Shanghai Forest

Author: Zhang Cuo Yuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: That Boy Is Really Handsome is in the spotlight, and Shanghai Forest is here! China Book Business copyright auction work! It sparked fierce competition among dozens of renowned publishing houses! In the bustling world, there is a touch of desolation; amidst the storms, a hint of fragrance awaits. The urban life and emotional journeys of a group of university students are depicted in this sincere and compassionate work. It records the fluctuating nature of human beings while also reflecting the survival struggles of contemporary youth. Every sensitive and restless young person in the modern era will see a reflection of their own life in the novel, especially those about to enter society. "I haven’t yet given up on the word 'love.' This city is so vast—among millions of people, maybe there’s still a girl who would treat me with sincerity. Maybe there’s someone like that? As long as I can wait for her to appear, the loneliness, grievances, hardships, and poverty I’ve endured won’t matter. Even if life hits me head-on again, I can bravely accept it."
A few young graduates, carrying their dreams, arrive in Shanghai one after another. They meet by chance yet inevitably, establish connections, and experience various relationships. On the grand stage of life in Shanghai, they use their emotions and experiences to stage a series of thought-provoking youth tragedies and comedies. The characters and plot in the novel bear a clear "urban" mark, with the experiences and struggles of the main characters vividly portraying the emotional dilemmas and life experiences of contemporary urban youth. The author, through their own experiences and observations, paints a "" of contemporary urban youth.
Liu Jihan, the male protagonist of Shanghai Forest. At the beginning of the novel, the author (perspective) unexpectedly receives a call from Liu’s ex-girlfriend after he goes missing to the United States, thus opening Liu Jihan’s diary and plunging into his world. The author believes that many young people, or perhaps a certain group of people, are living or about to live the life of Jihan. If his life story were written, it would hold great meaning for them.
Just after graduating from university, Liu Jihan, like most of his peers, arrives in Shanghai with dreams and passion, full of enthusiasm for work. Of course, there’s also love, and a beloved woman. The of youth seems to arrive as expected. But the impact of reality comes quickly. His girlfriend Yuze leaves unexpectedly, and Liu Jihan’s life slides rapidly from one point to another. After painful choices, Liu Jihan runs to Shanghai, determined to start anew. In this city, he gradually learns to keep love deeply hidden in his heart, connects with colorful characters who are also struggling in reality.
Under the author’s clever arrangement, he gradually experiences the pain of unemployment, the psychological, the shattering of dreams, death, betrayal, numbness, ugliness, separation, fragmentation, and fate. After enduring one major blow after another in life, Liu Jihan begins to doubt life, doubt everything around him, especially his ability to love. In the end, the world divides into only two parts for him: himself and everything else. The gap between these two halves grows wider and wider. In the bustling world of Shanghai, Liu Jihan once again becomes an outcast on the fringes of society. He remains attached to life and reality but can only watch it all with indifference. Although he knows life must go on, real life still needs to be faced, and he must retain some faith in life.
Just like the author says in the last paragraph of the main text: "I haven’t yet given up on the word 'love.' This city is so vast—among millions of people, maybe there’s still a girl who would treat me with sincerity. Maybe there’s someone like that? As long as I can wait for her to appear, the loneliness, grievances, hardships, and poverty I’ve endured won’t matter. Even if life hits me head-on again, I can bravely accept it."
We see our own shadows in Jihan, Yuze, Siyi, Roudi, Lin Shuji, and Mei Yechui. In Liu Jihan’s confusion and disarray, we touch a heart that is both chaotic and pure, just like the original you. The backgrounds of the characters in the novel are simple, without complex interpersonal relationships, and long passages of inner monologue directly express the protagonists’ emotions, bringing the characters to life. The restless and empty inner world of urban dwellers, their confused and fragile state of survival, are perfectly conveyed behind the author’s effortless narration. What life cannot bear is the longing for love, the persistence for freedom and truth, and the compassion for the suffering of human existence.