Golden Age

Author: Wang Xiaobo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Wang Xiaobo Works Series, Trilogy of the Times. Selected by The Week Asia as "Top 100 Chinese Novels of the 20th Century" and "The Most Beautiful Harvest" in Contemporary Chinese Literature. The Golden Age, The Silver Age, and The Bronze Age are the essence of Wang Xiaobo's works. The "Trilogy of the Times" appears to be a collection of Wang Xiaobo's works, with seemingly no connection between each volume, but in fact, there is a logical sequence. This logical sequence is as follows: Novels in The Golden Age depict the real world; novels in The Silver Age depict the future world; and stories in The Bronze Age all take place in the past. The Golden Age is one of the volumes in the "Trilogy of the Times." It is a long series of works set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution. The 1960s and 1970s, when the Cultural Revolution occurred, were a period of disaster for our country and nation. During that time, intellectuals were helpless as radical-left politics reigned. As intellectuals who suffered discrimination, they often lost their sense of self-will and personal dignity. In this series of works, the male protagonist, named "Wang Er," finds himself in a terrifying and absurd environment, subjected to various injustices, but he breaks free from the grief and resentment of traditional intellectuals and creates a way of rebellion and transcendence: since he cannot prove his innocence, he tends to prove his guilt. Thus, he uses sexuality as his last bastion against the outside world, portraying it as both unrestrained and pure, without shame, and carries it through with passion, challenging conventional norms and political prejudices with extreme sharpness yet full of humor. Time and again, he is persecuted and oppressed, yet he remains composed and optimistic, achieving a complete victory in terms of value. The author uses a brilliant light to illuminate the pervasive oppression of that era, lifting people's spiritual world out of the tragic shadows of history.