Reading Notes on "Black and White"

Original Author: Tiandao -  June 23, 2025, 12:30

I first began reading "Black and White" in early 2024 upon a friend's recommendation, and discovered it to be a profoundly realistic work rich in philosophical depth.

"Black and White" chronicles the lives of several young people born in the 1960s and 70s, following their coming-of-age journey from the 1980s through the early years of the new millennium. It weaves together their friendships, romantic relationships, and the tumultuous trajectories of their lives amid the currents of historical change. Their personal journeys reflect the history of China's reform and opening-up from the 1980s to the present, extending back to encompass a century of Chinese revolutionary history from the early 1900s.

Through narrating the destinies of central characters like Gu Zheng, Wang Sheng, Du Wei, and Ba Dong, along with the intricate web of social relationships that emerge from their stories, "Black and White" assembles a cast of representative figures from all social strata—from high-ranking officials and business elites to the impoverished masses at society's bottom. There is Wang Shengli, who considers the collective good; Tian Fang and Principal Yu Jiefang, who quietly dedicate themselves to rural education; second-generation revolutionaries and officials' children; business elites, and many others. This novel focuses on major events in a century of Chinese history, particularly the reform era. In the tide of reform, some people gradually drift from their original intentions, embarking on paths of speculation and exploitation that oppress the people, while others, though influenced by the times, ultimately rediscover their original hearts and missions. The collective experiences of the novel's numerous characters construct the history of China from the New Democratic Revolution through the socialist period, especially the reform and opening-up era, sketching the social transformations and changes in people's hearts during this historical period. It stands as a weighty literary work.

From the perspective of character genealogy, the "people" in "Black and White" can be divided into three generations: old, middle-aged, and young. Luo Zheng, Wang Shengli, and the old principal represent the older generation; Wang Sheng, Gu Zheng, Tian Fang and others form the middle-aged generation; while Tian Jingjing, Zong Xiaoxiao and others represent the younger generation, together forming a complete "people's sequence." From a standpoint perspective, the characters in "Black and White" can also be categorized into three types: "those who struggle and fight for the people's interests," "those who are exploited and oppressed," and "those who exploit and oppress the people"—the first category includes those mentioned above. The petitioning masses of Phoenix Town, the laid-off workers from Donggang Group who engaged in "mass disturbances," and women like Lu Jia, Meng Fei, and Cheng Lei—these "insulted and injured" [note: reference to Dostoevsky's novel] women from society's bottom who are forced by circumstances to sell their songs and bodies—belong to the second category. Standing as the opposition to the "people" are Song Qiankun, Wu Bozhong, Du Wei, Hong Taixing, and the father-son pair Ba Guangming and Ba Dong, representing privileged interest groups and corrupt dark forces—these form the third category.

Against a broad and complex social backdrop, "Black and White" exposes and criticizes the dark and corrupt forces represented by Wu Bozhong and Du Wei, as well as the privileged groups and foreign comprador capitalists like Song Qiankun, Lang Tao, and Hong Taixing. Evil and justice, black and white, beauty and ugliness, good and evil interweave to stage scene after scene of thrilling, thought-provoking human dramas, creating what can be called a contemporary Chinese social panorama.

In class society, every person lives within a certain class, and their thoughts and consciousness are inevitably marked by class characteristics. Many contemporary propaganda works, literature, and film and television productions express the view that common people are often portrayed as ignorant, petty, and mercenary, while the bourgeoisie appears upright and far-sighted, engaging in charity and donating money and goods to impoverished areas, creating an image of capitalists full of love and compassion who help the poor get rich. But much of this is merely the surface benevolence of capitalists. We must not forget that the capitalist's goal is to pursue surplus value. In recent years, companies like Pangdonglai [note: a Chinese retail chain known for employee welfare] that fight for more benefits and interests for their employees have instead been pushed into the spotlight and criticized by many capitalists, because capitalists believe such behavior is detrimental to their extraction of surplus value.

In "Black and White," mainstream society's image perceptions undergo a reorganization. The novel's portrayal of reformers and grassroots masses differs greatly from mainstream social perceptions. The reformers in "Black and White" continuously seek private gain during the reform process, gradually moving toward opposition to the people. The "enlightened" old cadre Song Qiankun, while boldly carrying out reforms, forms cliques for personal gain and abuses power for private interests, converting elementary school buildings into residences for old cadres and using fiscal allocations to build luxurious villas for high-ranking officials. The "young reformer" Du Wei, born to vegetable farmers at society's bottom, crosses over from the ranks of working people by flattering leaders and currying favor with the powerful. To achieve his goals, he stops at nothing, collaborating with Wu Bozhong in corrupt activities on Phoenix Island, engaging in collusion between officials and merchants, manipulating court proceedings to send Wang Sheng to prison. He is profit-driven, sycophantic, ambitious, and unscrupulous, making "getting ahead" his sole life creed. Such people have been commonplace in Chinese society since the 1980s and 90s. Hong Taixing, a "second-generation revolutionary" and descendant of revolutionaries who participated in the revolution in his youth and made outstanding contributions, leveraged his identity and social circles to amass vast resources after leaving the military and returning to his hometown. He sought benefits for himself by exploiting national policies to resell military supplies. Even after being dismissed from office, he continued to manipulate various aspects of society through his network of connections, becoming the omnipotent "Master Hong of Beijing." The reforms of these so-called "reformers" and trend-setters were nothing more than seeking benefits for the few under the banner of benefiting the majority. Du Wei, Wu Bozhong, Lang Tao, Song Qiankun, Hong Taixing, Ba Dong and others are undoubtedly the strong in this society. Each wears the halo of a reformer, getting whatever they want, acting with impunity, appearing invincible. While shouting about "cutting a bloody path forward," they use the power in their hands to appropriate wealth that originally belonged to all the people, becoming a vested interest class. Workers and farmers, who were once the masters, have been reduced to vulnerable groups, subjected to wanton humiliation and abuse, laid off, with welfare and security stripped away...

In contrast to these "reformers," the common people in "Black and White" are often upright and kind, possessing a spirit that refuses to bow to evil forces. Wang Shengli, a war hero and brick factory director, fought bravely during the revolutionary period, actively participated in socialist construction after liberation, and despite suffering injustices during the Cultural Revolution, never changed his loyalty to the revolution. Facing Ba Guangming's corruption, Wang Shengli persistently struggled against him, never being bought by Ba Guangming's threats and inducements. His son Wang Sheng, after a long psychological struggle, ultimately chose justice over interests when faced with the choice, fighting against the corrupt group of Du Wei and Wu Bozhong, gradually returning to the people's position. Teacher Tian Fang of Phoenix Island gave up her studies at the women's normal school so that Phoenix Island students could receive education, ultimately sacrificing her life while traveling to teach students on Sharp Point Island. When faced with Wang Sheng's case, Gu Zheng chose not to collude with her senior colleague Huang Zipeng, but instead provided defense for Wang Sheng in a case with virtually no chance of success. For ten years, Luo Zheng searched for the traitor responsible for the "Phoenix Island Bloodshed" that led to the sacrifice of over a hundred cadres and soldiers from the Dongjiang Provincial Committee leadership and military region general hospital, not hesitating to break with his old leader Song Qiankun, which cost him his career prospects, leaving him sidelined for years and even imprisoned. Facing the phenomenon of Nie Changhai and Wu Bozhong forcibly occupying Phoenix Island residents' land, Luo Zheng joined with the old principal of Phoenix Island and the island's people to struggle against Wu Bozhong. The old principal held fast to his post for decades, loving Tian Fang and Tian Jingjing like his own daughters, truly caring for and nurturing them. Every Qingming Festival [note: traditional Chinese tomb-sweeping day], he would go to Little Dragon Mountain to commemorate the sacrificed Dongjiang Provincial Committee leaders and over a hundred cadres from the military region general hospital. He was loyal to the collective and to socialism, and was still reading "The Communist Manifesto" on his deathbed. The common people in "Black and White" possess a strong fighting spirit; they are not ignorant empty shells who pin their fate on so-called "reformers." They bravely resist real injustices, becoming true masters of their own destiny.

From "Black and White," we can see a stark contrast in civil society before and after the 1980s. In Chairman Mao's era, most workers, farmers, and cadres loved labor, loved the collective, and loved socialism. They had ideals and vitality, were filled with the sense of justice and responsibility of being masters, and advocated serving the people—figures like Luo Zheng, who came from underground work; Wang Shengli, the brick factory director; Lu Shengping, the military factory director; and Gu Zhizhen, the engineer at Dongjiang Steel Factory. All these people were upright and hated evil like enemies. Yet these admirable and lovable figures experienced earth-shaking changes in their fates during the reform and opening-up era—they either became marginalized figures and vulnerable groups in society, or fell from positions as reformers to become embezzlers. Luo Zheng, because he reported superior leaders and petitioned for the masses, was treated as an incomprehensible madman. Wang Shengli, after retirement, persisted in struggling against the corrupt factory director Ba Guangming and ultimately died of depression. Gu Zhizhen, after retirement, originally lived a comfortable life, but the workers' factory protection movement at Donggang led to his son Gu Xiaole being imprisoned, his daughter-in-law divorcing, and his wife dying of anger and shock. Even more unfortunate than the older generation were the young people born and raised in the reform era. Wang Shengli's son Wang Sheng was taken to court and sentenced to three years in prison for reporting the fake qigong master Wu Bozhong. Lu Jia, a beauty who wanted to be a model, mistakenly entered the Chuyun Nightclub and became essentially a prostitute. Meng Fei was seduced by Wu Bozhong under the pretext of treating infertility and bore a daughter, An'an, bringing lifelong shame not only to Zong Tianyi but also to herself. Song Qiankun and Hong Taixing were both old revolutionaries and deeply hidden opportunists within the revolutionary ranks, bearing deep class marks. Such people are highly representative—they were speculators during the revolutionary era, capitalist-roaders in power during Mao's time, and became representatives of so-called open-minded old cadres during the reform and opening-up period. Historical development finally revealed their true nature as so-called "true at both ends" people [note: referring to those who adapt their political stance to benefit themselves]. After reform and opening-up, state enterprise reform, worker layoffs, and going into business sprang up like mushrooms after rain. The privileged class gained status and money, while the majority of working people were deprived of more and more benefits in this process. "Black and White" devotes considerable space to writing about the restructuring of Dongjiang Steel Company and Factory 8603. After restructuring, workers were laid off one by one, while cadres got rich first one by one. Due to declining efficiency, the only option was to sell everything off. The cadres enjoyed the benefits of restructuring, while the workers bore the "painful labor pains" of restructuring. The working class was scattered and broken apart, and A Mao and Gu Xiaole, who led the workers in "causing trouble," were also sentenced to prison. This confirmed Chairman Mao's words about "eating bitterness twice, suffering hardship twice," serving as a microcosm of the true fate of the proletariat in the reform and opening-up era.

Historical development is ultimately driven by countless working people together. Although the self-important privileged elites have gained vested interests, they will only become jumping clowns in the long river of history. Teacher Liu's people's stance makes him unwelcome in mainstream literary circles, and "Black and White" will not be accepted by mainstream literary circles either. But just like the novel's protagonists Wang Sheng and Gu Zheng, who still chose to uphold justice when faced with enormous interests and temptations, and remained unchanged in their original intentions to fight to the end even after paying the price for it, Teacher Liu has also made his choice through practical action, breaking with mainstream literary circles, adhering to the proletarian position, and continuing on the path that Wei Wei and Cao Zhenglu did not finish in the development of New Left literature.

Reading "Black and White" evokes heavy and complex emotions, because it depicts the real situation of the majority of working people in contemporary Chinese society—state enterprise restructuring, worker layoffs, self-employment—all too real. Former revolutionaries who once risked their lives to defend the country later became villains who sought benefits for themselves while exploiting and oppressing the common people—this is too heartbreaking.

Fortunately, at the novel's end, Tian Qingqing and Liang Tian appear. They represent a new force, representing that beam of starlight in the dark night and the torch on the wilderness. Though still weak, they will eventually welcome the moment when a single spark sets the prairie ablaze. The night is long, and the road is long too. But those walking at the forefront of the times should fear no wind, snow, or bitter cold, holding high the torch with their brave and upright strength to illuminate the path forward for the proletariat. "Black and White" sends forth precisely this kind of voice—though lonely, it is enough to make the hearts of people in difficult circumstances surge with excitement. Proletarian literature has been terminated and forgotten for too long, but revolution never dies. In the hundred-year cycle, in the startling repetition of history, it will surely welcome resurrection and rebirth, once again taking up the historical mission of awakening and inspiring the proletariat to seek their own liberation.