Position on the century

Author: Wang Anyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The Century on the Ridge explores human sexual experience and vitality from the perspective of the intrinsic value of life, using aesthetic awareness to observe and depict these aspects. It reveals the mysteries of life and reflects on the characters through a modern consciousness. The novel examines how instinctual impulses, under the constraint of ignorance that sweeps away all culture, destroy the value of life, and exposes the oppression of youthful vitality by an unsound family and social atmosphere. The old team leader of Da Yangzhuang is aging and frail, and his son, Yang Xuguo, takes over his position, known as the "young team leader." When intellectuals were sent to the countryside, three female (urban youth) arrived in Da Yangzuan. One quickly secured employment, another, sharing the same surname as a local villager, was accepted into the Yang family, while Li Xianqin had no connections or influence and no temporary plan. Her only notable feature was her good looks. During the second recruitment, Li Xianqin went to Yang Xuguo to plead for her exemption. Over time, the two developed mutual feelings. The mother of the Yang student visited the village to meet the old team leader, and the villagers all said that the Yang student was sure to leave. Li Xianqin fell ill for several days. Yang Xuguo stood outside her house, greeted her, and brought her a package of scallion dumplings. Li Xianqin felt much better both in spirit and body, and the next morning she went to work. From then on, Yang Xuguo showed more concern for Li Xianqin. Li Xianqin rode on the back of Yang Xuguo's bicycle back to her home in the county. On the way, she heard that the recruitment was about to begin, and the recommendation form had been sent to the county and would soon be forwarded to the people's. Her heart was in turmoil. On the way back to the village, Li Xianqin took out a pack of Donghai cigarettes and deliberately teased Yang Xuguo. Yang Xuguo rode deliberately onto a deep (furrow) in the road. As dusk fell, they stopped under a tree to rest. Li Xianqin took out the cigarettes again, and Yang Xuguo caught her hand to take them. The two locked eyes for a moment as if something within them suddenly connected, and they both tumbled into the nearby ditch. Her eyes tightly shut, she seemed an innocent lamb waiting to be slaughtered, yet her body trembled as if being shaken through a sieve...