我是寨子里长大的女孩

My name is Zha Shiyize: Zha is my family name, Shiyi (eleven) is the season of my birth, and Ze (惹) is a type of grass. I was born in 1990, of the Hani (Flower Waist Yi) ethnic group, and grew up in a village deep in the mountains of Yunnan. This book records my growth, attempting to trace my life's trajectory over thirty-four years, and also endeavors to leave some life stories for my female relatives and neighbors.
In the early years, the village was poor, and life was inevitably difficult and straitened, but it was not without natural romance: flowers, trees, sunshine, streams, mountains and fields, cats and dogs, cattle and horses, birds, playmates… The flowing rural scenery accompanied my childhood years, weaving old dreams that softened the heart.
The changes in the private lives of me, my mother, my sisters, my female relatives and neighbors—two generations of Yi ethnic women in the countryside—have shown a lagging but vibrant landscape with social development. As someone born in the 90s, my process of growing up, advancing in education, finding employment, and migrating has been accompanied by the acceleration of the nation's urbanization process, as well as the loss of rural memories and borderland experiences. I hope that through my writing, I can preserve a record of the old people, events, and customs of the village.
In my village, many things are certain. I know the cattle won't run away, and I know the sun will set on time. I will return home with the cattle, eat dinner, and then drift into dreams.