Very moving account, thankyou.

which book on the table was his novel, the thinner one or the thicker one?

There are many novels in China talking about the dark years in the Culture Revolution. Wang is not the first and will definitely not be the last. However, his overly decorated worship of English and western cultures really makes me sick.

In my humble opinion, I believe that Wang was trying too much to please his potential English readers in this interview.

David, I think the use of "English" is a poetic device to illustrate the yearning for some system of ethics or reason -- perhaps the young Wang was wrong in thinking that English was a magic portal out of the selfish and savage world around him, but at least it could open up learning more than just the parroted catchphrases of that time.

Jon, I believe that you are right about the metaphor behind 'English' in the novel. The young Wang probably was hiding himself in the English world to avoid facing the brutal reality.

However, my comment was not about the novel but the interview. Any attempt of labelling a culture as more superior or inferior like Wang did in the latter half of the interview can be very dangerous and will only make things worse. No doubt is Wang a great writer, but unfortunately some of his remarks on culture differences also unveiled his limited insight.

Sounds like a worthy piece of literature,I would love to read both the English and Chinese versions, if I find them. Yes, it is about time to reflect back before moving forward and repeating the same insanity of those crazy years in question. Onesidedness of our thought process is a rising dark trend that worries me in contemporary PRC. Indeed, err to be human as they say, Wang is just doing that, don't see anything amiss with that.

Danwei hi, Just curious, is this the whole version of the interview? Have you guys talked about Wang's social life in Urumqi? This may sound "sensetive" to some, but I just can't curb the curiousity, I would love to know how did he negotiate his relationship with the native people in XJ. Did he had any local friends? if not, then we have reasons to beleive the picture is far from complete...ignorance is tearing us apart as a nation of diverse hues...