Looking for the Red Army

Name: Looking for the Red Army
ISBN: 9787541154041

Ma ShituSichuan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

4.2

Word count: 149K words
Chapters: 9
ISBN: 9787541154041

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Summary

This collection gathers works written by Ma Shitu, a century-old revolutionary writer, between the late 1950s and the mid-1960s. They reflect the revolutionary struggles led by the underground Party on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China. First published in journals and newspapers such as Sichuan Literature and collected in book form by Sichuan People's Publishing House in 1978, the volume is now reprinted and still holds significance. The communist fighters who persevered and gave their lives under the white terror; those who hacked a path forward where no road existed; those who, with hope and faith as dawn approached, faced the rising sun in the east and fell under the enemy's blade—all rise from Ma's pages. This collection plays a positive role in educating today's young people in revolutionary tradition.

Editor's review

Find the Red Army is a collection of short stories by Ma Shitu, a century-old revolutionary and man of letters, bringing together thirteen works from different periods of his career. These stories are not mere historical records; with a literary hand, the author distills the harrowing revolutionary struggles he lived through into tales radiant with humanity and idealism. The title story, "Find the Red Army," unfolds through a child's eyes, portraying with plainness and depth the ordinary people's most genuine longing for and trust in the revolutionary ranks—a trust rooted in the Red Army's strict discipline and concrete acts of service, and the deep popular foundation of the revolution. The collection's greatest value lies in its rare union of lived experience and literary craft. As a participant in and witness to history, Ma writes without empty slogans, only vivid details, living characters, and complex, authentic emotional tensions: the dangers and choices facing underground workers in "Three Battles at Huayuan," the tangled feelings of the returning protagonist in "He Came Back"—all make those eventful years palpable. Reading this book is not only to look back on a period of history but to feel a resilient spiritual force pressing toward the light. The prose is spare and seasoned, the narration unhurried, profound feeling carried within plain statement—a testament to the literary mastery and historical conscience of a writer of the older generation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern and contemporary Chinese revolutionary history and literature
Readers who wish to understand, from a participant's perspective, the inner world of ordinary people in revolutionary times
Readers who appreciate plain, powerful, story-driven realist literature
Readers who want to learn more about Ma Shitu's life and work

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the fast pace and strong plot conflicts of web fiction
Readers with no interest whatsoever in this particular historical period

Reading tips

Reading in order is recommended; one may begin with the title story, "Find the Red Army," to take in its distinctive narrative perspective and emotional tone.
Reading alongside Ma Shitu's life experiences (such as the background of Qingjiang Heroic Song) deepens one's sense of the works' historical weight.
Pay attention to the portrayal of characters' psychology and to fine detail—this is the literary value that sets the book apart from ordinary historical accounts.

About the publisher

Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1984

Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literary and art publishing institution. It mainly publishes books on contemporary and modern literature, foreign literature, poetry and prose, music and art, and literary theory. Judging from the books in the database, the house places considerable emphasis on classic works and foreign literature. Representative titles include Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Its translator resources include Deng Jiawan, Shi Zhongge, Du Yunci, and Zhu Shenghao. Common categories include social fiction, classic works, foreign literature, world classics, literary appreciation, and classical poetry, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign literary classics with literary appreciation.

版权信息
编者按
老三姐
找红军
小交通员
接关系
回来了
西昌行
三战华园

FAQ

What is this book about?

It is a collection of short stories by Ma Shitu whose core is the revolutionary war years rendered in literary form—especially underground work and the search for the revolutionary ranks—dramatizing through concrete stories the fate and spiritual striving of its characters.

What kind of writer is Ma Shitu?

Ma Shitu was both a revolutionary and a literary figure with rich firsthand experience, having once been an underground Party worker. His writing is deeply rooted in personal experience, plain and profound in style; his major works include Qingjiang Heroic Song and Ten Tales of the Night, and he was a century-old figure who united a revolutionary career with literary creation.

What are the characteristics of this book's literary style?

The style is plain and solid, in the realist vein. The narration is calm and restrained, attentive to characterization and authentic detail; beneath plain language lie deep feeling and historical weight, bearing clear marks of its era and of the author's individual voice.

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About the author

Ma Shitu Author · Chinese · 1915–2024

Ma Shitu (1915–2024), originally named Ma Qianmu, was born in Zhongxian, Sichuan. He was a modern Chinese writer, poet and calligrapher. A lifelong writer, he drew much of his material from his own experience and from the changes of his times, working across social fiction, documentary literature and essays. Works such as Finding the Red Army and Underground are set against the underground struggles of the revolutionary era; plainly and forcefully told, they combine a documentary quality with literary power. Ma Shitu on Art collects his essays on literature and art, revealing his insight and style. His better-known works include Qingjiang Heroic Song, Ten Tales of Night Talk and Ten Years of Vicissitudes, and one of them, The Unofficial Magistrate, was adapted into the film Let the Bullets Fly. He served as chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles and honorary chairman of the Sichuan Writers Association, and was known, together with Ba Jin, Sha Ting and Ai Wu, as one of the Five Elders of Sichuan.