Camel Xiangzi
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark of modern Chinese literature, Camel Xiangzi chronicles the tragic downfall of Xiangzi, an ambitious young rickshaw puller in 1930s Beijing who dreams of owning his own rickshaw and carving out an independent life through sheer hard work and determination. Lao She masterfully illustrates how systemic poverty, social inequality, and relentless misfortune conspire to crush the spirit of even the most resilient individual, dismantling Xiangzi's dreams one devastating blow at a time. The novel presents a gritty, unsentimental portrait of urban working-class life, rendered with both deep compassion and unflinching realism. Through Xiangzi's repeated cycles of hope and ruin, Lao She argues that individual willpower alone cannot overcome the crushing weight of an unjust society. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Chinese novels of the twentieth century, this powerful work endures as a searing indictment of social conditions and a profoundly human story of aspiration and despair.
Author: Lao She
Format: Hardback
Published: 1981, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing
Genre: Modern fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark of modern Chinese literature, Camel Xiangzi chronicles the tragic downfall of Xiangzi, an ambitious young rickshaw puller in 1930s Beijing who dreams of owning his own rickshaw and carving out an independent life through sheer hard work and determination. Lao She masterfully illustrates how systemic poverty, social inequality, and relentless misfortune conspire to crush the spirit of even the most resilient individual, dismantling Xiangzi's dreams one devastating blow at a time. The novel presents a gritty, unsentimental portrait of urban working-class life, rendered with both deep compassion and unflinching realism. Through Xiangzi's repeated cycles of hope and ruin, Lao She argues that individual willpower alone cannot overcome the crushing weight of an unjust society. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Chinese novels of the twentieth century, this powerful work endures as a searing indictment of social conditions and a profoundly human story of aspiration and despair.