Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain references to suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse, child death, and wartime violence.

“I’m the prodigal son of the Xu family—or, as my dad would say, I’m a bastard.”

This quote addresses the catalyst that propels Fugui and his family into poverty yet also saves their lives—at least temporarily. By spending his family’s wealth on gambling and sex, Fugui is no longer the landlord of the land. While he and his family are destitute as a result, after the Civil War, many landlords are executed, including Long Er, the man who became Fugui’s landlord. Fugui’s prodigal ways both doom and save his family.

“Ever since I was little I’ve been hopeless, as my father would say. My teacher used to say I was a rotten piece of wood that could not be carved. Now that I think about it, they were both right. But at the time that’s not how I saw things. I thought, I’ve got money, I’m the only flame the Xu family still has burning. If I’m extinguished, the Xu family will be finished.”

Although Fugui’s character changes throughout the novel, his self-description is a foreshadowing of things to come. Both Fugui’s children and his only grandchild die, meaning that once Fugui dies, so will the Xu family name. Also important to note is that the extinction of the Xu family line coincides with and represents the end of an era. Fugui’s life spans four decades of Chinese history, and by the end of his life, a new political age is emerging for China.

“I wore a white silk shirt, and my hair was smooth and shiny. Standing in front of the mirror and seeing my head of black, flowing hair, I knew that I looked like a rich man.”

This description demonstrates the differences between the rich and the poor, developing the theme of Political Systems and Class Divides. Not only can the rich afford soft, silk clothes, but they also have the luxury of clean, lustrous hair.