Notes on Wang Meng

(Originally Written November 1, 2006 in World Lit)

Kite Streamers
Wang Meng

Nezha:
-Trickster figure in Chinese Mythology
-depicted flying with a wheel of fire under each foot
-most famous story about him is where he conquers the sea

Wang Meng:
-Born in Beijing in 1934
-Joined the communist party in 1949

Kite Streamers

-'botty curtains' - cheaply made, crude and only the really poor will fly them
- 'botty curtains' however soar high, higher than the mountains, higher than the state balloon
- the 'botty curtains' are cheap and sort of imply a poor existence, but something in us is attracted to it
- the attraction to it causes us to join it. We add to the kite and join in the simplistic.

Dreams:

Red Dream - the change to communism
Green Dream - New
Yellow Dream - Dying
Colorless Dream -
Stopped Dreaming
Dreaming about Jiaynan

The dreams range from political to personal in varying degrees. The Red Dream is purely political, the dreaming about Jiayuan is purely personal. Every other dream is an intermediary stage between the two poles.

Dreams as hopes, restoration and goals

Sky/Altitude:

Political agenda - "pie in the sky" vs. "a real event"
The high rise is a paradise for Susu and Jiayuan
Goals - are risky, but satisfying

Kite/Kite Streamers:

Unity between Susa and Jiayuan
Dreamy
Ideal, doing similar things, rising above the society
"simple and unadorned, easy and unrestrained"