The Qinhuai Family

Zhang HenshuiJan 2023

3.8

Word count: 205K words
Chapters: 25

Summary

Nanjing, by the Qinhuai River. The courtesan Tang Dasao has two daughters, Erchun and Xiaochun, both remarkably pretty. Xiaochun, gifted with an outstanding singing voice, has become a singing girl and is now at the height of her fame. Yang Yuquan, a Shanghai moneylender, takes a fancy to Xiaochun; after repeated advances are rebuffed, he bears a grudge and hatches a vicious plot. He kidnaps and violates Erchun, then hands her over to the brothel keeper Wei Laoba. Erchun bides her time for revenge and finally shoots Wei Laoba dead and wounds Yang Yuquan, but is herself fatally struck by a bullet. Yang Yuquan, more ruthless than ever, unleashes his full cruelty on Tang Dasao and Xiaochun, reducing mother and daughter to unendurable misery. The people of the lower strata along the Qinhuai River, their anger at its peak, unite…

Editor's review

"The Qinhuai Families" turns its lens on the lower strata of society along the Qinhuai River, centering on the family of the singsong girl Tang Dasao. It follows Xiaochun's fortunes after she becomes a celebrated singer, Erchun's revenge after being kidnapped and violated, and the mounting tyranny of Yang Yuquan. Zhang Henshui does not turn suffering into mere sentimentality; instead he links cause and effect in the wrongdoing step by step: a rejected flirtation breeds resentment, resentment breeds a vicious scheme, and the scheme drives revenge and still crueler retaliation, finally pushing mother and daughters to the edge and driving the poor of the Qinhuai riverside toward united resistance. The book's readability comes from tight plotting and sharply contrasted characters; its value lies in showing how the powerless of an old era struggled to survive in the crevices between power and money. As you read, note the author's different handling of the perpetrators and the bystanders, and the plain sense of justice invested in the closing call to "unite."

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Zhang Henshui's works and Republican-era urban-life subjects
Readers interested in narratives of lower-class women's resistance and revenge
Those curious about depictions of city life along the Qinhuai River
Readers who can accept tragic turns and value the tension of characters' fates

Not a good fit for

Readers distressed by scenes of kidnapping, violation, and other violent harm
Those expecting a light, warm, or wholly happy reading experience
Readers who prefer short, fast-paced works and have little patience for long narrative buildup

Reading tips

Read along the chain of cause and effect: the rejected flirtation, the vicious scheme, the revenge, the renewed tyranny—trace how the wrongdoing escalates.
Pay attention to the different circumstances and responses of Tang Dasao, Erchun, and Xiaochun, and compare their agency.
When you reach the closing scene of the lower classes uniting, look back at earlier setup to appreciate the sense of justice the author invests in it.

版权信息
第一回唐大嫂茶座说前因徐二哥河厅作上客
第二回还旧服姊妹表歉忱赠新书良朋存厚道
第三回见艺人传书有遗憾怜神女冒雨表同情
第四回登门送款穷汉施仁远道索书青年露迹
第五回惜浪费局外进忠言具深心席前作娇态
第六回押戒指妙计赚现金留字条辣手演喜剧
第七回唐二春独来慰知己王大狗二次济苦人
第八回重私恩偷儿争自首忿家丑失主两饶人
第九回难消重耻闭户撒娇苦遇恶魔回家受训
第十回赞少女骚客赋艳诗接财东钱商摆盛宴
第十一回恶作剧席上饮交杯大不堪台前喝倒彩
第十二回无法可想好汉低头有命能拼贱人吐气
第十三回中圈套送女上河船欠思量驰车入虎穴
第十四回困迷楼毒倒洁身女谈屈膝气死热心人
第十五回看得不平失言遭害回来尴尬破费遮羞
第十六回吃亏人把盏劝磕头探风客登门遭毒手
第十七回忍痛山头深更探险救人虎口暗室遭围
第十八回赠约指暗放有心人作娇容痛骂无赖子
第十九回情脉脉软语度难关泪涟涟深心走绝路
第二十回斗手法逐步破深谋弄心机当筵递暗信
第二十一回混长夜热酒留众客劫武器灭灯捆醉人
第二十二回烈烈轰轰高呼溅血凄凄惨惨垂首离家
第二十三回老邻妇端坐度难关贱女人挺身挡恶棍
第二十四回发语双关拒奸救友引刀一快纵火除魔

FAQ

Where is the story set, and who are the main characters?

The story is set by the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. The singsong girl Tang Dasao has two daughters, Erchun and Xiaochun; Xiaochun becomes a celebrated singer, and Yang Yuquan, a Shanghai moneylender, takes an interest in her and, after his advances are rejected, devises a vicious scheme. Other figures such as the brothel guard Wei Laoba are drawn in as well.

Is the plot very heavy?

Yes. The book includes kidnapping, violation, revenge, and death: Erchun shoots Wei Laoba dead and wounds Yang Yuquan before being killed herself by a bullet, and mother and daughters face further coercion. The overall tone is heavy, so readers should be prepared.

Is the ending one of utter despair?

Not entirely. Though the Tang mother and daughters suffer bitterly and Erchun dies, the people of the lower strata along the Qinhuai are driven to outrage and unite, leaving at the close a hope for lower-class resistance and plain justice.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Zhang Henshui Author · China · 1895–1967

Zhang Henshui (1895–1967), originally named Xinyuan, was a native of Anhui and a writer of serialized chapter fiction, recognized as a representative author of the Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies school. Over his lifetime he wrote more than a hundred novels, and this library holds as many as 436 of his works. His writing uses the traditional chapter form as its framework, with intricate plots and large casts of characters; he excels at portraying social manners and human feelings amid social change and romantic entanglements, in language that is accessible and fluent, earning him a broad readership. His representative works include Ti Xiao Yin Yuan (A Smile of Woe), Jin Fen Shi Jia (The Golden Family), Chun Ming Wai Shi, and Ba Shi Yi Meng (Eighty-One Dreams), among which the first two have circulated especially widely in many editions. His subjects center on social novels and modern romance, with some allegorical and satirical works, giving him an important place in the history of modern popular literature.