Yi Writer Finds Healing in Wild Childhood With Animals

When Zha Shiyire napped as a child, her pillow was a huge dog who held her close on sun-warmed cobblestones while cicadas sang. That dog watched her be born at home, saw her take her first steps, and stayed by her side until it died when she was 13.

Zha grew up in a traditional Yi ethnic village in rural Yunnan province, where the first seven years of her life were spent in constant contact with animals. She slept on haystacks with her dog during rainstorms, rode horses across distant hills, and lived without the rules and schedules that define most modern childhoods.

In August 2025, she published "I Grew Up in a Zhaizi," a memoir about that wild upbringing and how it shaped who she became. The book quickly earned a spot on Douban's Top 10 Books of 2025 and won recommendations from media outlets across China.

Zha writes honestly about the clash she felt entering a Han-majority school at age seven, where she learned about wealth gaps, collective rules, and the need to hide parts of herself to fit in. But those early years of running free with animals and sleeping under open skies had already built something inside her that couldn't be changed overnight.

During a conversation with a university professor friend in Beijing, Zha realized something important. While she had always envied people who followed conventional paths to success, she possessed something rare: an inner world filled with memories of thousands of damselflies flying together and the warm texture of her dog's embrace.

Why This Inspires

Zha's story reminds us that unconventional childhoods aren't disadvantages to overcome. The years she spent napping with her dog on field ridges and riding horses at dusk created a source of strength she still draws from today.

Her book also highlights the experiences of her mother, sister, and other Yi women, preserving stories from a way of life that's rapidly changing. Now a pre-veterinary science student in the United States, Zha carries those animal connections forward into her work.

That room within her, built from warm cobblestones and dog fur and summer breezes, remains a sanctuary no one else can enter but everyone can understand.