Unruly Season

Author: Wang Meng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1994-10-01
Features: It was an era of criticism and boundary-setting. They dedicated themselves to the revolution—which included revolutionizing themselves—becoming both worldly-wise and innocent, both cold and passionate, both cowardly and brave, both bewildered and clear-headed, both hypocritical and sincere. A mysterious excitement made their hearts race and confused them, a complex challenge made them troubled yet eager to try, an expansive infinity made them marvel yet left them unable to find their place. They stumbled in the whirlwind of politics, and then the world turned upside down, becoming fragmented. Black and white, up and down, right and wrong no longer had any distinction, nor was it necessary to discern or discuss them. They only needed to bow their heads and seek approval. If what was originally wrong is now right? If hatred, revenge, and violence are the truth, while love, trust, and ideals are all illusions, then why live? If the beautiful is indeed real and should have been so from the start, where did all this horror come from? In that deranged season, they experienced the absurdity of earnestness and the tediousness of pretense.