The novel "Contest" unfolds the twenty-six-year journey of the rule of law from 1994 to 2021. It is an epic about the rule of law and human life that interrogates justice and reflects the times. The work is based in Spring City in Southwest China, with street fireworks as the background, connecting the fate of three generations and a tug-of-war for justice that spans more than 20 years.
The novel creates an original tripartite narrative structure, outlining three types of human nature and the epitome of the times. Liang Rui, a grassroots criminal policeman, persisted in his original intention and pursued the murderer for twenty-six years, adhering to the bottom line of the rule of law; Fang Zhiyuan, leader of the central supervision team, broke through the barriers of interest at all levels with thunderous momentum, demonstrating the country's determination to crack down on crime and evil; the victim Shen Ruolan endured half a life, from being deeply traumatized and living in seclusion to bravely appearing in court, completing self-salvation and reconciliation. The villain has no subjective perspective throughout the whole process, and only serves as the axis of fate and the bullseye of the competition, making the game between good and evil more in-depth and tense.
There are three deep-seated contests hidden in the book: the long-term cat-and-mouse game between police and criminals, the power struggle in the anti-corruption campaign, and the inner confrontation between victims and trauma. Twenty-six years have passed, and the legal principles have been reversed several times, and many people have been dismissed. This is not a shortcoming of the rule of law, but living evidence of the system's self-correction and gradual improvement.
The work combines poetic writing with realistic weight, and the urban scenery is intertwined with the changes of the times. It has both the texture of movie images and the aura of literature. It breaks out of the conventions of crime narratives and is not only a tragedy about the fate of ordinary people, a hymn to the original aspirations of the guardians of the rule of law, but also the history of the growth of the rule of law in a city. It profoundly explains that justice may be delayed, but it will eventually follow persistence and justice and rush to the world.
