Chengdu, tonight please forget me

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 on the words of Li Liang in the novel, death is actually the sole 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 lost yet unwilling to surrender to his plight, 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 a bygone era. He indulges in debauchery, revels in excess, lives a life of hedonism, schemes with colleagues, and pursues wealth by any means necessary. He betrays his closest friend, their friendship fragile as a thread, even seducing the other's fiancée. He loves his wife, yet expresses this love by sleeping with other women. On Christmas Eve in Chengdu, Chen Chong dies, turning and turning in his final moments. His dying gaze drifts through the city's sky, wandering and searching, gazing at every humble soul in the world.