Hurrying on the Road

Name: Hurrying on the Road
ISBN: 9787521231823

武歆Writers Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

Rating 3.4

Word count: 232K words
Chapters: 54
ISBN: 9787521231823

Summary

This book tells the story of Ji Hongshou, an ordinary man who endures many hardships yet keeps his kind nature and strives to make a living. Having lost his mother and been widowed, he leaves his hometown for Tianjin to seek his fortune, hoping to accomplish something great, but by a twist of fate ends up stitching shoes. Unwilling to accept his lot, he flees Lutai to seek help from relatives in Tianjin, is coldly rebuffed, and has no choice but to return to the shoe shop as a stitcher. Through diligence and eagerness to learn he gains a foothold, befriends like-minded people, and actively adapts to the changing times, becoming an electric welder who constantly refines his craft. Faced with one obstacle after another in life, he does not lose heart, but carves out a path to a secure livelihood through perseverance and determination amid the thorns.

Editor's review

This is a novel about how ordinary people secure a place for themselves amid the changes of the times. After losing her husband and mother, the protagonist Ji Hongshou leaves her hometown for Tianjin to make a living. She hopes to accomplish something, but by a twist of fate becomes a shoemaker; when relatives she turns to give her the cold shoulder, she returns to the shoe shop, and eventually establishes herself through diligence and eagerness to learn, adapting to the changing times to become a meticulous electric welder. The work's value lies in grounding the grand sweep of the era in concrete craft and daily livelihood, using each turn in the struggle to make a living to show ordinary people's resilience. The author does not turn the protagonist into a legendary hero but lets her keep her kind nature and striving spirit even when cold-shouldered and blocked by life at every turn; this plain strength is all the more moving. The novel's depiction of craft trades and urban survival is solid, and its pacing is steady, making it suited to readers who enjoy realist narrative and care about the struggles of ordinary people. While reading, note the push of the times behind each of Ji Hongshou's career changes, and consider why the author repeatedly stresses that she never changes her kind heart.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy realist novels and care about the fate of ordinary people
Readers interested in Tianjin's street life and old craft trades
Readers going through a career transition who need encouragement in resilience
Literary readers who prefer steady narration over strong plot

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting intense dramatic conflict and fast-paced plots
Readers who prefer genre fiction such as fantasy and suspense
Readers hoping for detailed technical operations and industry knowledge

Reading tips

Read in sections according to the protagonist's stages of making a living, and after each section sort out what trade she switched to and why.
Pay attention to the two craft passages on shoemaking and electric welding, and see how the author uses concrete labor to portray character.
Don't worry about Tianjin dialect and local street expressions; just understand the characters' circumstances from context.
After finishing the book, look back at the opening and compare Ji Hongshou's state of mind when leaving home with that after she establishes herself.

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
一
二
三
四
五
第二章
一
二
三
四
五
第三章
一
二
三
四
五
第四章
一
二
三
四
五
第五章
一
二
三
四
五
第六章
一
二
三
四
五
第七章
一
二
三
四
第八章
一
二
三
四
五
第九章
一
二
三
四
五

FAQ

What kind of person is the protagonist of this book?

Ji Hongshou is an ordinary person who, despite many hardships, keeps her kind nature and strives to make a living. After losing her husband and mother, she leaves home for Tianjin, starts out as a shoemaker, and later becomes a meticulous electric welder. She does not lose heart before the obstacles life puts in her way, and through tenacity and persistence she forges a path to a secure livelihood.

What is the background of the story?

The story begins with the protagonist leaving her hometown to make a living in Tianjin. Places such as Lutai and Tianjin form the main settings, interspersed with experiences including being cold-shouldered by relatives, gaining a foothold in the shoe shop, and adapting to the changing times by switching to electric welding. Overall it presents the process of ordinary people making a living amid the changes of the times.

How should the title "Rushing On" be understood?

In light of the content, rushing on refers both to Ji Hongshou's travels away from home and from place to place to make a living, and to her state of not halting before life's obstacles, seeking a secure livelihood through tenacity and persistence. Looking back at the title after finishing the book will give a fuller sense of its striving spirit.

Is it suitable for reading in one sitting?

The book has steady pacing, linking its plot through turns in making a living, with fairly even information density. It can be read continuously, or in sections according to the protagonist's stages of making a living; pausing briefly after each section to sort out changes in her circumstances will make the reading experience clearer.

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About the author

武歆 Author

Wu Xin is an author about whom limited public information is available. The verifiable information currently centers on two works, Returning to One's Hometown and On the Road, which are often classified as social fiction and classic works. This suggests that the writing focuses on real life and the circumstances of ordinary people, with a strong sense of social observation. Judging from the titles, both Returning to One's Hometown and On the Road involve themes of travel, migration, and return, possibly reflecting characters' movement and choices between city and countryside, and between tradition and modernity. Because dates of birth and death, nationality, educational background, and creative experience are not clearly recorded, little can be said about the author's life. On the basis of the existing works alone, however, Wu Xin's writing stays close to social reality in subject matter and tends toward plain narrative in style, and deserves attention from readers interested in social fiction.