The Passer-by

• One Act Play by Lu Shun (1881-1936), Chinese writer

• Characters:
1. An old man, about 70 yrs.
2. A girl, about 10 yrs.
3. A passer-by, between 30 and 40 yrs.

The theme of the play: Picture of a decaying, corrupt society during pre-revolution China (i.e., before 1911-12 revolution that ended China’s last imperial dynasty, Qing dynasty, and established the Republic of China.) Everywhere there is tyranny in the society. There are celebrities and landlords for whom there is wealth and luxury, whereas there are expulsions and cages of all sorts for the poor.

Plot summary: A passer-by comes limping from the east direction while a little girl is trying to help an old man get into the hut. The passerby has a hermit-like appearance, is thirsty, and his foot is wounded. He asks for water to drink. The old man orders the girl to give water to the passerby, and then asks his name, where he has come from, and where he is going. The passerby replies that he doesn’t have any particular name, and he doesn’t know where he is coming from, and where he is heading to. He says that he has been always walking, and that there is only continuation of his journey, no finality. Moreover, he says that he can neither stop walking nor return to where he came from because, according to him, everywhere there is tyranny in the society, there is wealth and luxury for celebrities and landlords but there are expulsions and cages of all sorts for the poor. The passerby is running away from such awful situation. The girl gives him a cloth to tie over his wounded foot, but it becomes too short. He tries to return it but the girl doesn’t accept it back. Then, he thanks the old man and the girl for their kindness and heads forward in his journey.