Thunderstorm (play)

Thunderstorm is a play by the Chinese dramatist Cao Yu.

Thunderstorm is undoubtedly the most popular dramatic Chinese work of the period prior to the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. It was first published in the literary magazine, Four Months of Literature, which was founded in 1934 by Chinese intellectuals, Zheng Zhenduo and Jin Yi. Shortly after its publication, a production of the play was mounted in Jinan, and later, in 1935, in Shanghai and in Tokyo, both of which were well received. In 1936, Thunderstorm debuted in Nanjing, with Cao Yu himself acting in the lead role. In 1938, following its theatrical triumphs, the play was made into two separate movies productions, one in Shanghai and another in Hong Kong, that were almost coincidental versions of one another. The latter production, made in 1957, co-starred a young Bruce Lee in one of his few non-fighting roles (Lei Yu, dir. Wui Ng). The 2006 movie Curse of the Golden Flower, directed and written by Zhang Yimou, sets the same play in the imperial courts of the late Tang Dynasty.

The plot of Thunderstorm centers on one family's psychological and physical destruction as a result of incest, as perpetrated at the hands of its morally depraved and corrupt patriarch, Zhou Puyuan. Although it is undisputed that the prodigious reputation achieved by Thunderstorm was due in large part to its scandalous public airing of the topic of incest, and many people have pointed out not inconsiderable technical imperfections in its structure, Thunderstorm is nevertheless considered to be a milestone in China's modern theatrical ascendancy. Even those who have questioned the literary prowess of Cao Yu, for instance, the noted critic C. T. Hsia, admit that the popularization and consolidation of China's theatrical genre is fundamentally owed to the first works of Cao Yu.

Rickshaw Boy (Luotuo Xiangzi or Camel Xiangzi (駱駝祥子)) is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man.

History

Lao She began the novel in spring, 1936, and it was published in installments in the magazine Yuzhoufeng beginning in January, 1937. (How I came to write the novel "Camel Xiangzi", included in Foreign Languages Press edition.)

Lao She returned to China from the United States after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In an afterward 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.

Subject Matter and Themes

The major subject matter of Rickshaw Boy is the way in which the hero makes his living pulling a rickshaw, the options he faces and choices he makes, and especially the fundamental issues of whether to work independently or as a servant to a family, and whether to rent or own a rickshaw.

Additionally, the novel describes a series of adventures he has and his interactions with a number of other characters.

Beijing -- "filthy, beautiful, decadent, bustling, chaotic, idle, lovable" -- is important as a backdrop for the book. "The only friend he had was this ancient city." (p. 31)

The book explores the intimate relationship between man and machine (the rickshaw), and the evolution of that relationship. The relationship is both financial -- requiring months and years of calculation to graduate from being a renter to being an owner -- and physical. "His strength seemed to permeate every part of the rickshaw. . . . he was energetic, smooth in his motions, precise. He didn't appear to be in any hurry and yet he ran very fast . . . . "

An important theme of the book is the economic precariousness of the hero's life. "No matter how hard you work or how ambitious you are, you must not start a family, you must not get sick, and you must not make a single mistake!" "If you avoid dying of starvation when young, good for you. But it was almost impossible to avoid dying of starvation when old."

Further, the book explores personality characteristics and their relationship to economic existence, especially tolerance for risk, tolerance for hard work, and assertiveness, and personal standards of human dignity. "He had a strong body, a patient disposition, ambition, yet he allowed people to treat him like a pig or a dog and he couldn't keep a job."

Isolation and individualism are important themes in the book. "His life might well be ruined by his own hands but he wasn't about to sacrifice anything for anybody. He who works for himself knows how to destroy himself. These are the two starting points of Individualism."

Historical Significance

The characterization or point of view in Rickshaw Boy reflects the influence of Russian literature in China in general, and particularly on the way that influence was transferred to China by Lu Xun in stories such as The True Story of Ah Q and Diary of a Madman.

The subject matter of Rickshaw Boy aligned with concerns of Chinese leftists and the Chinese Communist Party. For instance, the final sentences read, "Handsome, ambitious, dreamer of fine dreams, selfish, individualistic sturdy, great Hsiang Tzu. No one knows how many funerals he marched in, and no one knows when or where he was able to get himself buried, that degenerate, selfish, unlucky offspring of society's diseased womb, a ghost caught in Individualism's blind alley."

Lao She went on to play a leading role in literary associations endorsed by the government, such as the All-China Federation of Literature and Art. According to the introductory section of the Foreign Languages Press (Beijing) English translation, "Before Liberation [Lao She] wrote many works of literature, including his best novel Camel Xiangzi (or Rickshaw Boy) to expose and denounce the old society. . . . He enjoys great prestige in China and was named a "People's Artist" and a "Great Master of Language."

Comparative Perspective

Rickshaw Boy bears comparison with other works of modern literature, particularly literature dealing with the lives of people living on the economic margins.

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck describes the lives of Chinese peasants, and their economically precarious condition, during the period roughly contemporary with the story related in Rickshaw Boy.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair describes the lives of urban factory workers, and their economic condition, in another major urban area (Chicago) during the period a few decades prior to that covered by Rickshaw Boy.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway describes the life of a fisherman in Cuba, and the precarious livelihood intimately tied to his boat.

The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol describes the relationship of a poor urban dweller to his one significant asset -- an overcoat -- and how his life begins to revolve around it.

L'Assomoir by Emile Zola describes a poor Parisian whose marginal existence depends on work as a washerwoman.

More generally, the book relates to the genre of naturalism, closely associated with Zola.

English Translations

The University of Hawaii Press published an English translation by Jean M. James in 1979 under the English title Rickshaw: the novel Lo-t'o Hsiang Tzu. It is based on the 1949 edition.

Reynal & Hitchcock (NY) published an English translation by Evan King in 1945 under the English title Rickshaw Boy ("by Lau Shaw"). According Jean J. James ("Note on the Text and the Translation" in the James edition), "King cut, rearrange, rewrote, invented characters, and changed the ending."

Foreign Languages Press (Beijing) published an English translation by Shi Xiaoqing in 1988 under the English title Camel Xiangzi.

Other Adaptations and Related Works

Film: Rickshaw Boy (1982, dir. by Zifeng Ling)