Wolf smoke Beijing

Author: Du Liang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: War novelist Du Liang returns to Beijing with Liang Jian (The Sword of Lightning), igniting the raging smoke of war across the North China Plain and recreating the tumultuous 1930s and 1940s, taking us back to the great War of Resistance and the War of Liberation. Unlike Liang Jian, which depicts battles on the battlefield with swords and horses, Liang Yan Beijing shifts its setting to Beijing, then under occupation and later part of the nationalist-controlled area. This era and background are inherently filled with dramatic tension, making any story unrelatable. Thus, the plot is more thrilling, and the characters more legendary.
Following Liang Jian and Xuesi Luanmang (Romantic Blood), war novelist Du Liang once again brings the story to Beijing, igniting the raging smoke of war across the North China Plain and recreating the tumultuous 1930s and 1940s, taking us back to the great War of Resistance and the War of Liberation. Unlike Liang Jian, which depicts battles on the battlefield with swords and horses, Liang Yan Beijing shifts its setting to Beijing, then under occupation and later part of the nationalist-controlled area. This era and background are inherently filled with dramatic tension, making any story unrelatable. Thus, the plot is more thrilling, and the characters more legendary.
The plot of the book progresses through two interwoven mainlines. The cooperation and rivalry between underground workers from the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China serve as one major storyline. The mystery of intelligence work, the excitement of assassination and eliminating traitors, the brutality of torture and interrogation, the romance intertwined with revolution, and the heart-wrenching deaths—all are tightly connected, creating a rich and vivid narrative. The other storyline focuses on the lower-class characters and their lives. Modern Chinese writer, master of depicting the common folk of Beijing, is undoubtedly Mr. Lao She. His status has remained unchallenged for decades. However, the younger Du Liang has arrived, writing about rickshaw pullers, the Tianqiao market, crickets, teahouses, and street food. The vulgarity of street slang, the true nature of ruffians, the hidden selfishness, apathy, and ugliness of the national psyche are laid bare. These two threads weave back and forth, creating a three-dimensional portrayal of wartime Beijing. Whether it is the vast nation or the ordinary people, they all endure unprecedented suffering and contradictions. And Beijing, accustomed to dynastic changes, stages another performance of rise and fall. (The novel’s timeline does not end here; due to plot requirements, it extends slightly into the Cultural Revolution period.)
Against this grand backdrop, Du Liang examines the plight of the Chinese people—and even humanity—in war, reflecting on the demonic nature of war and its meaning for human civilization. Through the fates of various characters in the novel, Du Liang reveals the unpredictability of life and the rise and fall of history. The sense of sorrow and reflection embedded within the story is the defining characteristic and highest realm of Chinese literature. At the end, the aging Kuomintang military intelligence agent Xu Jinguo stands side by side with the Communist Party underground member Fang Jinglin. On the Jingshan Mountain, bathed in the setting sun, they sigh over the rise and fall, surrounded by a desolate atmosphere.
Through his sensibility and rationality, Du Liang conveys a sense of history and rise and fall that transcends time and society, showcasing his vision and perspective. Discussing the rise and fall of Beijing is, in essence, also discussing the rise and fall of China.