Chinese Literature and Culture - Volume 10 - October 2017

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This volume features Xiao Su's story "Liu Chunshui the Moral Model."
In the conditioning of civilized human behavior, society looks for good examples but good examples are hard to find because to err is human--we are all flawed in one way or another, hence the difficulty facing Luo Rihuan the retiring head of Rapeseed Slope Village in the township of Old Vale in his ten attempts, nine of which have failed, to get someone in his village selected the Moral Model of the Year in the township.
A moral model thus selected is expected to be perfect, a living saint among the common people, flawless in every way, meeting all expectations of social engineers.
However, in his truthful way of storytelling, Xiao Su resolves to disappoint us. He lets the three main characters--the village head, a family member of the moral model, and the moral model himself--speak in turn, each as truthfully as they can. The village head truthfully reveals his motive and hardship in getting someone accepted as moral model of the township, the family member truthfully tells us why the moral model has his due recognition, and the moral model truthfully tells us why he does not deserve the honor. Then, the reader can faintly gather from the story that all the truths point to one lie.