Graduation Season
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Summary
Set in Shanghai in 1973, the story centers on seven students in a graduating class at a Shanghai middle school. Each comes from a different family and holds a different status, and each is about to head toward a different life according to his or her own "tier." The playwright Fu Xing compresses the entire story into the period between a hasty graduation and the wait for job assignment—a time both carefree and agonizing. It begins with the last pig-farming lesson before graduation taught by homeroom teacher Tang Yongyi, then uses the children's graduation picnic on Iron Arm Hill in Changfeng Park to bring out each character whose future is uncertain—Wenwu, who loves table tennis, practices frantically during this time, hoping to place in the top three at the citywide middle school table tennis tournament and thereby enter a sports school training squad; Asong, who loves to draw, is recommended for admission to an art school for further study; and, of course, there are also young people swallowed up by fate.
At the story's end, a few words summarize the lives of the seven main characters after middle school graduation, reviewing in an almost plain-sketch manner the slowly clarifying history of a generation's youth.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- History and literature enthusiasts interested in China's social changes and youth mentality in the 1980s
- Readers who enjoy calm, realistic writing that emphasizes psychological portrayal of characters and social background
- University students or young readers at a crossroads in life, thinking about personal choices and social relationships
- Those who wish to understand a different kind of youth predicament and exploration of ways out, unlike today's 'involution' narrative
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light, sweet campus romance stories
- Readers expecting intense dramatic conflict and fast-paced plots
Reading tips
- Can be read alongside Lu Nei's Young Babylon or Wang Shuo's early works to build a more three-dimensional portrait of youth of the era
- Pay attention to the depiction of 'assignment' as the core event, and feel the tension between institution and individual fate
- While reading, try to set aside judgments based on 'success studies' and attempt to understand the characters' dilemmas and helplessness within limited choices
About the publisher
People's Literature Publishing House publishes across classical literature, foreign literature, documentary writing and folk literature, with 492 titles in its catalogue. Representative books range from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Lao She's Teahouse and Longxu Ditch in the Selected Works of Lao She, as well as translated foreign literature such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Dante's Divine Comedy and Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, alongside documentary and fictional works including Primo Levi's If This Is a Man and João Guimarães Rosa's The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Its authors include Chinese writers such as Lao She, translators such as Shen Emeri and Li Wenjun, and foreign authors such as James Wood. Overall, the house has a strong record in editing classic works and translating foreign literature, with a publishing character that bridges Chinese and foreign writing and values textual quality.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 自序 月亮升起来，红红的
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- 尾声
- 还是尾声
- 附 五十倍的生命——论傅星的《毕业季》
FAQ
What is the difference between this book and common 'youth campus novels'?
What is the background of the author Fu Xing? What are the characteristics of his writing?
For young readers unfamiliar with the history of 'graduation assignment,' is this book difficult to understand?
Comments
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About the author
Fu Xing is an author about whom limited public information is available. Only one work can be confirmed at present: the novel Graduation Season, commonly classified as a social novel. Based on the available information, Fu Xing's writing focuses on realistic social themes, using the period of "graduation season"—a time associated with growth and transition—to observe the situations and choices of young people as they move between campus and society. Because verified details such as dates of birth and death, nationality, educational background, and writing career are lacking, no further account of the author's life or literary development can be given. As far as the known work is concerned, Fu Xing approaches social fiction as a way to present concrete experiences and human fates in real life, with subject matter close to everyday concerns and a certain sense of social engagement. Readers seeking a fuller understanding of the author's style and literary influence will need to rely on further public information and on a close reading of Graduation Season itself.
