Northward

Original Title:  北上

Author: Xu Ze Chen
Raw Link : Bei Shang
Male Lead: Ou Hao
Female Lead: Bai Lu

The renowned author Xu Zechen completed a new epic novel, “Northward,” after four years of dedicated creation. This vast and profound work intertwines history and the present, narrating a hundred-year “secret history” among several families along the Grand Canal.

Xie Pingyao, one of the protagonists, accompanies Xiaobolu on a journey, gathering various grassroots figures of Chinese society such as the porter Shao Changlai, the boat boss Xia, and the brothers of the Yihequan movement, Sun. They start from Hangzhou and Wuxi, traveling northward along the Grand Canal.

This journey is not only an academic exploration but also a reflection on the identity and fate of intellectuals, and above all, a quest for roots. When they finally reach the northernmost end of the canal – Tongzhou, Xiaobolu tragically passes away. Simultaneously, the Qing government orders the cessation of canal transportation, marking the beginning of the canal’s substantive decline.