Desert Rites

A Journey of Struggle, Survival, and Perseverance for Farmers in Rural China

Set in China's Hexi Corridor, Desert Rites vividly depicts the poverty and misery faced by Lao Shun and his family. The novel presents a panoramic view of rural life in China during the 1990s through the lens of this family, capturing the simple joys, suffering, and hardships endured by that generation of peasants. By exploring the human condition within the context of Chinese agricultural civilization, the book inspires readers to reflect on human nature, life, and destiny, as well as the profound connections between people and between humans and nature-all set against the backdrop of majestic desert scenery and a rich cultural landscape.

The English edition was co-translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-Chun Lin, acclaimed translators of Nobel Prize-winning authors.

The German edition was translated by Hans-Peter Kolb, a student of the famed sinologist Wolfgang Kubin.

Xuemo, born in 1963 as Chen Kaihong, is a renowned writer from Gansu, China. He has written over 80 books, published in more than 200 editions, with translations available in over 20 languages.

His novel Into the Desert won the 2022 Excellent Translation Award by the China International Communications Group (CICG), 2024 NYC Big Book Award for Women's Fiction and the 2024 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction. His novel Curses of the Kingdom of Xixia won the 2024 NYC Big Book Award for World Literature. The novel Wild Fox Ridge won the 2024 International Impact Book Award and the 2025 NYC Big Book Award, and was honored with the 2025 International Book Awards. He topped the International Media Spotlight List at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022, even surpassing the Guest of Honor, Spain, became the most remarkable and memorable events of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022. The e-book editions of Desert Rites, Desert Hunters, White Tiger Pass, Love Letters from the Goddess, Eternal Love and Reclaim the Throne of Your Heart have repeatedly ranked No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller lists.

Xuemo, born in 1963 as Chen Kaihong, is a renowned writer from Gansu, China. He has written over 80 books, published in more than 200 editions, with translations available in over 20 languages, including English, French, German, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.Xuemo is one of China's most influential contemporary writers. His audiobook Buddha's Wisdom: Xuemo Interprets the Diamond Sutra on the Himalaya platform, has been played over 35 million times and remains a top-ranking program. His series What's on Laozi's mind: Xuemo Interprets Dao De Jing has sold nearly one million copies in China.Since 2019, his works have been featured in independent booths at major international book fairs and film festivals in Germany, London, the United States, and across Asia. In 2022, he topped the International Media Spotlight List at the Frankfurt Book Fair, drawing more attention than the Guest of Honor, Spain. This achievement was hailed as one of the most remarkable and memorable events of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022.Notably, more than ten of his works have been translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin, the distinguished translators of Nobel Prize-winning literature. Research centers devoted to his work have been established at Ningbo University and Central South University.Xuemo's novel Into the Desert won the 2022 Excellent Translation Award by the China International Communications Group (CICG), the 2024 NYC Big Book Award for Women's Fiction and the 2024 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction. His novel Curses of the Kingdom of Xixia won the 2024 NYC Big Book Award for World Literature. The novel Wild Fox Ridge won the 2024 International Impact Book Award and the 2025 NYC Big Book Award, and was honored with the 2025 International Book Awards. He has been nominated three times for the Mao Dun Literature Prize and has won the Dunhuang Literature and Art Award six consecutive times.The e-book editions of Desert Rites, Desert Hunters, White Tiger Pass, Love Letters from the Goddess, Eternal Love and Reclaim the Throne of Your Heart have repeatedly ranked No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller lists.