The Monkey Show Troupe

Name: The Monkey Show Troupe
ISBN: 9787521208542

张忠诚Writers Publishing House · ChinaAug 2026

3.7

Word count: 81K words
Chapters: 61
ISBN: 9787521208542

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Summary

Among the crowds heading into the Northeast, the boy Hei Que is like a lone bird in flight: he does not know his parents, has no relatives, does not know where his next meal is, and knows even less where the future lies. By chance he meets Master Gao, a monkey-show performer, and the performing monkey Lao Yao. From then on, the old man, the boy, and the monkey—the "Gao Family Monkey Troupe"—share life and death, depend on one another, and drift across the Northeast.

They live through war, endure bitter cold, struggle countless times on the edge of hunger, witness the warmth and coldness of human feeling in grand courtyards, experience the forthright loyalty of the reed-knife men, cross mountains and wade rivers, and meet and part with one struggling soul after another. Hei Que measures time with his footsteps, feeling along the way the joys and sorrows of life and the weight of loyalty and affection, gradually growing from an ignorant, drifting child into a responsible, self-possessed youth. The places he travels with the monkey troupe, the people he meets and the hardships he endures along the way all become indelible marks on Hei Que's childhood map, accompanying him toward a wider world and a more distant future.

Editor's review

Set against the migration tide into the Northeast, Monkey Troupe writes the drifting of an old man, a boy, and a monkey as a coming-of-age novel about survival and loyalty. Hei Que goes from an orphan who knows neither where he came from nor where his next meal is to a boy who learns responsibility through the troupe's wanderings; every step of his growth lands on concrete land and people: war, bitter cold, hunger, the warmth and coldness of human feeling in grand courtyards, the forthright loyalty of the reed-knife men. These are not backdrop but real forces shaping the boy's character. The book's strength lies in structuring itself around "walking," measuring time with footsteps and grounding the weight of joys and sorrows and of loyalty in one meeting and parting after another. It suits continuous reading in a quiet block of time, following Hei Que's childhood map as the human landscape of the Northeast unfolds, and also suits parent-child reading followed by discussion of what "growth" and "reliance" mean.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like coming-of-age novels and want to see a boy transform
Readers interested in the historical background of migration into the Northeast and its local customs
Parents who want to discuss survival, loyalty, and responsibility with their children
Adult readers who prefer wandering narratives and ensemble characters and can accept hardship writing

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, sweet, warm, fast-paced stories
Readers sensitive to depictions of hunger, war, and other hardships
Readers looking for strong suspense plotting or fast-paced genre fiction

Reading tips

Read continuously by chapter, noting how Hei Que's mindset and choices change each time he reaches a new place.
Keep a sheet to note the people and places he encounters; after finishing, look back at this growth route.
For parent-child reading, discuss "what would have become of Hei Que without the monkey troupe."
Slow down at passages of meeting and parting, and feel how loyalty and affection accumulate through drifting.

About the publisher

Writers Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Writers Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused mainly on literary publishing. Its output covers classical literature, foreign literature, folk literature and Eastern philosophy, with some extension into popular reading such as social fiction and parenting books. Its catalogue contains more than 900 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber and its edited editions, Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and foreign literary classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and Lost Illusions. In terms of authors, it includes classical writers such as Cao Xueqin and Gao E, foreign masters such as William Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Balzac, and translations by translators such as Zhu Shenghao, Geng Jizhi and Fu Lei. Overall, its publishing profile balances Chinese and foreign literary classics, emphasizes quality translations, and serves both academic and general readers; publicly available information on its specific publishing plans is limited.

版权信息
第一章扁担沟
一
二
三
四
五
六
第二章香炉山
一
二
三
四
五
第三章白马石
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
第四章猪嘴滩
一
二
三
四
五
六
第五章三角城
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
第六章乌金塘
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
第七章白狼河
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
第八章青堆子
一
二
三
四
五
六
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FAQ

Is this book suitable for primary school children to read on their own?

The book involves war, hunger, and separations of life and death in drifting, so the threshold of understanding and emotional weight are relatively high. Older primary school children with stronger reading ability can try, but parents are advised to read first or read together, discussing the hardship passages with the child rather than treating it as a lively monkey-show story.

Is the "monkey troupe" in the story the main line or the background?

The monkey troupe is the community in which Master Gao, the performing monkey Lao Yao, and Hei Que depend on one another; it is also the support for Hei Que's travels in the Northeast. It is both a concrete way of making a living and a carrier of loyalty and responsibility, and Hei Que's growth is completed precisely through collisions between this small group and the people and events along the way.

Do I need to know the history of migration into the Northeast before reading?

No prior study is necessary. The novel unfolds from Hei Que's viewpoint, and the historical background emerges naturally as he travels. If you want a deeper understanding afterward, you can supplement material on the migration and then look back at the crowds, war, and livelihood choices in the book, which will be more rewarding.

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About the author

张忠诚 Author

Zhang Zhongcheng: publicly available information about this author is limited, and the library currently holds only one work by him, the social novel Monkey Troupe (Hou Xi Tuan). Based on this information, his writing addresses social-realist themes, using fiction to examine the relationship between individuals and society. The title, with its reference to a "monkey troupe," evokes folk performance and itinerant troupes, suggesting that the narrative may center on the survival of lower-class performers and use the rise and fall of a troupe to reflect social change and the fate of ordinary people. Because no clear records exist regarding the author's life, native place, education, or creative career, his writing style and literary influence cannot yet be fully assessed. Readers may take Monkey Troupe as the main entry point for understanding his work and, within the tradition of social fiction, appreciate his observation and expression of real life.