The novel "Riding the Whale in the East China Sea" tells the story of the male protagonist Ahu, surnamed Zhang from Ningbo, who counterattacked and became a famous fish collector in the East China Sea fishery, but was kidnapped and extorted by pirates.
The time background described in the novel ranges from 1912 in the early years of the Republic of China to 1949 after the founding of New China. This historical span is the great history of modern China's transformation from a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society to a new China in which the people are the masters of the country.
Through the personal experience of Ahu (Zhang Jinxun), the novel describes the weakness, backwardness, chaos of the Republic of China, as well as the hard work of fishermen at sea. Among them are pirate kidnappings, official corruption, Japanese militarism's invasion of China, Chinese soldiers and civilians' bloody resistance to the Japanese invaders, and so on.
In addition to describing Ahu's two kidnappings by pirates, the novel also vividly portrays the fate of various characters in Ahu and his friends on the ship. In particular, heroic images of the eldest son Zhang Shanfu, communist Chen Minghua, battalion commander of the 35th detachment Li Jiefu, and PLA company commander Xia Xianrong were created.
Under the leadership of Chen Minghua, the school's director of education and a communist, Zhang Shanfu took advantage of the convenience of his father's fleet to travel between Ningbo and Shanghai to engage in underground anti-Japanese work. He secretly carried prohibited materials to Ningbo and provided them to the Siming Mountain anti-Japanese guerrillas. On many occasions, young students were secretly transported to the three northern parts of eastern Zhejiang to participate in the anti-Japanese guerrillas. At the same time, it also reflects that the fishermen were harmed by the Japanese invaders and were exploited economically, etc.
The novel reflects the magnificent and turbulent development and changes of Ningbo and Shanghai in modern times. It highlights that under the leadership of the Communist Party, the fishermen consciously devoted themselves to the anti-Japanese war and ushered in the final victory of the anti-Japanese war.
