This is a collection of 15 short stories written by the famous Chinese author Mao Tun during the period of 1927-44. Through these stories he depicts Chinese society in the thirties calamities in the countryside and economic depression, caused by the dual pressure of imperialist aggression and feudal exploitation, as well as the misery of the people and the process of their awakening. He also describes the upheavals experienced by people of various classes and strata during the period of the Japanese invasion. He portrays various characters, including those workers who heroically resisted the enemy students who took part in movements to save the nation weak-kneed vacillating petty-bourgeois intellectuals wealthy capitalists who hated the people and supported the reactionary policies of the Kuomintang government stock exchange speculators, women employees and young, homeless waifs in the cities. Dealing with a wide range of subjects, this book is a mirror of the old China after the failu