The first draft of the novel Traces of Life tells of a series of events, conflicts, and struggles in Lixi, a remote mountain village in a southwestern province during the Republic of China era. With a history spanning many decades, the village is isolated from the outside world, poor, and backward.
Zhong Wu is a student at a national secondary school in the provincial capital. Born into poverty, he has been determined since childhood to change his fate through hard work and study. After accidentally joining a student patriotic movement, he is repeatedly persecuted and beaten. Determined not to be bullied anymore, he joins the army, only to end up in a warlord's forces. While escorting opium, he sets fire to it to save the mother and daughter who run a mule inn from being assaulted by his superior. He is then hunted and forced into hiding. Reduced to a vagrant, he accidentally wanders into Lixi.
Zhong Wu hopes to hide his identity, endure humiliation, and eke out a living in this remote, isolated mountain village. Yet one unexpected event after another unfolds: tensions between the church and the villagers, along with the arrival of large numbers of disaster refugees, shatter the village's peace. Zhong Wu is drawn into the turmoil. From a timid student, he gradually grows into a young man who bears humiliation and resents the world, eventually becoming the leader of Lixi, driven forward by responsibility. He goes from living only for himself and his wife to recognizing the value of his life and his duty, becoming a hero in the villagers' eyes. In the end, Zhong Wu chooses to shoulder his responsibility so that more villagers can survive, sacrificing his young life to give others the chance to live on.
The love between Zhong Wu and Chen Yulan is a beautiful story. They stand by each other through life and death, never abandoning one another in hardship. After Zhong Wu dies, the young Chen Yulan, a pioneer of rural education, throws herself into the river in despair and grief, ending her young life.
The novel reflects the anguish, confusion, conflict, and arduous search for a way forward experienced by young people today. It depicts their lonely struggles and battles against fate, and the indelible marks and imprint of an era left behind when they ultimately fail and pay the terrible price with their lives.
The novel portrays a group of upright, passionate characters, including Zhong Wu, Chen Yulan, Wu Tianliang, Wu Xiaoxiu, and Hou Chaowen, and celebrates their noble qualities. It also condemns and exposes the vile conduct of Gao Changqing, Gao Jingzhi, Shen Liren, Hu Zhixiong, County Magistrate Bai, and others: colluding with businessmen, scheming against one another, plotting cunningly, indulging in debauchery, and committing every kind of evil.
Through a modern lens, the author examines the many colorful lives of the past, with all their joys and sorrows, unions and separations. The novel confronts human nature and life directly, revealing on several levels the conflicts and entanglements within them.
The original draft was titled Traces of Life. After revisions and proofreading, it was renamed The Lonely One and republished.
The story of this book is engaging and the characters are well drawn. Zhong Wu's growth process made me very emotional. He changed from a cowardly student to a hero in the hearts of the villagers. This transformation is very admirable. The love between Chen Yulan and Zhong Wu is very beautiful, and their perseverance is touching. The author examines past life from a modern perspective, allowing us to see the complexity of human nature. I think this is a book worth reading.
It was well written, but I cried while watching it, it was so sad.
Although the plot is incomparable to the ordinary world, the authenticity and cruelty of society are not found in that book. Yes, if a person is capable, even if his character is not in question, he will attract the jealousy of villains... It would be better to be stronger, or to be weaker and mediocre. I thought this was the case when I went to the park a few days ago. There are too many people in the world, because if you go to a place where there are no people, you think there are very few people. It only means that you just missed the peak flow of people. Sooner or later, there will be a moment in the place where you go, when others have just returned from training, but you just went there. The book gives people more wisdom. The world is too crowded, and there are always people who hate your existence? You have to use life and death as a bargaining chip, and then decide whether to stay or leave this world forever! Hell is empty and monsters are everywhere.
Very well written! The protagonist is ordinary and great, but the ending is sad and infuriating!
Good book. Thanks to the author.
Looks good, keep watching
The success or failure of young madness, the original intention and mission of the times, the waves before and after, chasing dreams, writing life one after another.
The ending is sad! Stories like this will always be repeated on earth. Human beings are always half good and half evil.
Very good, the plot is tight.
The story is well written, keep reading. . . . . .