names of China: 漢 (Hàn), 唐 (Táng) etc)
- 嗎
- má — (coll.) what? (HSK 1)
村人们在想：这是什么年月？中华国改了国号吗？
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What it’s about
As the annual ring turns, cyclical time begins to grind against irreversible political change. The village again passes through seasonal tasks, births and deaths, but repetition no longer promises that next year will resemble the last. News and anxiety enter daily conversation, widening the horizon beyond fields and households. Xiao Hong retains the novel's scattered viewpoints so that history arrives not as an official announcement but as altered expectations in many ordinary lives.
The image of a turning ring combines continuity with pressure. Nature returns, while human beings age and the occupied northeast moves farther from the world they knew. Villagers respond unevenly: some cling to routine, some sense approaching danger, and others discover collective language for suffering previously endured as private fate. No instant political awakening transforms them. The chapter instead traces a slow reorientation, as people who once interpreted disaster through family custom or supernatural cause begin to encounter an enemy that can be named. Even then, the old hierarchies and habits continue turning inside the new historical crisis.
When it was written 背景
The later chapters respond directly to Japan's 1931 seizure of Manchuria and the establishment of Manchukuo in 1932. Xiao Hong had escaped Harbin and eventually reached Shanghai, so the seasonal homeland she reconstructed in 1934 was already occupied territory. This chapter's transition is valuable because it avoids the clean before-and-after structure common in patriotic narratives. Learners can track words for year, season, news and change to follow its widening scale. The “annual ring” also describes the book's form: earlier cycles remain visible within later ones. Political history does not cancel gender, poverty or animal suffering; it encloses them and changes the meanings villagers can give their pain.
Words in this chapter 生词
- 旗子qí zi旗子qí zi — flag · banner · classifier: 面 (miàn)
- 升上shēng shàng升上shēng shàng — (of an employee) to be promoted to (a higher rank) · (of a student) to enter (a higher grade at school)
- 國號guó hào國號guó hào — official name of a nation (includes dynastic names of China: 漢 (Hàn), 唐 (Táng) etc)
- 振蕩zhèn dàng振蕩zhèn dàng — vibration · oscillation
- 軍營jūn yíng軍營jūn yíng — barracks · army camp
- 飄揚piāo yáng飄揚piāo yáng — to wave · to flutter · to fly
- 崗gǎng崗gǎng — (bound form) hillock; mound · sentry post; policeman's beat · (bound form) job; post
- 日本Rì běn日本Rì běn — Japan
- 臨時lín shíHSK 4臨時lín shí — as the time draws near · at the last moment · temporary · interim · ad hoc (HSK 4)
- 中華Zhōng huáHSK 6中華Zhōng huá — Zhonghua, historical and cultural term for China, often used to denote Chinese civilization and identity (as in 中華文化 (Zhōng huá wén huà) "Chinese culture") · used in the official name of the Republic of China, 中華民國 (Zhōng huá Mín guó) (HSK 6)
- 年月nián yuè年月nián yuè — months and year · time · days of one's life
- 嗎máHSK 1嗎má — (coll.) what? (HSK 1)