While life in the countryside was extremely hard, it held a strong appeal for idealistic city youth. Just past her 16th birthday, Wang volunteered to work in rural Anhui Province. I only had a vague notion of what I was going to be doing. I left home with a very romantic view of the whole thing, but on the first day there I already wanted to go back home. "
一九七○年，當時的大學生響應毛澤東的知青下鄉運動，個個像燕子一般奔赴農村，農村既艱苦又充滿神奇的色彩，讓剛滿十六歲的王安憶也打起背包前往安徽省五河縣農村插隊。