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7฀ History,฀Fiction,฀and฀Metafiction฀ I believe th e interestin g is being transgresse d now , like a historical stage . I n my understanding , Herber t Marcus e ha s expresse d th e sam e ide a i n hi s brilliant wor k One-dimensional Man. O f course , wha t th e Chines e hav e experienced i s a differen t stor y from theirs . In ou r land , wisdo m ha s bee n transgressed, an d turne d int o 'equivocality' ; eroti c lov e ha s bee n transgressed, an d turne d int o 'innocenc e i n thinking ' [-BS&JP] ; when th e interesting i s transgressed, i t would tur n int o solemnit y an d rigidity . Wang Xiaob o (1999:251 ) When everythin g ineluctabl y degenerate s int o reality , m y stor y i s drawin g to a n end . Wang Xiaob o (1999 : 246 ) It i s altogether impossibl e t o live a t all without forgetting . Nietzsche (1983 : 62 ) Wang Xiaobo (BE/hSt , 1952-1997 ) ros e t o fame almos t overnigh t when hi s literary talent was first revealed in a novelette entitled The Age of Gold (it^Brf ft) i n which he reactivate s the remembrance o f a not-too-unusual lov e story during the Cultural Revolution. It won Taiwan's 13th United Daily News Prize for th e Novelett e (1992 ) fo r it s depictio n o f "th e intricat e an d equivoca l relations between se x and politics " (Wan g Xiaobo 1992 : 3). Notwithstanding hi s self-claime d art-for-art's-sak e aesthetics, 1 Wang Xiaobo's works are preoccupied with some essential aspects of life, i.e. wisdom, erotic love and the interesting, which are often denie d his heroes and heroines. His critique o f the hostil e cultura l environmen t fo r thes e thre e essential s i s ubiquitous throughout his works. In Wang's historical imagination, the cours e of Chines e histor y ha s demonstrate d th e defea t o f thes e thre e essentials . History is, to him, an embodiment of their opposites, i.e. folly, impotence an d boredom. It is against this depressing historical background that his characters 176฀Brushing ฀History ฀Against ฀the ฀Grain฀ endeavor to pursue them. Wang's Modern Times Trilogy (fSfft^i^fSl) consist s of The Age of Gold, The Age of Silver (S&BJit) an d The Age of Bronze (WillBfft) , each of which is a further trilog y in itself. It portrays "the true visage of history" (Wang Xiaobo 1999: 252) in three temporal dimensions: the first trilogy depicts the recen t past, i.e. Cultural Revolution; th e second th e future; an d th e thir d the interweaving of the present and the past in a conflation. The titles of these trilogies, i.e . th e age s o f gold , silver , an d bronz e i n succession , easil y evok e implications o f deteriorating an d retrogressiv e history. 2 Indeed , underlyin g Wang Xiaobo's often playfu l an d comic narration i s his deep-seated pessimis m about man's fate . Sexing Chines e Histor y The Age of Gold trilogy, which includes The Age of Gold, Love in an Age of Revolution (^1%0#ffliMS1f), an d The Yin-Yang Spheres of My Life (SWItPSMJrO , caricatures th e Cultura l Revolutio n fro m th e perspectiv e o f sexualit y appropriated a s a too l servin g politica l ends . Wan g Xiaob o situate s hi s characters in a sociocultural situation i n which all activities are geared t o th e needs of revolution an d se x is reduced t o its reproductive rol e only. Wang Er, a someho w idealize d characte r figurin g i n al l thre e novelettes , ha s mor e interest in sex than in revolution. His unrestrained spirit, obeying no law, when coupled wit h hi s resourcefulness i n th e pursui t o f erotic love , distinguishe s him as a social rebel. In the author's parody of a "golden age," men and women are conditione d t o b e neutra l i n sex , fo r i t woul d b e a waste fo r on e...

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