The novel, Rickshaw Boy, also known as Camel Xiangzi/Luotuo Xiangzi (骆驼祥子), is a contemporary literary masterpiece written by the Chinese novelist, Lao She/Shu Qingchun (老舍/舒庆春, 1899-1966). The novel describes the tragic fate and exploitation of rickshaw pullers during the period of social unrest and turmoil in the 1920s (before the revolution of 1949). Specifically, "Camel Xiangzi" tells the life experience of a young, strong and enthusiastic rickshaw driver, Xiangzi (祥子), in China's Peiping City (name of Beijing 1928-1949, 中国北平城). In fact, Xiangzi is a representative of the working masses of the old Chinese society. Xiangzi, coming from the countryside, is a bankrupt young farmer. He is hardworking, simple, kind and always eager to buy his own rickshaw with honest labor. To be an independent rickshaw puller is Xiangzi's wish, hope, and even religion. With hard work and perseverance, he spent three years saving money, and finally realized his goal and became a self-supporting rickshaw puller. However, just six months after pulling, the rickshaw was destroyed. Xiangzi was not discouraged, and again started stubbornly from the beginning, and started to save money. However, all his savings were blackmailed and looted by selfish people he trusted the most.
The book has 10 chapters in the following order:
Chapter 1: Three years of hard work, Xiangzi buys a rickshaw (第一章：奋战三年，祥子买车)
Chapter 2: The rickshaw was taken away (第二章：车被收走，祥子被迫行军)
Chapter 3: Xiangzi flees and sells camels (第三章：祥子出逃，卖了骆驼 )
Chapter 4: Xiangzi desperately earns money (第四章：祥子拼命挣钱，包月不久辞职)
Chapter 5: Xiangzi was lured by Hu Niu (第五章：祥子被虎妞引诱)
Chapter 6: The rickshaw was broken (第六章：祥子拉包月摔坏了车)
Chapter 7: Hu Niu fakes pregnancy (第七章：虎妞假怀孕，找祥子要说法 )
Chapter 8: Xiangzi's money was blackmailed by Detective Sun (第八章：祥子的钱被孙侦探勒索干净)
Chapter 9: Xiangzi and Hu Niu get married (第九章：祥子和虎妞结婚 虎妞难产去世)
Chapter 10: Xiaofuzi commits suicide, Xiangzi becomes depraved (第十章：小福子自杀 祥子变堕落)
The current book volume, China's Great Contemporary Literature 2, is a Level 5 Chinese reading practice book. It would introduce you to the famous Chinese novel Luotuo Xiangzi (骆驼祥子). The new volume in China's Great Contemporary Literature (中国当代文学, 精简版, simplified edition) includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin Romanization. With over 1000 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the reading series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3/4/5/6) to understand China as well as practice Chinese reading fast.
