Character Analysis of White Deer Plain: An Analysis of Human Nature Amidst the Turmoil of a Chaotic Era

 I read Chen Zhongshi's *White Deer Plain* a long time ago, but I didn't fully understand it at the time. All I remember is that the book was thick, had many characters, and a heavy plot. Recently, I came across the audiobook on Bilibili by chance and listened to it again during breaks from gaming. To my surprise, this book re-entered my life years later, yet it felt like opening a deeper window—the sand and wind hit me in the face, yet it was so real it left me breathless.

This novel is like a hoe, digging up what lies buried beneath a century of Chinese soil—the blood of families, the bones of an era, and the fates of those seemingly insignificant little people—fates that are neither small nor light.

Bai Jiaxuan

Bai Jiaxuan is truly the “anchor” of the entire book. He is the quintessential patriarchal “clan leader” of a Chinese village, upholding clan laws, Confucian ethics, and the importance of face. His most representative statement is: “Anything you fear others will discover should not be done; what should be done need not be feared, and the more people who know, the better.”

This statement is quite interesting. In Western philosophy, it aligns with Kant's “principle of publicizability”: if you cannot confidently state an action in front of others, it is likely immoral.

Though Bai Jiaxuan never read Kant's works, he embodied Kant's spirit in practice. He was a steadfast guardian of traditional order, yet also a witness and victim of its gradual decline in the face of societal transformation.

Bai Ling

Bai Ling is Bai Jiaxuan's daughter and my favorite and most heartbreaking character in the book. She is an idealistic, awakened woman who dares to tear up her marriage contract, leave home to pursue education, and throw herself into the revolution—each step treading on the sensitive issues of that era.

But her death was absurd—not at the hands of enemies, but at the hands of “her own people,” buried alive. That absurdity feels like a blow to the head, too painful to dwell on. Her death seems like the era's mocking laugh at idealists: you're too pure, so you can't survive.

“Revolution is not a dinner party,” and Bai Ling's fate reflects the harsh reality behind this statement. Revolution may be great, but it is not kind, and it often devours the most pure idealists first.

Bai Xiaowen

Bai Xiaowen was the eldest son of Bai Jiaxuan and the top candidate to succeed the clan. Initially weak, indulgent, and obsessed with pleasure, his life once hit rock bottom. Later, he joined the Security Corps and quickly rose to the rank of company commander. After a series of twists and turns, he became shrewd and ruthless, gradually transforming into an opportunist in the realm of power.

Bai Xiaowen's transformation may seem like a betrayal of his original ideals, but in reality, he had simply adapted too well to the times. When morality was useless, he discarded it; when face was an obstacle, he donned someone else's face. He became the most qualified survivor of that chaotic era and the most pragmatic betrayer of tradition.

Lu Zilin

Lu Zilin was Bai Jiaxuan's old rival. He lacked Bai Jiaxuan's moral principles and was a calculating realist. Unlike Bai Jiaxuan, who adhered to rules, or Bai Xiaowen, who was “on the right path,” Lu Zilin was particularly skilled at maneuvering. He could flatter people and also scheme against them; he was the kind of person who seemed destined to succeed.

He pretends to be a gentleman on the surface, but his heart is filled with corruption. He is lustful, selfish, calculating, and hypocritical—in short, a “smooth operator” who is fundamentally corrupt.

Lu Zilin embodies the “clever individuals” of China's transitional period: he seizes every opportunity to climb the social ladder while maintaining a facade of decency and ethics. However, history is unforgiving toward such individuals. Even those skilled in calculation cannot outwit the mysteries of fate, and he ultimately could not escape his downfall.

Lu Zhaopeng

Lu Zhaopeng is Lu Zilin's son and a young revolutionary. Unlike Bai Ling, he was more composed, more organized, and better at setting aside personal emotions. He lacked the “literary” romanticism and was more a product of political reality.

He succeeded, but he was not the kind of “revolutionary hero” people particularly admired. He was too rational, too “correct,” to the point where one might wonder—was it only such people who deserved to survive to the end?

Heiwa  

Heiwa is the son of Lu San, Bai Jiaxuan's laborer. He has little education and is a typical example of the lowest strata of society. While working as a laborer for Guo Juren, he eloped with Guo Juren's concubine Tian Xiao'e and lived with her in a cave dwelling. Later, he joined the Farmers' Association to participate in the revolution, becoming a backbone and leader of the organization. After its failure, he retreated to the mountains to become a bandit. Under Bai Xiaowen's persuasion, he led his bandit brothers to surrender to the Security Battalion. Ultimately, during the Liberation War, he was executed in Bailu Town alongside Tian Fuxian and Yue Weishan.

Tian Xiao'e 

Tian Xiao'e was Guo Juren's concubine, expelled from the household for her affair with Hei Wa. She was a tragic woman oppressed by tradition, yearning for freedom and love. Unlike Bai Ling, she was uneducated, so while she dared to resist, she lacked the necessary ability and understanding, often being exploited by others. She was viewed by Lu San as a “menace” and ultimately killed by him.

Mr. Zhu

Mr. Zhu was Bai Jiaxuan's brother-in-law and a highly respected scholar on Bai Lu Yuan. He was like a pine tree on a mountain, proud, self-disciplined, and upright, but out of place in the harsh reality of Bai Lu Yuan. The two lines engraved on his tombstone after his death—“Heaven's vengeance can be avoided, but man's vengeance cannot be escaped” and " How long will this turmoil continue?" seemed like a sigh of despair shouted at this absurd world with his life.  

Mr. Zhu embodied the “last dignity of traditional scholars,” but this dignity was not inherited by anyone.