Chapter 1: The Epigraph — What the Opening Words Set Up
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 1, titled “Epigraph,” is a single page that presents two epigraphs, each shown in its original Chinese and in an English translation. The chapter contains no other text, dialogue, or narration. It functions as a preface, setting the emotional and thematic tone for the book that follows.
The first epigraph is attributed to the film In the Mood for Love, with a note that the quote is adapted from Liu Yichang’s novella Intersection. The passage describes bygone years as being like a dusty windowpane: something you can see but cannot grasp. The speaker or narrator has been yearning for everything that happened in the past, and expresses a wish that if they could break through that dusty glass, they could walk back into the years that have long since vanished. The image is one of distance, obstruction, and longing—the past is visible, but a barrier prevents any real contact with it.
The second epigraph comes from Eileen Chang’s novel Half a Lifelong Romance. It is a single line spoken to a character named Shijun, stating simply that they cannot go back. This line is more direct and stark than the first epigraph. It offers no hope of breaking through any barrier; it simply declares that return is impossible.
Together, the two epigraphs frame the novel’s central preoccupation with memory, loss, and the unreachable nature of the past. They introduce the idea that the past is both alluring and inaccessible, and that the desire to return to it is a powerful but ultimately futile force.
Key Events
Because Chapter 1 is an epigraph page, there are no traditional narrative events. Instead, the chapter’s key moments are the presentation of the two epigraphs themselves:
- The first epigraph is introduced, drawing on the imagery of a dusty windowpane and the longing to break through it to reclaim vanished years.
- The second epigraph is introduced, delivering a blunt statement about the impossibility of going back, addressed to a character named Shijun.
- The chapter ends after these two epigraphs, with no further content or transition.
These two moments establish the thematic framework for the entire book. They are not plot points, but they are significant as the first words the reader encounters, shaping expectations for the story to come.
Character Development
There is no character development in this chapter, as it contains no original characters or narrative action. However, the epigraphs do reference characters from other works. The first epigraph implies an unnamed protagonist who yearns for the past, though no name or specific identity is given. The second epigraph directly names Shijun, a character from Eileen Chang’s novel. This reference suggests that the novel may engage with themes of lost love, missed opportunities, or the inability to return to a former state of life—ideas that are often associated with Shijun’s story in Half a Lifelong Romance.
Because these characters are borrowed from other texts, they serve as allusive touchstones rather than developed figures. Their presence hints that the novel will explore similar emotional territory: the ache of nostalgia, the weight of memory, and the painful recognition that some doors cannot be reopened.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Several themes and symbols are introduced in this brief chapter, all of which are likely to recur throughout the novel.
Nostalgia and longing are the most prominent themes. The first epigraph explicitly describes a yearning for everything that happened in the past. This is not a passive remembrance but an active, aching desire to return to those times. The second epigraph, while more resigned, still carries the emotional weight of someone who wishes they could go back but knows they cannot.
Memory as a barrier is symbolized by the dusty windowpane. The glass represents the separation between the present and the past. It allows sight but not touch, creating a sense of intimacy that is ultimately false. The dust on the glass suggests that time has obscured the past, making it hazy and imperfectly visible. The desire to break through the glass represents the wish to overcome time itself, to step directly into a moment that has already passed.
The impossibility of return is the central motif of the second epigraph. The line “we can’t go back” is a flat, unadorned statement of fact. It contrasts with the first epigraph’s more hopeful (though still unfulfilled) wish to break through the glass. Together, they create a tension between longing and resignation, between the dream of return and the reality that return is impossible.
Vanished time is another motif. The first epigraph speaks of years that have “long since vanished,” emphasizing that the past is not merely distant but gone. This is not a matter of geography or distance; it is a matter of existence. The past no longer exists except in memory, and memory itself is unreliable and obstructed.
These themes and symbols are introduced with remarkable economy, using just two short passages to establish a rich emotional and intellectual landscape for the reader.
Why This Chapter Matters
Although it is only a single page, Chapter 1 matters because it sets the tone for the entire book. It tells the reader, before the story even begins, that this will be a novel about memory, loss, and the unreachable past. The epigraphs act as a lens through which the rest of the narrative should be viewed.
The chapter also establishes the novel’s intertextual connections. By quoting In the Mood for Love and Eileen Chang, the author places the book within a broader tradition of Chinese and East Asian storytelling about love, time, and regret. These references signal that the novel is in conversation with other works, and they invite readers to bring their own knowledge of those works to the reading experience.
Furthermore, the epigraphs introduce the idea of a character who cannot go back—a figure who may be central to the novel. The name Shijun, though borrowed, hints at a character who has experienced a rupture in their life, a separation from a person or place that cannot be undone. This prepares the reader for a story that will likely involve displacement, exile, or the long shadow of history.
In short, Chapter 1 matters because it is the novel’s thematic overture. It announces the key concerns, establishes the emotional register, and creates expectations that the rest of the book will fulfill or complicate.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What does the dusty windowpane symbolize in the first epigraph?
The dusty windowpane symbolizes the barrier between the present and the past. It allows the speaker to see the past clearly enough to yearn for it, but it prevents any actual contact. The dust suggests that time has obscured the past, making it imperfect and hazy. The windowpane represents the fundamental separation between what was and what is, and the impossibility of crossing that divide.
2. How do the two epigraphs complement each other?
The two epigraphs complement each other by presenting two sides of the same emotional experience. The first epigraph expresses a longing to break through the barrier and return to vanished years, offering a sense of desire and possibility, even if that possibility is never realized. The second epigraph is more resigned and direct, stating flatly that return is impossible. Together, they capture the full arc of nostalgia: the initial yearning and the eventual acceptance that the past cannot be reclaimed. The first epigraph is more poetic and imagistic, while the second is stark and conversational, creating a contrast that deepens the reader’s understanding of the theme.
3. Why might the author have chosen these two specific epigraphs for this novel?
The author likely chose these epigraphs because they introduce the novel’s central themes of memory, loss, and the unreachable past. The first epigraph, from a film and a novella, emphasizes the visual and emotional quality of nostalgia—the way the past can be seen but not touched. The second, from a novel, adds a note of finality and resignation. Together, they suggest that the book will explore both the longing for the past and the painful recognition that one cannot return to it. The references to well-known Chinese works also signal the novel’s cultural and literary context, preparing readers for a story that engages with Chinese history and identity.
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