Fire Brand (Part Two): The Snow of Revenge

Name: Fire Brand (Part Two): The Snow of Revenge
ISBN: 9787225068275

Cao WenxuanQinghai People's Publishing House · ChinaMay 2025

4.2

Word count: 77K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787225068275

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Summary

This is the second volume of Firebrand, part of Cao Wenxuan's Animal Characters series of novels. Set on the northern grasslands during the War of Resistance Against Japan, it tells the extraordinary story of a Chinese boy named Powa and a warhorse named Xue'er. It is a moving, intricate, and compassionate hymn to human nature: in an act of resistance, Xue'er is reduced to a draft horse hauling artillery; after giving birth to a foal, she must endure separation from her child and suffer repeated humiliation. The villagers of Wild Fox Valley, too, endure misfortune under Japanese artillery fire. After surviving war and hardship, Powa finally brings Xue'er back to Wild Fox Valley, but the brand on Xue'er's body becomes a lifelong disgrace. Powa takes Xue'er back to the battlefield and hands her over to the Chinese soldiers. In the end, Xue'er washes away her shame and succeeds in her revenge, leaving Powa and leaving Wild Fox Valley.

Editor's review

Firebrand (Part Two): Snow of Revenge is a sequel by the renowned children's author Cao Wenxuan to his earlier novel Firebrand. Picking up the threads of the previous volume, it continues to center on the protagonist Powa and his beloved horse Xue'er; against a backdrop interweaving war and human nature, it recounts Powa's journey through ordeal to self-redemption and spiritual growth. With his characteristic delicate brushwork and profound humanistic care, Cao Wenxuan deftly fuses the cruelty of war, the innocence of childhood, and the spirituality of animals into a literary world that is at once steeped in suffering and radiant with the light of humanity. This book is not merely a story of revenge but a profound exploration of dignity, forgiveness, and the resilience of life. Compared with the previous volume, Snow of Revenge is tighter in plotting, more intense in emotional conflict, and deeper in its excavation of the characters' inner worlds, demonstrating Cao Wenxuan's mature mastery in handling grand historical themes and complex human nature. For readers familiar with Cao Wenxuan's work, this book continues his elegant, poetic, and philosophically reflective language style, and stands as a substantial work of transitional significance in his career.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who admire Cao Wenxuan's work and wish to understand his writing on war themes
Adult readers interested in history written from a child's perspective and in profound explorations of human nature
Young readers seeking high-quality full-length children's literature for in-depth reading
Literary scholars and educators interested in exploring themes of war, growth, and redemption

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment and fast-paced narrative
Younger children sensitive to war settings and heavy themes

Reading tips

It is recommended to read the first volume of Firebrand first, in order to fully understand the character relationships and story background.
While reading, pay attention to how the author uses the fate of the horse Xue'er to symbolize and reflect the characters' emotions and choices.
This book carries a high emotional density; it is recommended to read it in segments in a relatively quiet environment where one can immerse oneself in thought.

About the publisher

Qinghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1954

Qinghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive local publisher based in Xining, with publishing areas covering local histories and gazetteers, ethnic history and culture, literature and art, and textbooks and supplementary teaching materials. Judging from the 124 titles in the database, the press has a presence in foreign literature, social culture, history, literature, medicine, and biography. Representative books include Chinese translations of Tagore's poetry collections Gitanjali, Stray Birds, and The Crescent Moon, as well as works on history, culture, and medicine such as The History of Changes in the Yellow River, An Intellectual History of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Pillar Testament: The Legacy of Songtsen Gampo, and Essentials of the Kalachakra Calendar. Its authors include Rabindranath Tagore, Wei Huan, Cen Zhongmian, Li Jingwei, Zhang Zhibin, Huang Mingxin, Chen Jiujin, and Shangzhuot Sangre, reflecting a publishing profile that combines the translation of foreign literature with the compilation of local historical and cultural works and traditional medical texts.

版权信息
第一章分离
第二章伏击
第三章深山
第四章 “嘶鸣！嘶鸣！嘶鸣！……”
第五章悬崖勒马
第六章枪口
第七章虐马
第八章炮击
第九章野战医院
第十章俘虏
第十一章废墟
第十二章跪乞
第十三章围攻
第十四章重回后山
第十五章复仇（一）
第十六章复仇（二）
第十七章雪

FAQ

Can I read this directly without having read the first volume of Firebrand?

Although this book has a relatively independent storyline, reading in order is strongly recommended. The character relationships, emotional buildup, and the roots of the core conflicts are all importantly laid out in the first volume; reading the second volume directly would cost you much of the understanding of the story's depth and the characters' motivations.

Are the themes of this book too heavy and sad?

The book does indeed involve war, separation, and trauma, and its tone is deep and powerful. But Cao Wenxuan's writing is always infused with a warm humanistic undertone and a commitment to the dignity of life; the ending leads toward redemption and hope rather than pure sorrow. It aims to prompt readers to think seriously about history, human nature, and growth.

What age group is this book suitable for?

Judging by the depth of the language and the handling of themes, this book is better suited to young readers from the upper primary grades onward who have some capacity for comprehension and emotional endurance, as well as to adult readers. It is a literary work of classic quality, and readers of different ages can gain different levels of reading experience from it.

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About the author

Cao Wenxuan Author · China · 1954

Cao Wenxuan, born in 1954 in Yancheng, Jiangsu, is a Chinese writer of children's literature and a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Chinese at Peking University. In 2016 he received the Hans Christian Andersen Award, becoming the first Chinese author to win it. Rooted in youthful growth and rural life, his writing is lucid and restrained, revealing human resilience amid hardship and tenderness. His representative works, including Straw House and Bronze and Sunflower, are widely read. This library holds twenty of his works, such as Wandering, Ice Necklace and Fire Seal, along with classic reading and poetry anthologies, spanning social fiction, history and parenting, and reaching readers from children to adults.