King of Wrestling

张建广Writers Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

Rating 3.2
Word count
448K words
Chapters
31
ISBN
9787521226256

Tags

Social Fiction Legendary LivesJianghu FeudHeroismComing of AgeTurbulent Era

Summary

Through Jiao Wang Liu Xuedong and the people around him, the novel tells his legendary life. The protagonist, "Jiao Wang" Liu Xuedong, was mischievous and unruly as a boy. In the 1930s and 1940s, amid social turmoil and bloody strife, Liu Xuedong was busy seeking masters and learning skills, improving his wrestling techniques, competing with wrestlers of all kinds, and fighting evil forces. Through interactions and clashes with all sorts of people in society, he grows through experience and tempers qualities of bravery, strength, kindness, and magnanimity. During the War of Resistance, he bravely resisted the atrocities of the Japanese army and was imprisoned twice, nearly beaten to death. After his release, he remained unswerving in his resolve. The novel delves deeply into human nature. The story is thrilling, the characters are highly distinctive, and it presents a broad social panorama; it is a work with a strong national character.

Editor's review

With the legendary life of wrestler Liu Xuedong as its main thread, The Wrestling King places a unruly boy obsessed with wrestling techniques within the turbulent, bloody social backdrop of the 1930s and 1940s. The novel follows him as he takes a master and learns the craft, competes with wrestlers of every kind, and contends with evil forces; through repeated clashes and trials he tempers the qualities of courage, steadfastness, kindness, and magnanimity. During the War of Resistance he bravely resists brutality, is imprisoned twice and nearly dies, and remains unswerving after his release. Through Liu Xuedong's dealings with figures of all stripes, the work unfolds a broad social panorama and probes human nature with considerable depth. The story is gripping, the characters sharply individualized, and the flavor strongly national, giving readers the exhilarating feel of traditional storytelling and folk legend. It suits readers who enjoy legendary narrative and street-and-jianghu subjects, as well as those interested in how ordinary lives were written under the War of Resistance. While reading, note how the protagonist's growth intersects with the tides of the times, and appreciate the work's portrayal of human nature beyond its热血 story.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read chronologically, noting the turning points and key events in Liu Xuedong's growth from unruly boy to Wrestling King.
  2. Pause at passages of wrestling contests and personal dealings to sense how character takes shape through clash.
  3. Understand characters' choices in light of the social background of the 1930s and 1940s rather than judging them simply by today's standards.
  4. After finishing, revisit episodes such as the two imprisonments during the War of Resistance to trace the full arc of the protagonist's tempered character.

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.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一章
  3. 第二章
  4. 第三章
  5. 第四章
  6. 第五章
  7. 第六章
  8. 第七章
  9. 第八章
  10. 第九章
  11. 第十章
  12. 第十一章
  13. 第十二章
  14. 第十三章
  15. 第十四章
  16. 第十五章
  17. 第十六章
  18. 第十七章
  19. 第十八章
  20. 第十九章
  21. 第二十章
  22. 第二十一章
  23. 第二十二章
  24. 第二十三章
  25. 第二十四章
  26. 第二十五章
  27. 第二十六章
  28. 第二十七章
  29. 第二十八章
  30. 第二十九章
  31. 第三十章

FAQ

What is this novel mainly about? It tells the legendary life of the wrestler Liu Xuedong: a mischievous, unrestrained boy who later takes a master and hones his wrestling skills, competes with wrestlers of all kinds, struggles against evil forces, and grows through social upheaval; during the War of Resistance he resists brutality, is imprisoned twice and nearly dies, and remains unswerving after release.
What is the novel's historical setting? It is set in the 1930s and 1940s, a time of social turmoil and bloodshed. Through Liu Xuedong's interactions and clashes with people of all sorts, the work presents a broad social panorama, with the War of Resistance episodes as an important part.
Is this book suitable for readers who know nothing about martial arts? Yes. Wrestling skills and a wrestler's career provide the thread, but the focus is on human fate, character growth, and the social panorama rather than technical martial arts. Readers unfamiliar with wrestling can still follow the story into the characters' situations.
What are the novel's characteristics in portraying human nature? Through Liu Xuedong's dealings and clashes with various characters, the work probes human nature, and the characters are highly individualized. The protagonist tempers courage, steadfastness, kindness, and magnanimity through hardship, while those around him each have distinct faces, together forming a rich picture of human nature.

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About the author

张建广 Author

Zhang Jianguang is an author about whom limited public information is available. His only confirmed work to date is the novel The Wrestling King, which is classified as a social novel. Judging from this category and the title, his writing appears to center on wrestling, a traditional craft, and the social life surrounding it, using the world of a particular trade as a stage for portraying ordinary people's struggles and human relations. Because information on his life, education, and writing chronology is lacking, it is not possible to determine whether he has written on other subjects or to outline his overall development as a writer. The available material suggests only that he is interested in stories with a folk flavor and a sense of realism; though his output is small, he uses a specific field as a lens through which to reflect one aspect of social life. His style and influence await further material and wider reading.