In Beipo, Liu Sheng observed the villagers’ ways of survival, where individuals cannot alter deeply rooted traditions. He documented how scorching sun, lightning, and torrential rains wore on their bodies and minds, and how unstable harvests bred a gambling mentality that coexisted with folk beliefs. “Here, there is silence and solitude, futility intertwined with desire,” Liu Sheng wrote. Through physical labor, he sought to internalize the perspective of rural life, allowing his paintings to become an extension of his sensory connection to the land.

Engaging with Liu Sheng’s art and writings helps recalibrate our romanticized notions of rural idylls: the “authentic” emotions stirred by gazing upon the countryside are, in fact, manifestations of the resilient tension born from life’s struggle against the land. Meanwhile, the seemingly “absurd” or “magical-realist” narratives often dismissed as fiction are, paradoxically, the truest reflections of rural existence.