This novel embodies both fictional and autobiographical elements, employing a rich tapestry of narrative forms including novels, memoirs, essays, literary criticism, essays, letters, and diaries. It adopts a "meta-fictional" structure, forming a "comprehensive literary style" that fully embodies the spiritual essence of individual life within the universe. The protagonist is sometimes the object of the author's portrayal and observation, while at other times, they directly represent the author himself. This is especially true in distant memories of childhood, personal family changes brought about by the struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, as well as significant historical events and settings such as refugee camps, detention centers, prisons, labor camps, and labor education sites. The narrative also delves into aspects of marriage, relationship changes, the romance of "Autumn Rain and Orchids", and various stages of life experiences and interactions.
Throughout the book, personal life experiences at different stages are interwoven with significant historical scenes, interspersed with the protagonist's or author's reflections on politics, philosophy, history, poetry, morality, ethics, sexuality, human rights, scenery, dwellings, gardens, calligraphy, and cosmic religion, including thoughts on death. It does not follow the traditional structure of a complete narrative recounting the experiences of one person or one generation, yet it does not exclude the use of narrative, structural forms, plots, details, characterizations, and environmental descriptions typical of novels. The author believes that novels have no fixed definition, and his work will forever belong to the fluid and unfinished present and future.
This book is a semi-autobiographical novel, which can also be read as a large-scale "prose poem" or a figurative "history" or grand essay on life. It portrays a frenzied yet authentic life as an individual in the reality of a collective society, with its unique experiences and spiritual rebellions, external and internal life impulses, and hidden desires under authoritarian regimes. It explores the multiplicity and complexity of characters, embodying various personas such as humans, gods, ghosts, beasts, monsters, and demons. It not only depicts the extraordinary life, fate, adventures, challenges, and escapes of an ordinary person but also serves as an artistic record of a series of extreme left-wing political movements launched under the guise of "continuous revolution", depicting the evolution of social utopias across the Eastern land and their inevitable descent into disillusionment and complete collapse.
The manuscript, started at the end of 1979, was secretly completed intermittently over a decade. Its heretical nature led to its prohibition from publication in mainland China, while its purity resulted in its obliteration overseas as well. Therefore, the author's only wish during his lifetime was to salvage this underground literary epic from the ruins and bring it to light.
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