Silver Age

Author: Wang Xiaobo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: The Age of Silver is the second part of the Trilogy of Time. It is a long narrative composed of a series of works set in a fictional timeline. These works depict intellectuals who grew up in this century and lived into the next, recalling and describing their predecessors while also narrating their own lives. Rather than predicting the future world, it is more like an allegory of modern life, an anti-utopian story. The future world in which the protagonist lives is not better than the present; on the contrary, it has exacerbated the absurdity of modern life. As individuals, the intellectuals are cast into increasingly absurd situations. The author uses two narrative frameworks: in one, he writes about a painter and novelist who are beaten in a police station and their extraordinary love; in the other, he portrays himself as a future historian, who, adhering to the principles of historical writing, commits various "mistakes" and, in the end, returns to his original life and identity, becoming a "normal person" with no desires. These two narratives often intersect and overlap. In the conflict between what is deemed "realistic" and "fictional," the author creates a situation where he can freely interject, satirize, mock, and analyze with a playful tone.