Eighties (Interview)

Author: Zha Jianying, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This is a dialogue series centered around the context and thematic concerns of the "1980s." The moderator selected interviewees who were influential figures of the era, including Bei Dao, A Cheng, Liu Suola, Li Duo, Chen Danqing, Li Xianting, Chen Pingyuan, Gan Yang, Cui Jian, Lin Xudong, and Tian Zhuangzhuang, who belong to various fields such as poetry, fiction, music, art, film, philosophy, and literary studies. The dialogues extract hot topics from relevant fields that remain relevant for discussion today, aiming to recreate the scene and atmosphere of this uniquely significant decade in 20th-century Chinese history. At the same time, they review and reflect on the social intellectual landscape of the 1980s. The 1980s were a brief, fragile yet distinctive and captivating period in contemporary Chinese history. The interviewees, speaking from their personal perspectives and professional backgrounds, recall and reflect on that past era, analyze the present, and gaze into and imagine the future. Although the book records many precious memories, it does not become a "nostalgia project." Most interviewees do not simply romanticize the 1980s, despite their youthful vigor and rising fame at the time. The attitude of these reminiscers is not one of blind nostalgia or praise but rather an attempt to be as candid and objective as possible in analyzing the limitations of themselves and the era, as well as delving deeply into, critiquing, and reflecting on many of the sensational phenomena, events, figures, and cultural driving forces of the time.