Jin night, past events fade with the wind

Author: Zhang Tie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: In this urban emotional novel set in Tianjin, the author adopts the writing style typical of Tianjin people—humor and wit. Every person and event is depicted with a mix of laughter and criticism, with a witty and humorous language, dramatic plot twists, and an early phase of satire that contrasts with the later phase of melancholy. There are tears in the laughter, leaving readers feeling a sense of loss after finishing the book. The protagonist, born in the 1970s, works at a financial institution in Tianjin, while his newly married wife, Lin Tong, is young, beautiful, and works at a travel agency, often traveling. As his university classmate Jiang Xiaoshan develops from a confidante to a lover, the happiness and joy of his married life are gradually shattered. When Lin Tong discovers this, she silently seeks revenge.
Experiencing the common growth of his peers—studying, graduating, working, getting married, and then having an extramarital affair and divorcing—the protagonist records the typical life of those born in the 1970s through his atypical experiences. They use music, sex, and alcohol to mourn their passionate past, reminisce about a youth that will never return, and get entangled in love and desire, passion and decadence, obsession and struggle. As youth fades away, love ends tragically in desolation. Only memory can bid farewell, and only through farewells can the once-passionate life be restored.
A 2005 internet sensation with over 30 million clicks and 8,000 comments on Sohu and Tianya websites, this is a contribution from the popular Tianjin writer Zhang Yi. It is originally titled Tianjin Night, Red Lights and Green Wine. A cold humor urban novel set in Tianjin, a comprehensive reminiscence of those born in the 1970s, and a tragic love story of the contemporary era.
I’ve noticed the word "farewell" appearing repeatedly in my life and growing wildly, especially in the past two years! Just as I bid farewell to youth, I did so reluctantly, lingering and turning, while it left resolutely and moved further away! Farewell to simple thoughts, farewell to vivid faces, farewell to pop music that one wouldn’t listen to after reaching a certain age, farewell to the once-peaceful life. Farewells are always around me, now ghosts returning to their hometowns! Tianjin Night, Memories of the Wind—used to commemorate the passion and impulses once had, and to remind myself: We once lived so earnestly!