Divorce

Divorce (離婚 Lí hūn)

Written by Lao She (老舍 Lǎo Shě), Divorce was first published in 1933 and ranks among the author’s finest literary achievements. Set in 1930s Beiping, the novel depicts a group of low-ranking civil servants trapped between old feudal customs and chaotic modern ideas. Its title carries layered irony: divorce seems an easy fix for unhappy marriages, yet the story reveals that rigid social norms, suffocating bureaucracy and unspoken human frailties trap ordinary people in endless compromise, making true separation almost unattainable.

Lao She (1899–1966), a towering master of Beijing vernacular literature, specialized in satirical, compassionate tales of common townsfolk. His landmark works include Rickshaw Boy, Teahouse and Camel Xiangzi. The story centers on Li, a melancholy clerk who craves poetic spiritual freedom but is chained to an unromantic rural wife and tedious office drudgery. The warm, meddling matchmaker Zhang Dage dominates the supporting cast, obsessed with mending all broken unions and convinced matchmaking can cure society’s ills. Other vivid figures include scheming petty official Little Zhao, tragic failed physician Ding Erye and a circle of stifled spouses stuck in loveless domesticity.

What makes the novel timeless is its gentle, bittersweet irony. Lao She avoids grand tragedies; instead, he lays bare quiet despair of average people muddling through life, without harsh judgment of their flaws. This brand of subtle social satire strikes universal chords about marital strain and the clash of tradition and modernity.

This exclusive new translation by Arthur Peng restores Lao She’s distinctive Beijing voice with precise cultural annotations. Unlike earlier copyrighted English renditions, it offers unfiltered access to the original text, introducing this underappreciated classic of Republican Chinese fiction to global English readers and bridging cross-cultural understanding of early 20th-century Chinese society.