Contemporary Chinese Fiction

Author: Fan Jiajin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The significance of the lane lies in Wang Anyi's grasp of the atmosphere and essence of Shanghai, which merges with her writing style. Listening to the narrator's gentle and unhurried storytelling, you will unconsciously step into a vivid picture of the urban lane culture of Shanghai, deeply nostalgic for that not-so-distant history, now stirred by the rapid changes of reality. Her focus seems less on the story itself and more on the emotions behind it, the myriad sounds and colors of city life. These imagined cities lack specific temporal and spatial coordinates; the lanes, rumors, and secluded chambers are merely generalizations. Wang Anyi abstracts a cultural essence from these concrete generalizations, existing in the urban environment of Shanghai and the joys of love between men and women. She places her inquiry into the nature of time upon Wang Qiyao, the recurring depiction of time's eternal passage in the interplay of light and darkness carries a certain quality of nothingness, permeating the entire work with a hazy, worldly feeling, which sets the emotional tone of The Longing Song. Under this atmosphere, the narrative elements of the novel flow smoothly, reflecting Wang Anyi's intention to write with a sense of rationality.