In one sense, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure tale, and Young Fu himself resembles many another young hero of initiation-adventure fiction. Young and naive at first, he wanders the streets of a great city, which he sees romantically as a place of wonder. Then, when he witnesses violence and murder, the city becomes tinged with terror. His initiation into the ways of the world exposes him to certain classic situations reminiscent of other works of fiction: a great fire, during which he is first tested for courage; a "plague" of cholera and typhus, where, with people dying and falling gravely ill all around him, he responds with concern and compassion; a river voyage, during which he encounters bandits and reacts with poise and intelligence; a rampaging flood, from which he rescues an elderly couple; and an encounter with drugsmugglers, whose...