Rickshaw BoySet in the 1920s, the novel's protagonist is an orphan peasant who lives in Beijing to earn a living. Xiangzi is a young, hardworking, well-built rickshaw puller who dreams of owning his own rickshaw. Just when he has earned enough to buy one, it is confiscated by warlord soldiers. As he leaves, he spots some camels captured by the soldiers. He takes the camels and escapes and later sells them, earning the nickname Camel. However, the cash Xiangzi obtains from this is not enough for him to buy another new rickshaw – providence decrees that he must toil once more. A police secret agent later extorts him into paying him his savings, leaving Xiangzi impoverished again. Left with no choice, Xiangzi returns to work for Old Master Liu, the boss of a thriving rickshaw rental company. Although he tries to be honest and down to earth, Xiangzi finds himself entangled between Old Master Liu and his stout, manipulative daughter Tiger Girl, ten years his senior. Tiger Girl, who is carrying a torch for him, insists on marrying Xiangzi after pretending to be made pregnant by him. Her father disowns her and the couple live together, progressively made poor by her spendthrift ways. Later, Tiger Girl becomes pregnant by Xiangzi and grows even fatter as she awaits her delivery due her laziness and greediness for food. When Tiger Girl dies during childbirth and Xiangzi's infant child is stillborn, Xiangzi is distraught. He later finds meaning in life again in a female neighbour, the meek and long-suffering Little Fuzi, who is forced into prostitution by her idle father. When Xiangzi has earned enough to redeem her from the brothel, he is devastated to find she has committed suicide. Xiangzi once again met the old man who had helped before. The old man is no longer a rickshaw, and his grandson Xiao Ma is also dead. The communication between the old man and Xiangzi made Xiangzi completely lose confidence in life. The harsh realities of life taught Xiangzi that decency and hard work have little meaning in this pragmatic, dog-eat-dog world. He becomes a lazy, degenerate and unscrupulous good-for-nothing, no different from those he looked down on early in his life, spending his days gambling, cheating and whoring. |
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Common terms and phrases
afraid already amah asked better body breath brought buy a rickshaw camels carbide lamp clothes cold compound enclosure congee copper courtyard dare daughter dollars door drink everything eyes face fare feel feet fellow Fourth Master Liu friends Gate gone hands Happy Boy's heart hard head heavens Hsia Human Harmony hurry Kao Ma keep knew legs light lips Little Lucky living look matshed mind mouth move never night Old Ch'eng Peking powdered her face pulling a rickshaw rick rickshaw boy rickshaw men rickshaw puller Rickshaw Shed road Second Vigorous sedan chair seemed shafts shaw sleep smile snow sound stood street strength suddenly sweat talk tell There's thing thought Tientsin Tiger Girl took trying turned wait walked wall wanted whole wife wind wine woman