Chengdu, please forget me tonight

Author: Murong Xuecun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Death has always been a theme I hold dear, as it is the ultimate and all-encompassing conclusion. Drawing from the words of Li Liang in the novel, "Death is actually the only purpose of survival." Unlike common understanding, I believe Chen Chong's suffering stems not from his character but merely from the essence of survival itself. Because the suffering is so profound, survival becomes increasingly questionable. A common man, Chen Chong—a city youth who is but unwilling to fully succumb, an idealist who searches for flowers in a dung heap. When his body sinks deep into a materialistic city, his soul keeps yearning for the pure ideals of his former self. He indulges in debauchery, revels in excess, and lives a life of hedonism; he schemes with colleagues, pursuing wealth at any cost; he betrays his best friend, their friendship fragile as a thread, even seducing his friend's fiancée. He loves his wife but expresses this love by sleeping with other women. On Christmas Eve in Chengdu, Chen Chong dies, turning over and over. His dying gaze wanders through the city's sky, lingering and scanning, fixed on every humble soul in the world.