Cowboy on the Steppes - Hardcover

In 1968, as part of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, thousands of teenagers were “relocated.” The artist’s brother was sent to a place that could not have been more different from his crowded, noisy Beijing home. He was sent to the steppes to live with Mongolian herdsmen.

The studious, gentle, city boy had much to learn: he had to memorize the faces of his cattle; he had to learn to ride with the greatest horsemen in the world; he had to adjust to food, clothing, and scenery wildly different from anything he had ever known.

Despite the hard life, he grew to love Mongolia. His respect for the people who befriended him and his admiration for them were recorded in his diaries.

Song Nan Zhang’s gorgeous paintings are the perfect complement to an unforgettable true story.

Song Nan Zhang was born in Shanghai. He received a Masters degree from the Beijing Central Institute of Fine Arts, and his paintings have been exhibited in galleries around the world. Song Nan Zhang lives in Montreal. His son, Hao Yu, was born in Beijing and arrived in Montreal with his parents in 1990. He has a journalism degree from Concordia University and has written for the Montreal Gazette. He now lives in London, England, and works for the BBC.