Delivery Rider Earns Top Chinese Literary Honor

A Voice from the Streets

Wang Jibing has spent the better part of his adult life navigating the physical and mental demands of manual labor. After starting as a food delivery rider in 2019, the 56-year-old worker began capturing his surroundings on digital scraps, posting poetry and essays to social media platforms. Now, those dispatches from the front lines of the gig economy have garnered one of the most prestigious honors in the Chinese literary establishment: the Lu Xun Literary Prize.

The award, named after the iconic 20th-century figure often credited as the father of modern Chinese literature, recognizes his latest collection, Low Flight. According to reporting from the BBC, the work draws from the lived experiences of roughly 200 delivery riders whom Wang interviewed. The verses offer an unvarnished look at the pressures inherent in one of the world's most intense labor sectors.

From Manual Labor to the Literary Canon

Wang's journey toward national acclaim was neither linear nor simple. Raised in Jiangsu province, he exited the school system as a teenager to address his family's severe financial hardship. His career prior to delivery work involved a rotating cast of physically draining occupations, from scavenging waste to construction and operating a modest street stall. Despite the relentless pace of his working life, he maintained an enduring commitment to literature.

He gained significant traction online in 2022 when his poem, Man in a Hurry, went viral. The piece stemmed from a frustrating, hours-long delivery shift in 2019 after a customer provided an incorrect address. This digital success paved the way for the 2023 publication of his first collection, which bore the same title. The transition from a worker to an award-winning poet has placed him in the spotlight, a position he admits is uncomfortable.

When news of the Lu Xun prize broke on July 15, Wang told the Global Times that he was deeply nervous. He expressed that the subsequent media attention has generated a substantial amount of mental strain. While the monetary value of the award is not publicly declared, historical markers from 2014 suggest the prize could be worth 100,000 Chinese yuan. Regardless of the financial implications, Wang remains steadfast in his commitment to his daily routine.

The Reality of the Gig Economy

Wang insists that his newfound status will not alter his lifestyle. He plans to continue working as a delivery rider until he turns 60, citing a genuine affection for the rhythm of the job and the physical fitness it demands. He views his work as a grounding force, noting that he wants a life that remains connected to the earth. To him, the award is a recognition of the material he has gathered, not a ticket to a different social strata.

The lines of his poetry often reflect this perspective, such as his assertion in Low Flight: Who says spreading your wings means flying high? Flying low is also flying. This thematic focus on the dignity of labor resonates with a broader trend in China, where blue-collar workers are increasingly capturing the public imagination through their own personal narratives.

A Growing Movement of Worker-Authors

Wang’s rise is part of a larger, observable shift in Chinese literature where working-class writers are documenting their own struggles. This phenomenon gained significant momentum with the 2017 viral success of Fan Yusu, whose autobiographical essay about the trials of a migrant worker generated such intense interest that she eventually had to seek temporary seclusion to avoid the sheer volume of media requests.

Similarly, in 2023, former courier Hu Anyan published I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. The memoir quickly became a runaway bestseller, securing a wide readership both within China and across international markets following an English translation. These authors, including Wang, are utilizing the medium of their everyday experiences to challenge the perception of the labor force as an invisible or purely functional entity. They are providing a necessary, granular view of the challenges faced by those who keep the nation's massive delivery networks functioning.

As for the man who inspired the prize itself, Lu Xun remains a central figure in this conversation. His satirical critiques of traditional Chinese society continue to hold weight today, with characters like Kong Yiji being resurrected by younger generations to express modern disillusionment with the job market. By winning an award named for a writer who prioritized the common person, Wang Jibing has effectively bridged the gap between the historic literary tradition and the contemporary, often frantic, realities of the modern gig worker.