Lao She's Rickshaw: Allegory for 1930s China's Plight

Introduction: Individualism as China's Central Failing

In the introduction to Lao She's novel Lo-t'o Hsiang Tzu, first published in serial form between September 1936 and May 1937, the translator relates that Lao She's message in his previous works had explored "the conservatism of the traditionally educated… and their blindness to the necessity to modernize China… with the Chinese as the obstacle to progress." Yet in Rickshaw, Lao She focuses on "the self-centeredness of the Chinese which he calls Individualism… being their crucial failing" (viii). The main character, Hsiang Tzu, a rickshaw puller, appears to be the "personification of this great flaw" — namely, individualism. Thus, Hsiang Tzu "is not a victim of a sick society but one of its representatives, a specimen of a malady that must be cured" if China is to become modernized and take its place in the modern world.

Without a doubt, Hsiang Tzu stands as a symbol for China's plight in the late 1930s, when the country faced many social and political problems. Since the setting of the novel is Peking, it is clear that Hsiang Tzu, in order to survive as a member of China's uneducated and underprivileged class, is attempting to make a decent living in the city — the capital of China until governance was shifted to Nanking in 1928. However, Peking, "the great city, is neutral toward him. It neither helps nor hinders; all it gives him is a slightly better chance to survive" (Introduction ix). In order to better understand Hsiang Tzu's position in Peking as a rickshaw puller, a brief look at the history of China during the 1930s is necessary.

Historical Context: China During the Nanjing Decade

In 1928, the Guomindang (Nationalist Party) made Nanjing its capital because the southern city was closer to its main power base on the lower Yangzi. Beijing was renamed Beiping, meaning "Northern Peace," and the ten-year period between 1928 and the Japanese invasion of 1937 — the year in which Lo-t'o Hsiang Tzu is primarily set — is known as the Nanjing decade. The record of the Guomindang during these years provides the evidence on which to judge Lao She's novel, set against a backdrop of a China struggling to create a modern nation-state.

During the Nanjing decade, China was a country of startling contrasts. In the coastal cities, the signs of modernization and Westernization were widespread yet somewhat superficial. In Shanghai in 1929, there existed 2,326 factories employing nearly 300,000 workers, with 70% being women and children. By 1933, more than 80% of Chinese-owned industry was located in the eastern and southern coastal provinces and in Manchuria. But in Peking, conditions were far less promising. The city merely sustained itself while the rest of China — except for the rural areas — prospered under the guise of the Republic of China. When China became the People's Republic in 1948 on the eve of the Cultural Revolution, Peking "had no industry and had lost its only business, governing the country" (Introduction viii). Against this backdrop, Hsiang Tzu was caught up in great political upheaval and forced to make his way through the only means available to him: work as a rickshaw puller, a job entailing hard labor, daily danger, and very low pay.

Hsiang Tzu's Independence and Its Limits

A number of passages from Rickshaw illustrate how Hsiang Tzu's individualism sits at the heart of China's problems during the mid to late 1930s, at least according to Lao She. In Chapter One, Lao She describes Tzu as a "comparatively independent rickshaw man… belonged to that group made up of the young and strong who also owned their own rickshaws." Yet becoming "independent was not a simple matter at all," for it took years of sweat and toil to reach the level of an independent rickshaw owner (3). This pursuit of independence is somewhat analogous to capitalism as it existed in many Western nations of the period. The concept of "rugged individualism" underpins American-style capitalism and self-reliance, but in Hsiang Tzu's case, individualism emerges as a negative trait — one that separates him from the rest of society, which largely works together to achieve prosperity and self-worth.

In Chapter Six, Hsiang Tzu, feeling ill from the effects of a hangover, decides "not to ruin himself because of this business" as a rickshaw puller, and admits "there was always something getting in the way" (55). This indicates that his individualism is not yielding the results he had hoped for, given the many obstacles he faces daily in the streets of Peking. His independence is then put directly to the test when he accepts employment with Mr. Ts'ao, who asks, "If you aren't working for anyone now, how about working for me?" (56). Rather than affirming his independence, Tzu's self-reliance becomes a burden that forces him to work for someone else — most likely for slave wages. Against his wishes, Hsiang Tzu joins the masses, most of whom are employed by more prosperous and successful businessmen.

Conclusion: Allegory and the Call for Collective Progress

It appears that Lao She is not actually opposed to individualism in principle, but Hsiang Tzu's tale is nonetheless a powerful allegory for China's plight during the 1930s. What Lao She seems to be arguing is that in order for China to become a fully realized modern nation, its people must stand together rather than pursue their own selfish ambitions and personal wants. As Lao She traces Hsiang Tzu's descent from ambitious young rickshaw owner to humiliated laborer, he maps a cautionary lesson onto the broader national canvas: a society in which every individual pursues only personal gain cannot generate the collective will necessary for genuine modernization and progress.