Summary of content

Xiangzi’s hometown is in the countryside. When his parents died when he was eighteen years old, he went to Peking to make money to make a living. With the strength, dullness, diligence and honesty of a country boy, he did a lot of hard work in exchange for food. Finally, he decided that pulling a cart was the most profitable job. When he pulled the new rental car, he made up his mind to save money to buy a car of his own.

Xiangzi lived frugally and did not smoke, drink or gamble. Finally, he collected 100 yuan of hard-earned money in three years and bought a new car. He seemed to feel that life was full of hope, and he was pulling the cart with more and more energy. But the good times did not last long. Warlords fought in a melee outside Peiping City, and soldiers went everywhere to arrest people and cars. One day, in order to earn two more yuan, Xiangzi went out of town to solicit customers based on luck. Unexpectedly, halfway through, he and his carriage were captured by a dozen soldiers. In the barracks, he had to carry luggage for the soldiers and carry water to boil water and feed the animals every day. He felt sorry for the car he had earned with his own hard work. Later, when the soldiers were defeated, Xiangzi sneaked back from the barracks in the dark. He also grabbed three camels that had been left behind when the soldiers retreated, and sold them for thirty-five yuan. From then on, he became known as "Camel Xiangzi" nickname.

Xiangzi has no home, so he lives in the car factory owned by Liu Siye’s boss. The car factory run by Master Liu has more than 60 cars, and his daughter Huniu assists him in managing it. Huniu is an old girl in her thirties, with a tiger-like head and a tough head, like a man. Mr. Liu was in charge of the outside and Huniu was in charge of the inside. The father and daughter managed Renhe and the depot like an iron bucket. She has a special fondness for cars, and she doesn't want to be idle at ordinary times. She cleans the car, pumps it up, puts it on the rain cloth, greases it... and works happily. Therefore, sometimes even though Xiangzi did not pull Liu Siye's car, Liu Siye still allowed him to live in the factory. One night, Huniu induced him to drink and then slept with Xiangzi all night. After Xiangzi woke up, he was very depressed and began to try his best to avoid her. Just when his old customer Mr. Cao asked him to provide a monthly payment, Xiangzi happily moved to Cao's house.

Unexpectedly, Huniu stuffed a pillow in her waistband, puffed out her belly and said she was pregnant with Xiangzi's child, and threatened Xiangzi to marry her. Xiangzi had no choice but to obey her.

Mr. Cao's socialist remarks attracted the attention of the detective agents, and he had to flee far away. He asked Xiangzi to go home and deliver the letter. As a result, Xiangzi was extorted from all his savings by Detective Sun, and his plan to buy a car went bankrupt again. Xiangzi had no other choice but to return to the depot. Liu Si could not tolerate his daughter's association with the bad guy, so he forced his daughter to make a choice. Huniu insisted on choosing Xiangzi, so Liu Si immediately fell out with Huniu and kicked Xiangzi out. Huniu asked Xiangzi to surrender to Liu Si, but he refused. So Huniu simply rented a house, hired a sedan chair, and married Xiangzi. She used her private money to buy Xiangzi's neighbor Er Qiangzi's car at a low price.

Soon Huniu was really pregnant. She seemed to be working hard pulling a cart to make money, but she fell ill from overwork and used up all Huniu's savings. Erqiangzi's daughter Xiaofuzi also helps with some housework. Huniu died of dystocia. In order to arrange for Huniu's funeral, Xiangzi sold the car. Xiao Fuzi has feelings for Xiangzi, and Xiangzi also likes her very much, but he cannot bear the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and a drunk father. He said to Xiao Fuzi: "When I get married, I will definitely marry you." He found another car factory and went to pull the car. When Mr. Cao came back from taking refuge, he asked Xiangzi to come back for a monthly payment and promised him to bring Xiao Fuzi to live with him. But Xiao Fuzi had been sold into a brothel and later committed suicide. Xiangzi lost his mind in the street and finally fell completely. He ate, drank, whored, gambled, and contracted gonorrhea. He became lazy and slippery, and even betrayed his friends. He did not return to Mr. Cao's house, and ended up making a living by doing odd jobs for people doing weddings and weddings. Xiangzi came to his end.

Time Background

"Camel Xiangzi" is Lao She's masterpiece, created in 1936. The author was influenced by the British writer Dickens, and has created works with Dickensian writing techniques such as "Lao Zhang's Philosophy" and "Zhao Zi Yue". He has also written some humorous works such as "Cat City" and so on. But in 1930, when Lao She returned from England, facing the devastated motherland, the style of his works began to become heavy. "Camel Xiangzi" is his work of that period.

The whole novel uses the three ups and downs of Xiangzi’s purchase of a car as the central clue of plot development, vividly showing the miserable life of rickshaw pullers in the old society, and artistically summarizing Xiangzi’s transformation from full of hope to struggle. , until he has a mental breakdown and leads to a miserable life of depravity.

Enthusiastically chooses Xiangzi's original good qualities of kindness, simplicity, and love for labor, and angrily exposes and denounces the dark society that drove Xiangzi into the abyss of depravity. The novel also powerfully illustrates that in the old society, relying solely on personal struggle to make a fortune was nothing more than a failure. A fantasy. It reflects the tragic fate of individual workers in old China in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The author's life

Lao She (1899-1966), a famous modern and contemporary writer and people's artist in my country, was a Manchu nationality. His original name was Shu Qingchun and his courtesy name was Sheyu. He had been familiar with the urban poor since he was a child. life, dissatisfied with various unreasonable social phenomena, and sympathetic to those living at the bottom of society. In 1926, he published his first novel "Lao Zhang's Philosophy", and later wrote two novels "Zhao Ziyue" and "Er Ma".

In the summer of 1930, he left England and returned to China, teaching at the School of Liberal Arts of Qilu University in Jinan, Shandong Province, and editing "Qilu Monthly". During this period, he wrote many novels and some short stories such as "Cat City", "Divorce", and "The Biography of Niu Tianci". From 1934 to 1936, he went to Qingdao as a professor in the Chinese Department of Shandong University and continued to write. His main works include the short stories "Taking Office", "Crescent Moon", "The Soul-Breaking Gun" and the novel "Camel". "Xiangzi" and so on. These early works of his were mostly based on the lives of lower-class residents in the city. They held an exposing and critical attitude towards the old society, and their writing style was humorous, relaxed and concise. Among them, "Camel Xiangzi" marks a new stage in Lao She's novel creation. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, he actively engaged in literary creation with the theme of unity against Japan, and created scripts such as "Remnant Fog", "Country First" (collaboration with Song Zhi), "The Problem of Face", and the novel " Cremation", the first part of "Four Generations Under One Roof", "Confusion", the second part "Stealing Life" and the short story "Train Collection", etc. In March 1946, he and Cao Yu were invited to give lectures in the United States and completed the third part of "Four Generations Under One Roof", "Famine", and the novel "The Drum Calligraphy Artist". In December 1949, inspired by the New China, Lao She returned to his motherland. In December 1951, Lao She was awarded the honorable title of "People's Artist" by the Beijing Municipal People's Government. During this period, in addition to writing prose, folk art, and literary papers, he mainly devoted himself to the creation of dramas. He created "Fangzhenzhu", "Longxugou", "Spring Flowers and Autumn Facts", "Teahouse", and "Family Portrait". More than a dozen scripts. "Longxugou" is one of the most influential dramas in my country's theater scene in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China; "Teahouse" shows the sophisticated artistic style of Lao She's drama creation and is an outstanding masterpiece with worldwide influence.

In the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", Lao She was tortured and framed by the "Gang of Four" and died unjustly. Lao She made an indelible and huge contribution to my country's new literature throughout his life.

Classic fragment

Man has lifted himself out of the beasts, but now man still drives his own kind into the beasts. Xiangzi was still in the cultural city, but he turned into a beast. Through no fault of his own at all. He stopped thinking, so even if he killed someone, he would not bear any responsibility. He no longer had hope, and just fell into the bottomless pit. He eats, he drinks, he whores, he gambles, he is lazy, he is cunning, because he has no heart, his heart has been taken away. All that was left of him was the tall frame of flesh, waiting to fester and prepare to go to the post of random death.

Winter has passed, and the spring sunshine is nature’s clothing for everyone. He sold all the cotton clothes and rolls. He wants to eat well and drink well, he doesn’t need to save winter clothes, and he doesn’t even prepare to see winter again. He wants to be happy today and die tomorrow! Who cares if winter is not winter? Unfortunately, he is still alive in winter. , let’s talk about it then. Originally, when he thought, he thought about a lifetime; now, he only cares about the present. Experience told him that tomorrow is just a continuation of today, and tomorrow will inherit today's grievances. He felt very happy after selling his cotton-padded clothes. What could he do with the cash? Why wait for the winter when a gust of wind would choke people to death?

Slowly, he started selling everything, not just clothes. If you want to sell, sell anything you don’t need for the time being. He likes to see his things turn into money and be spent by himself; if he spends it himself, it will not fall into the hands of others. This is the safest way. Sell ??things and buy them when you need them; if you don't have money to buy them, just don't use them. It doesn’t matter if you don’t wash your face or brush your teeth. It not only saves money, but also saves trouble. Who do you show your dignity to? You dress like a peasant, but you eat pancakes, rolls, sauce, and meat in your belly. This is true! There are good things in your belly. Even if you die, you will still have some oil and water, so you won't look like a starving mouse.

Xiangzi, such a decent Xiangzi, turned into a thin and dirty low-class coachman. He doesn't wash his face, body, or clothes, and sometimes doesn't shave his hair for more than a month. He doesn’t care much about his car, it’s either new or old, as long as it’s small. After the deal was brought in, with a little bit of sweetness, he threw it out halfway. If the people in the car didn't agree, he would stare and start a fight. It was nothing more than staying in the police area for two days! Pulling the car alone, he walked very slowly, feeling sorry for his own sweat. When he gets on the stroller, if he is happy, he is willing to run just to leave others behind. At this time, he is also very good at causing trouble. He can cut across other cars, make hard turns on purpose, twist the car behind him awkwardly, and give the car in front of him a cold blow. At first he thought that pulling a cart was pulling someone's life, and there was a risk of someone falling to death if he wasn't careful. Now, he is deliberately acting bad; it doesn't matter if he kills anyone, everyone deserves to die!

He has returned to his taciturn nature. Silently, he ate, he drank, and he broke. Speech is used by human beings to exchange opinions and convey feelings. He has no opinions and no hope, so what is the use of talking? Apart from bargaining, he keeps his mouth shut all day long; his mouth seems to be specially prepared for eating, drinking tea and smoking. Even when he was drunk, he would not make a sound. He would sit in a secluded place and cry. Almost every time he got drunk, he would go to the woods where Xiao Fuzi hung himself and cry; after crying, he would stay in the white house. When I woke up from drinking, my hands were cleansed by money and I was sick. He doesn't regret it; if he does regret it sometimes, he regrets why he was so strong, so cautious, and so honest in the first place. Everything that should be regretted is over, and there is nothing to regret now.

Wise Quotes

◆Rain falls on the rich as well as on the poor; on the righteous as well as on the unjust. In fact, the rain is not fair because it falls in a world without justice.

◆To love or not to love, the poor have to decide based on money. "Love" is only born in rich families.

◆Experience is the fertilizer of life. The kind of experience you have will determine the kind of person you become. You cannot grow peonies in the desert.

◆The greatest sacrifice is patience, and the greatest patience is preparation for resistance.

Reading Guide

"Camel Xiangzi" is Lao She's masterpiece and his "first shot as a professional writer." Lao She was very satisfied with this work and compared it to "Tan Jingtian singing "Dingjun Mountain"".

"The Look of a Camel" reveals the oppression and exploitation of working people in the dark old society by describing the upright and strong young coachman Xiangzi's tragic experience from hope, frustration, struggle to despair, and finally degenerating into urban garbage. , expressing deep sympathy for workers and criticizing selfish and narrow individualism.

"Camel Xiangzi" uses the three ups and downs of Xiangzi buying and selling cars as clues to unfold the plot. The structure is simple and meticulous, and the plot is arranged in an orderly and precise manner.

The author combines traditional Chinese narrative methods with foreign literary scenery arrangements and psychological descriptions to create a series of vivid, flesh-and-blood characters. The protagonists Zang Zang and Hu Niu have won the favor of readers with their unique artistic charm, and deeply reflect the darkness of the old society.

Xiangzi was originally an upright, kind-hearted and hard-working man. He devoted himself to making money through labor. His biggest wish in life was to buy a car. Looking far ahead, he wanted to drive a car factory, marry a good and innocent girl, and live a happy life. Live a good life. This wish is not high, but in such a dark society, a humble coachman's hope of "buying a car" has become a luxury. He struggled for hope again and again, fell into disappointment again and again, and finally even the hope of life was shattered.

Tragedy is a major feature of "Luotuo Xiangzi". In the novel, not only the appearance, but also the domineering Fourth Master Liu, the arrogant and aggressive Huniu, the kind and strong Xiao Fuzi, the lonely pony grandson, etc. are gradually heading towards a desperate situation. The tragedies of these individual characters constitute a great social tragedy.

The language of "Luotuo Xiangzi" is unique. The author uses the processed and refined Beijing spoken dialect to vividly depict the speech and behavior of the people in the lower class of Peiping. The author also uses simple and natural brushwork to describe the natural features of Peiping and the ancient capital style with Beijing accent and Beijing accent, giving the work a rich regional cultural color and urban atmosphere.

Another feature of the work is the delicate and in-depth portrayal of the characters' psychology. Xiangzi is taciturn, and the author uses extensive psychological description to show his character traits and thought changes.

The author relies on his understanding of the lower class society in Peiping and his familiarity with the little people, and uses simple language to portray the psychology of the people in the lower class society vividly and realistically.

China’s modern literary world has advocated literature for the common people since the May Fourth Movement, but it was not until the publication of "Camel Xiangzi" that the working people truly became the protagonists and were expressed and described in the art of novels. Lao She became famous for "Camel Xiangzi" It established its status as the first home of urban civilian literature.

"Camel Xiangzi" was first serialized in "Cosmic Wind" in 1936 and first published in 1939. Over the next sixty years, dozens of editions have been published by many publishing houses. Since the 1940s, "Luotuo Xiangzi" has been translated into English, Japanese, French, German, Russian and other languages, and has been published in many countries and regions. It is loved by readers and enjoys a high international reputation.