science

Rickshaw Boy

Rickshaw Boy is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rickshaw Boy rather than just read about it. In short: Rickshaw Boy or Camel Xiangzi (Chinese: 骆驼祥子; pinyin: Luòtuo Xiángzi; lit. 'Camel Auspicious Lad') is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature.

Key takeaways

Rickshaw Boy belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rickshaw Boy to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rickshaw Boy from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rickshaw Boy or Camel Xiangzi (Chinese: 骆驼祥子; pinyin: Luòtuo Xiángzi; lit. 'Camel Auspicious Lad') is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature.

History Lao She began the novel in spring 1936, and it was published in installments in the magazine Yuzhou feng ("Cosmic wind") beginning in January 1937. Lao She returned to China from the United States after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In an afterword dated September 1954, included in the Foreign Languages Press edition of Rickshaw Boy, Lao She said that he had edited the manuscript ("taken out some of the coarser language and some unnecessary descriptions") and he expressed regret for the lack of hope expressed in the original edition. In 1945, Evan King published an unauthorized translation of the novel. He cut, rearranged, rewrote, invented characters, and changed the ending. Two characters, the girl student and One Pock Li, are King's inventions, not Lao She's. King also added considerable embellishment to the two seduction scenes. Despite the liberties taken, the book was a bestseller in the United States and a Book of the Month club selection.

Characters Xiangzi A strong young man who moves to Beiping in the 1920s, where he finds employment first as a laborer and then as a rickshaw puller. He hopes to become independent through hard work, honesty, and thrift, but frequent misfortune leads his life and character to degradation.

Huniu The daughter of Fourth Master Liu, owner of the Harmony Shed from which Xiangzi often rents rickshaws. Described as unattractive and coarse, Huniu nevertheless cares for Xiangzi and eventually manipulates him into marrying her. Her death and the death of their unborn child accelerate Xiangzi's descent into despair and more severe poverty.

Fourth Master Liu The owner of Harmony Shed and Huniu's father. A veteran of Beijing's underworld, Fourth Master Liu initially appreciates Xiangzi's exceptional work ethic. Eventually, he disowns Huniu following her marriage to Xiangzi in order to prevent them from inheriting his assets.

Mr. Cao Xiangzi's sometime employer. A university lecturer and socialist influenced by William Morris, Cao and his wife treat Xiangzi with relative kindness. A political dispute involving one of Cao's students forms a secondary plot to the story.

Old man and Xiao Ma A prematurely aged rickshaw puller and his grandson whom Xiangzi encounters in a teahouse. He is moved by their hardships, purchasing food for them. His encounters with the old man eventually convince Xiangzi of the fruitlessness of life as a rickshaw puller.

Fuzi The daughter of an impoverished family in the compound where Huniu and Xiangzi set up home following their marriage, Fuzi is the daughter of Er Qiangzi. Sold by her father to an army officer who then abandons her, Fuzi is forced into prostitution and later sold to a brothel, The White Manor. During their time as neighbors, she and Huniu become occasional friends.

Er Qiangzi Little Fuzi's father. Formerly a rickshaw puller, Er Qiangzi squanders the money from the sale of his daughter on alcohol, eventually relying on her earnings to support his addiction.

Platoon Leader Sun An officer in the warlord army which kidnaps Xiangzi and confiscates his first rickshaw. Later, as a secret police detective, Sun blackmails Xiangzi into handing over the money he'd saved for a second rickshaw.

Plot

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rickshaw Boy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rickshaw Boy claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rickshaw Boy before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rickshaw Boy ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rickshaw Boy

In research: Rickshaw Boy appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rickshaw Boy in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rickshaw Boy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1937 novels, 20th-century Chinese novels, Chinese novels adapted into films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rickshaw Boy outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rickshaw Boy in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rickshaw Boy means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rickshaw Boy out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rickshaw Boy in simple terms?

Why does Rickshaw Boy matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rickshaw Boy?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rickshaw Boy.