A trek into history

"Because it was temporary, it could change or dissolve anytime, but with certain decisions and actions, a temporary university ultimately became a legendary university that ran for eight years," Yang tells China Daily.

As a result, he spends seven chapters describing the temporary university, how students and professors reached Changsha, their struggles and anxieties, and their daily lives.

As a writer who stresses the importance of context, especially in a time when 140-word micro blogs and short videos have become mainstream media products, by piecing together information from diaries, letters, historical records, newspapers, periodicals and books, Yang creates a vivid historical context of Changsha in late 1937.

Readers can envision the simple meals eaten by the students and professors (cold porridge for breakfast, boiled cabbage and radish with several slices of meat for lunch), their dormitories (shaky wooden floors and stairs, dimly lit and humid), daily activities (walks, sightseeing, chats, lectures, sheltering at the sound of an air-raid siren, and so on), as well as the streets, restaurants, billboards and products of the era.

Meanwhile, through first-person description, Yang presents the current site of the temporary university, creating a sense of time and space intermingling.

"Long-form writing allows readers to immerse themselves in a certain context to better understand a particular situation from different perspectives," Yang says.

As Changsha became increasingly dangerous, the brigade was formed and marched toward Kunming. Professor Wen Yiduo told the students: "You are especially privileged people; you should take a look at the lives of ordinary people."