Rickshaw Boy

Rickshaw Boy or Camel Xiangzi is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, 1936, and it was published in installments in the magazine Yuzhou feng ("Cosmic wind") beginning in January, 1937. Lao She returned to China from the United States after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In an afterword dated September, 1954, included in the Foreign Languages Press edition of Rickshaw Boy, Lao She said that he had edited the manuscript ("taken out some of the coarser language and some unnecessary descriptions") and he expressed regret for the lack of hope expressed in the original edition. In 1945, Evan King published an unauthorized translation of the novel. He cut, rearranged, rewrote, invented characters, and changed the ending. Two characters, the girl student and One Pock Li, are King's inventions, not Lao She's. King also added considerable embellishment to the two seduction scenes. Despite the liberties taken, the book was a bestseller in the United States and a Book of the Month club selection. Characters Xiangzi A strong young man who moves to Beiping in the 1920s, where he finds employment first as a laborer and then as a rickshaw puller. He hopes to become independent through hard work, honesty, and thrift, but frequent misfortune leads his life and character to degradation. Huniu The daughter of Fourth Master Liu, owner of the Harmony Shed from which Xiangzi often rents rickshaws. Described as unattractive and coarse, Huniu nevertheless cares for Xiangzi and eventually manipulates him into marrying her. Her death and the death of their unborn child accelerate Xiangzi's descent into despair and more severe poverty. Fourth Master Liu The owner of Harmony Shed and Huniu's father. A veteran of Beijing's underworld, Fourth Master Liu initially appreciates Xiangzi's exceptional work ethic. Eventually, he disowns Huniu following her marriage to Xiangzi in order to prevent them from inheriting his assets. Mr. Cao Xiangzi's sometime employer. A university lecturer and socialist influenced by William Morris, Cao and his wife treat Xiangzi with relative kindness. A political dispute involving one of Cao's students forms a secondary plot to the story. Old man and Xiao Ma A prematurely-aged rickshaw puller and his grandson whom Xiangzi encounters in a teahouse.