Sisyphus of the Factory (2026)

In the mid-1990s, as China surged through a tide of transformation and set its sights on the new millennium, a state-run machinery plant in the northwest found itself grappling with the shock of unexpected mass redundancies. Seeking to soothe the mounting unrest among its workforce, the factory’s administrative head arranged for a visiting qigong healer from Guangzhou to orchestrate a spectacular ceremony billed as “Absorbing the Power of the Universe.”