Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Hundred Flowers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Redemption
Journeys and Growth
Suffering, Strength, and Resilience
Home and Family
The Promises and Failures of Communism
Summary
Analysis
Wei returns to Luoyang, all too aware that he will have to wait days for his second request to be processed. He feels tired, hungry, and defeated. The boardinghouse room seems even drearier without Tian, but he imagines his friend encouraging him and tries to smile instead of weeping. Luckily, Clerk Hu seems to take pity on him, processing his second request much faster, and within two days, Wei finds himself on another bus to Ruyang. He feels homeless, and he worries that his money will run out before he sees Sheng.
Even in this bleak moment, Wei refuses to allow himself to be consumed by despair. As he earlier conjured up the image of Liang when he needed strength and companionship, he now mentally calls Tian to his side. Wei draws strength from the realization that he has friends and support beyond his deceased wife.
Themes
Wei closes his eyes; this time, he hears Liang’s voice. She asks him if he remembers the time when Sheng was little, and he insisted on flying his dragon kite even though there was no wind. He ran up and down the street until he was exhausted. Wei told him that the wind would return soon if Sheng could just wait patiently. Liang reminds Wei to take his own advice. He sits still, wanting to reach out for Liang but knowing that she will disappear if he does. Then the bus jerks to a stop. He’s in Ruyang.
When he conjures Liang in his mind, she reminds Wei to be patient. Of course, the lesson comes from Wei himself, since Liang has been dead for many years. But the way that he uses these imagined interactions to feel close to her shows how Wei’s transformation is tied to nurturing his relationships. Wei can—and does—face the world on his own. But he doesn’t want to feel alone. And thanks to the love of his family members, he doesn’t have to.
Themes
