Three Pieces of Young Ginger is a novel about growing up. It tells stories of three boys of the same age, Xijia Kangrui, a fan of animals, Wan Juan, who enjoys fantasying, and Meng Da, a football fan. Like three pieces of spicy young ginger, they express their dissatisfaction with life, taste their respective sadness, and grow up in the way they like. Though look alike, when you get closer, you realize they are as different as you can never find one identical piece of ginger.
Three Pieces of Young Ginger is one of the typical growing up fiction books of Chang Xin'gang, reflecting the realistic home-school life of contemporary children. Through these painful, hopeful growing up stories, the author conveys his profound thought on the education system and family relationship and calls for more spaces for children to express, to make choices, and to try and fail.