The Golden Age Analysis

In The Golden Age, Wang Xiaobo explicitly depicts the forbidden and punishable sex acts of Wang Er and Chen Qingyang. However, as “doing something is very different from liking it” the compulsive and obligatory nature of their trysts protects them from punishment from the state (117). This immunity is compromised when Chen confesses that being spanked by Wang awoke her masochistic desire, causing her to have sex for pleasure. While this confession was punishable in the highest degree (warranting “being torn apart by five running horses or being minced by thousands of knives”), in a shocking turn of events, as “no one had the power to tear [them] apart... [the state] had no choice but to set [them] free” (117). The author gives little explanation
Wang Er points out that although society is quick to accuse and vilify innocent people of being damaged goods, "as for real damaged goods, they just let them do whatever they want “ (84). This social abandonment of truly damaged goods first occurs when Chen rushes to the injured Wang Er's side, outing herself as his lover in front of the entire village, who proceed to both stop gossiping about and speaking to her. Later, when Chen upholds her image as “so ignorant that she had to be innocent," the state contentedly denigrates her through confessions and denouncement ceremonies (112). However, once she admits that she enjoys sex and declares herself truly damaged goods, they have no use for her and let her go. Not only is society prone to attack innocent individuals, but they are unable and hesitant to challenge truly impure people. This hesitance stems from fear of the damaged goods' open rebellion and proud abandon of honor - to others, this is unimaginable and destabilizes their ideas of right and wrong. By portraying social norms as misguided and weak, Wang Xiaobo makes the point that social stigma cannot hurt sexually liberated people. In fact, by breaking the stigma the couple baffles both their community and government officials, giving them no choice but to leave them alone. Therefore, succumbing to sexual temptation results not only in release
Though he depicts sexuality in meticulous detail, the reader must dig for the metaphors in his absurdist satire. While the senseless release of Wang Er and Chen by the authorities is definitely meaningful, there are a number of ideas it could be exploring, from the ineffectual state to the uselessness of social stigma, the hypocrisy of "purity" or the sadism, censorship, and exploitation of the government during the Anti-Rightist Campaign. Considering Wang Xiaobo's careful, deep, yet eccentric symbolism, this brief event is likely indicative of many, if not all, of these social