Liu E

The Travels of Lao Can Liu E

In his lifetime Liu E had achieved success as a physician, author and humanitarian. His work on the Yellow River, the opening of the Shanxi iron mine, the distribution of rice to starving people in Beijing, the discovery of the oracle bones and the writing of The Travels of Lao Can were achievements any single one of which might have made a man proud. But active, creative and at times even luxurious as was his life, it was tinged throughout with bitterness and melancholy, the melancholy of all far-sighted Chinese of that period.

In his own introduction to The Travels of Lao Can, Lie E explained that the book was wrung from him as a cry of anguish: "Now we grieve for our own life, for our country, for our society and for our culture. The greater our grief the more bitter our outcry; and thus this book was written. The game of chess is drawing to a close and we are growing old. How can we refrain from lamentation?" So he expressed his sadness at the decadence of the Qing dynasty.

The use of language, observations and detailed descriptions all show the author's originality. Among late Qing dynasty novels, The Travels of Lao Can is, artistically, a prominent work.