Fugui

Zhao ShuliDec 2025

4.0

Word count: 7.7K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

The protagonist Fugui is a capable young man. After his mother's death, he falls into debt to Wang Laowan for funeral and marriage expenses; exploited layer by layer, he loses his land and owes more money, turns in desperation to gambling and theft, and even as a hired horn player is nearly buried alive by the Wang family, until he has no choice but to flee. After liberation he returns from the liberated areas, seeking only to confront Wang Laowan and demand justice. Fugui's ordeal is a microcosm of how the old society's exploitation swallowed up those at the bottom; that he finally dares to speak out and reclaim his dignity also shows the power of the new society to break oppression and let ordinary people recover the value of their lives. Zhao Shuli's prose is steeped in the smell of the soil—plain yet vivid—faithfully capturing the rough texture of rural life and making it easy for readers to empathize. The era has passed, but the work still shines.

Editor's review

Zhao Shuli's Fugui tells how a capable young man is driven by layer upon layer of exploitation in the old society to lose his land, fall into debt, gamble, steal, and even, as a hired horn player, nearly be buried alive—until he has no choice but to flee. The story does not make Fugui out to be a born weakling; instead it shows the reader how a man who could work and wanted to live a decent life is devoured step by step by debt and oppression. After liberation, Fugui returns from the liberated areas seeking only to confront Wang Laowan and demand justice—a turn that lifts the work beyond denunciation and writes of the possibility for those at the bottom to speak out again and recover their dignity. Zhao Shuli's prose is steeped in the smell of the soil—plain yet vivid—and the rough texture of rural life is rendered concretely enough that readers easily empathize. The era has passed, yet the work's themes of exploitation, dignity, and the fate of ordinary people still resonate. Suitable for readers who want to understand modern Chinese vernacular fiction and care about rural social change.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to know Zhao Shuli's style of vernacular fiction and enjoy plain storytelling
Social and history enthusiasts interested in old-society rural exploitation and the fate of ordinary people
Teachers who need rural-themed literature for teaching or reading discussion
Readers who like short realist fiction and have the patience to empathize with a character's ordeal

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer urban themes, fantasy, or strongly plotted genre fiction
Readers hoping for detailed analysis of rural policy or a sociological theoretical framework

Reading tips

First read straight through Fugui's ordeal, noting the specific cause each time he falls into difficulty rather than remembering only the outcome.
When you reach the parts where Fugui flees and returns, pause and think about what “confronting Wang Laowan and demanding justice” means to him.
Read it alongside Zhao Shuli's other rural-themed works to feel his plain, vivid narrative language.
After finishing, jot down in a few sentences the key turning points in Fugui's fate to help trace the chain of old-society exploitation.

版权信息
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FAQ

Is this Fugui the same person as the Fugui in Yu Hua's To Live?

No. Fugui in Zhao Shuli's Fugui is a character from a different work; they merely share a name, and the settings and authors differ. There is no need to conflate the two while reading—it is better to view each within the context of its own work.

Is the language of this story hard to read?

Not at all. Zhao Shuli's prose is known for being plain and vivid, with a strong flavor of rural life; his sentences do not twist around, and the dialogue stays close to spoken language. As long as you have a basic interest in rural themes, the barrier to reading is low, and the character's ordeal easily carries you along.

What is the story mainly trying to express?

Through Fugui's ordeal—from a capable young man to a man who loses his land, falls into debt, and returns from exile—the story shows how old-society exploitation devours those at the bottom step by step, and also writes of the possibility the new society offers for them to dare to speak and recover their dignity. It is both an indictment and an observation of a turning point in a character's fate.

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About the author

Zhao Shuli Author · China · 1906–1970

Zhao Shuli (1906–1970), originally named Zhao Shuli, was a modern Chinese novelist from Qinshui, Shanxi, and the founder of the "Yam Egg School" of writing. Rooted in rural life, he drew his stories from everyday farm work, family relationships, and village change, writing in plain, vivid language with a strong local flavor. His representative works, including The Marriage of Young Blacky, Li Youcai Banhua, Registration, and Sanliwan, mostly take rural reality as their subject, touching on marriage choice, grassroots work, and social change in the countryside. His characters are true to life and his narratives are accessible and brisk, giving his work a wide readership. Known for their rich local color, his writings earned him the reputation of a master hand at portraying peasants and have had a lasting influence on later rural fiction. The collection here includes thirty-six of his works across categories such as classic works and social novels, along with selected volumes that offer readers a view of his writing.