Lu Xun is considered the father of modern Chinese literature. He is known for his honest, sharp observations of Chinese society. "My Old Home" is a story about memory and change. It follows a narrator who returns to his hometown after more than twenty years away. He finds that the place, and the people in it, are nothing like what he remembered. The story shows the painful gap between the beautiful pictures we keep in memory and the disappointing reality we find when we return.
The narrator gazes out at his hometown, unsettled by how grey and lifeless it looks.
Returning Home
The narrator travels back to his hometown in the depth of winter. He has been away for over twenty years. As his boat draws near, he sees the towns and villages under a grey, lifeless sky. Everything looks drab and desolate. He feels a heavy sadness he cannot explain. This is not the lovely countryside he remembers. He wonders if his memory was wrong all along. Or perhaps his own sad mood is coloring what he sees.
His purpose in returning is not a happy one. He has come to say a final goodbye to his old family home. The house has already been sold. His family must move away to a distant place where the narrator now works.
Arrival at the Old Compound
At the old family compound, the narrator finds broken, withered vines on the roof. There is a heavy silence over the house. This shows that other branches of the family have already moved away. His mother welcomes him warmly. But he can see sadness behind her smile. His young nephew, Hong'er, watches him shyly from a distance. Mother and son begin making arrangements. They plan to sell the remaining furniture and move north.
The narrator's mother welcomes him warmly, though sadness lingers behind her smile.
Remembering Young Runtu
It is here that the narrator's mother mentions an old friend, Runtu. She says Runtu has been asking about him. He hopes to visit soon. This brings back a vivid childhood memory. The narrator remembers a twelve-year-old boy standing under a bright moon in a watermelon field. A silver ring hangs around his neck. He fights off a small animal called a zha with a pitchfork.
The narrator explains how he first met Runtu. It was almost thirty years earlier. At that time, his own family was still well-off. Runtu's father was hired as a "busy-monther," a kind of seasonal worker. His job was to help guard the family's sacrificial items during an important ceremony. This small detail also shows something important about society at the time. Workers were labeled as "yearlongs," "short-timers," or "busy-monthers." This depended on how much they depended on wealthy families for work. It was a small but telling sign of the deep inequality of the period.
The narrator's cherished memory of young Runtu, brave and full of life in the watermelon field.
Runtu wore a silver neck ring. It was a talisman his father had gotten to protect him. His father believed it would keep him safe from death. Runtu was shy around adults. But he opened up freely with the narrator. The two boys became close friends within a single day.
Runtu told the narrator many exciting stories. He talked about catching birds in the snow. He described collecting colorful shells on the beach. He explained guarding watermelon patches at night against badgers and zha. He even spoke of seeing "jumper fish" leap near the shore. The narrator had only ever seen a small square of sky above his family's courtyard walls. Runtu's stories opened up a world full of wonder he never knew existed.
Their friendship was innocent and equal. There was no thought of class or status between them. This reminds many readers of the mythological friendship between Krishna and Sudama. Two boys from very different backgrounds shared genuine affection. When the New Year ended, Runtu had to return home. Both boys cried at the separation. They exchanged small gifts for a while afterward. But eventually, they lost touch completely.
A Bitter Encounter
Before Runtu arrives, the narrator has an unpleasant encounter. He meets Second Sister Yang, a neighbor once called the "Beancurd Beauty." He barely recognizes her now. She accuses him of having grown proud and rich. She mocks him for not remembering her. On her way out, she even steals a pair of his mother's gloves. This is a sharp, almost comic portrait of a bitter, small-minded woman. Hard times have shaped her into someone suspicious and unkind. The author draws her with gentle irony.
Second Sister Yang mocks the narrator, accusing him of forgetting old neighbors out of pride.
Runtu's Arrival as an Adult
Then Runtu finally arrives. The narrator is shocked by the change in him. The lively, round-faced boy of memory is gone. In his place stands a thin, pale, wrinkled man. His eyes are red-rimmed from years of wind and hard labor. His hands are rough and cracked like tree bark.
Most painfully, Runtu greets him formally. He calls him "Master" instead of the old, easy "Brother." He even makes his own son bow to the narrator. This single word destroys the equality of their old friendship. The narrator understands that a heavy, invisible wall has grown between them. Class differences created by society have divided them as adults.
Runtu, now worn and aged, greets the narrator formally as "Master."
The narrator asks Runtu how he is doing. Runtu describes a life crushed by heavy taxes. There is constant demand for money, war, and bad harvests. He also has too many children to feed. Life has been so difficult that all feeling seems worn out of his face. It has become as still as carved wood.
Before leaving, the narrator's family helps Runtu. They give him whatever furniture and household items he can use. This includes tables, candlesticks, an incense burner, and kitchen ashes for fertilizer. It is a small but genuine gesture of help toward their old friend.
Sailing Away, Looking Toward Hope
As the narrator sails away from his hometown for the last time, he feels strangely free of regret. But he is overwhelmed by a sense of isolation. It feels as though a high wall separates him from everyone else. He notices that his nephew Hong'er has already started missing Runtu's son, Shuisheng. He hopes the next generation will not grow up as divided from one another as he and Runtu have become.
Yet he also does not want the children to inherit either kind of difficult life. He does not want them to have his own restless, wandering life. He does not want them to have Runtu's harsh, hopeless life either. The story ends on a note of quiet, uncertain hope. The narrator compares hope to a path across open land — it does not exist on its own, but comes into being only when many people choose to walk the same way together.
The narrator and Hong'er sail toward the future, carrying a quiet, uncertain hope.
Key Points to Remember
The narrator — a reflective, sensitive man who returns home only to feel a painful gap between memory and reality; he feels sadness, isolation, and eventually a fragile, uncertain hope for the future.
Runtu — once a lively, knowledgeable, free-spirited boy; as an adult, he becomes a poor, worn-down farmer, crushed by heavy taxes, war, bad harvests, and family burdens. His formal greeting of "Master" shows how social class has destroyed their old friendship.
Second Sister Yang — a sharp-tongued, bitter neighbor who accuses the narrator of pride and steals small items from his family, representing how hardship can make people petty and suspicious.
Hong'er and Shuisheng — the narrator's nephew and Runtu's son, whose innocent, easy friendship echoes what the narrator and Runtu once had, offering a small note of hope for the future.
Theme — the story explores how memory idealizes the past, how social class and hardship can destroy even the closest childhood friendships, and how hope, though uncertain, can still guide people toward a better future.
Study this summary carefully to answer exam questions on plot, character, and theme in "My Old Home."