Bronze Age -- The Trilogy of Ages

Author: Wang Xiaobo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-03-01
Features: The Bronze Age is the third part of the Time Trilogy. This is a long narrative set against the backdrop of ancient China's Tang Dynasty, composed of three works. The protagonists of this series are ancient intellectuals and legendary figures. As a group of individuals pursuing individuality, loving freedom, and striving to live according to their own values and spiritual beliefs, they are filled with a strong desire for creation and a humanistic need. However, they are controlled and twisted by the power struggles of their time, to the point where their wisdom and love are transformed into a farcical spectacle. In this long narrative, the author uses tales of the literary elite, midnight elopements, (thousand-li searches for love), and the creation of great enterprises—such as the splendid and legendary secret stories of the Tang Dynasty—to interweave contemporary romance with Tang Dynasty legends, modernizing the legends and infusing them with modern tastes. Through the narration of the passage of time, the author fuses historical art with a sense of life's ultimate value, ultimately establishing an understanding of the ultimate value of life. This leads to a dialogical narrative style where the narrator carefree travels through the past, present, and future.