李存葆，男，曾用笔名茅山。1946年2月出生于山东省日照市五莲县。1964年入伍，1986年毕业于解放军艺术学院文学系。历任济南军区政治部创作室主任，解放军艺术学院副院长，少将军衔。第八、九、十届全国政协委员，中国作协第六、七、八届副主席。出版作品200余万字。《高山下的花环》《山中，那十九座坟茔》分别获全国第二届、第三届优秀中篇小说奖，均被列为榜首；参加改编的电影《高山下的花环》，获全国第五届电影金鸡奖最佳编剧奖，长篇报告文学《大王魂》《沂蒙九章》（合作）获全国报告文学奖，散文集《大河遗梦》获全国第三届鲁迅文学奖。有《绿色天书》、《飘逝的绝唱》、《最后的野象谷》、《大河之子》等多部散文集行世。其小说有英、法、日、俄等多种外文版本。1989年，美国嘉兰德公司出版的20本世界文学丛书中，收有《高山下的花环》。

　　李存葆的作品气势雄伟，跌宕起伏，洒脱豪放。他为人谦虚，心胸豁达，待人真诚，爱好鉴赏书画和奇石。李存葆擅长正面描写战争和激烈的矛盾冲突，从中挖掘人物性格的悲剧性和丰富性，揭示出英雄人物多彩的心灵世界和高尚的价值内涵。他的作品具有炽热的情感、深沉的哲理、朴直的笔调和浓重的色彩。

　　《高山下的花环》通过描写云南边防部队某部三营九连指导员在战前、战中、战后的生活，塑造了一系列有着崇高思想品质、道德情操的当代军人英雄群像。九连连长梁三喜获准回家探亲，他的妻子玉秀即将分娩。赵蒙生为求安逸而“曲线调动”，下到连队，不安于位，整日为调动之事奔波。梁三喜放心不下连队的工作，一再推迟归期，而当他接到上战场的任务时，赵蒙生却收到了调动回城的通知。舆论的压力迫使赵蒙生上了前线。梁三喜为掩护赵蒙生而饮弹身亡，他的衣袋里有一张欠账单。他的母亲和妻子用抚恤金和卖猪的钱还清了债。赵蒙生也在血与火的洗礼中，经受了考验，成长为真正的军人。

　　《大河遗梦》先写黄河是自然的河，呼风唤雨，撼天动地。再写黄河是残缺的河，黄河的断流使它失却了大美。再写黄河是历史的河，老子、庄子、孔子、孟子等先贤圣哲均从黄河的怀抱中走出来。再写黄河是文化的河，李白、冼星海等文学艺术大师从黄河的气势中激荡出来。后写黄河是心灵的河，黄河是中华民族的发祥之地，是中华文明的摇篮，是中华民族精神血脉的渊源，是中华民族精神大厦的支撑。

　　散文《鲸殇》的写作源于作者一次到青岛部队和渔村的采访。李存葆听到昔日鲸鱼经常出没而如今却行迹罕然，后来又看到电视上鲸鱼集体自杀的图像，一种忧患在他心底升腾，就是人与自然、人与动物的生态平衡问题，在这种意识的促使下，他写成了这篇一万八千字的散文。作者通过对鲸类集体自杀的逐渐揭秘，提出了环境与生态的严峻问题。

　　Li Cunbao, who has previously used the pen name Mao Shan, was born in February, 1946, in Wulian County, near Shandong province’s city of Rizhao. In 1964, he joined the armed forces, 22 years after which he graduated from the department of literature at the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Art. He has served variously as the director of the literary office of Jinan Military Region’s political department, vice-dean of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Art, and as a ranking major general. He was a member of the 8th, 9th, and 10th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conferences, and served as vice-chairman of the 6th, 7th, and 8th China Writers Associations.

　　In all, Li has published more than 2 million Chinese characters of literature. His works The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain and Nineteen Tombs in the Mountains topped booklists and were winners of the 2nd and 3rd “National Outstanding Novella Award” respectively. The movie version of The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain, the adaptation of which Li took part in, took home the award for best screenplay at the 5th “Golden Rooster Awards”.His long-form reportage pieces Da Wang Hun and Yimeng’s Item 9 — both collaborations — were awarded the “National Reportage Award”, while his collection of essays Forgotten Dreams of the Big River won the 3rd “Lu Xun Literature Award”. A number of his other collections of essays have also been highly popular, including Green Nonsense, The Swansong That Floated Away, The Last Wild Elephant Valley, and Sons of the Big River. Li’s novels have been translated into languages including English, French, Japanese, and Russian. In 1989, his work The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain was included in Garland Publishing’s 20-volume series “World Literature in Translation”.

　　Li writes with a manner of grandeur, in a style that undulates freely and is powerfully unconstrained. He himself is self-effacing, generously open-minded, sincere in his treatment of others, and a great appreciator of painting, calligraphy, and unusual rock formations. He is particularly adept at describing war and other violent clashes, from which he draws out the tragedy and multiplicity of the human character, honing the spotlight on the noble virtues of heroic figures and the richness of their inner psyches. Li’s works are imbued with fiery emotion, profound philosophies, simple writing, and rich flavor.

　　Following Third Battalion’s Ninth Company in Yunnan province’s border defense force, The Wreath at the Bottom of the Mountain describes the life of one military leader before, during, and after the war. The story portrays a group of heroic soldiers from the time, replete with their upright ideology and moral fiber. Ninth Company’s commander Liang Sanxi is given permission to return home to visit his family, as his wife, Yu Xiu, is soon to give birth. Meanwhile, Zhao Mengsheng, another member of Ninth Company who has struggled to adapt to his position, is looking for an easier life, and is spending all his time trying to get himself relocated. Commander Liang, though, is unable to pry himself away from his work in the Company, and keeps pushing back the date of his visit home, until he receives the order to go into battle. At this point, Zhao has received his notice of relocation to the city. Under the pressure of public opinion, however, he is forced to the front line. In combat, Commander Liang provides cover for Zhao and is shot and killed. In his pocket is found a paper slip documenting his debts, which his mother and wife manage to pay off with compensation they receive for his death. In a baptism of blood and bullets, Zhao is tested, and ultimately grows to be a true soldier.

　　Forgotten Dreams of the Big River sets off describing the Yellow River as a river of nature, one that calls the wind and summons the rain, shaking earth and heaven. It then describes the Yellow River as a river that is badly broken, robbed of its beauty by sections that have run dry. Next, it describes the Yellow River as a river of history, whose embrace gave life to so many ancient sages and philosophers: Laozi, Zhuangzi, Confucius, and Mencius. Further still, the book describes the Yellow River as a river of culture, its imposing manner having churned out great artistic maestros like Li Bai and Xian Xinghai. Then, it describes the Yellow River as a river of the heart. It is the place from which the Chinese people have risen, the cradle of Chinese civilization, the source of blood that curses through the spirit of the country’s masses. It is the foundation to the people’s spiritual castle.

　　Li’s essay The Death of Whales stems from interviews the author conducted among troops in Qingdao and a fishing village. There, he heard that whales once came and went with frequency, yet now they are a rare sight. He then saw images on television of whales killing themselves in groups, and was overcome with profound sorrow. It was a problem about the ecological balance between humans and nature, between humans and animals. With this realization as his catalyst, he penned the 180,000-character essay, in which, through the gradual unmasking of the phenomenon of whale group suicide, he raises serious questions to be answered about the environment and ecology.