Bai Zhenzha was born into a poor family. His mother died young, and his father was a farmer. Although his father could barely read, he cared deeply about his children's education. With his father's support, Bai Zhenzha spent several extra years in school and learned enough bookkeeping to work as an accounts clerk. Later, through a stroke of luck, he found a low-level job in a small county office. With those skills and his modest position, Bai Zhenzha scraped by as he struggled through life, enduring scorn and hardship while remaining trapped at the bottom of society.
Information was scarce, knowledge was restricted, funds were lacking, and resources were monopolized, locking people's fates firmly into the lower class. The barriers between classes were like a cage, holding the masses at the bottom fast within it. Whether you struggle or refuse to yield, that cage remains firmly locked around you.
The growing divide between rich and poor and the entrenchment of social classes are chronic problems that lie at the root of social inequality. Those at the bottom have the least room to survive and the least power. All they can do is endure in silence and wait in silence.
The story unfolds through the little details Bai Zhenzha encounters in his daily life. I hope you’ll give it a read.
