Family Background

The novel Composition tells the story of Zhen Xinmin, a young intellectual from a poor peasant family, and Wei Wuxin, a young intellectual from a landlord family, in an era when family class background mattered. Because of their different backgrounds, the two protagonists are treated differently by society.

Though Zhen Xinmin comes from a poor peasant family and Wei Wuxin from a landlord family, both grew up in traditional Chinese households that taught honesty, diligence, and kindness. They are a new generation of young intellectuals with shared ideals and values. Ultimately, in that extraordinary social climate, they come together and form a new-generation family in the People's Republic.