Standing In for Another

Standing In for Another is a full-length web novel by Sichuan-born author Hongchen Zimo, published on Jinjiang Literature City and part of the author's "A Breath of Republican Era · Eight Young Masters" series. At roughly 600,000 Chinese characters, it began serialization around 2007 and long ranked near the top of Jinjiang's natural charts. It is the breakout work of the author's Republican-era series and belongs to the same Republican-era backdrop as works such as Winds and Thunder Across the Land and Youthful Brilliance 1931. Set in the Republican era, the story centers on two brothers from a prominent military family. The elder brother, Yang Hanchen, holds a high military post and commands troops in his region, and is steady and composed by nature. The younger brother, Yang Hanwei, is full of youthful spirit but is bound layer upon layer by strict family rules and family expectations. The novel unfolds around these two brothers and characters such as Hu Ziqing, writing of young people's dreams and struggles under harsh family law, of the protection and responsibility between brothers, of grudges and estrangement between father and sons, and of the helplessness of individual fate swept along by the tide of a chaotic age. The opening quotes Nalan Xingde's lyric to the tune of Nan Xiangzi, "Where to Quench the Wu Hook," setting a somber and desolate tone for the whole book; passages such as "If anyone wants to touch my younger brother by going through Hanchen, they will first have to step over my body, Yang Hanchen," are among those most discussed by readers. The author states that this work is "not about love," focusing instead on brotherhood and duty to family and country. Written in a serious, dramatic style, with emphasis on historical atmosphere and character psychology and a tear-inducing plot, it is regarded by many readers as essential reading in Hongchen Zimo's Republican-era series.