It would appear at first glance that Wang Anyi has found human warmth and honesty in a rural setting, but Wang herself bridles at the fact that this novel has been categorized as a search for China's roots. She states that Baotown was actually intended as a criticism of how the unity of a kind and decent village is shattered in the end by the prospect of quick riches.
表面上看起來，王安憶似乎也在地方風土中找到人性的溫厚。然而對於《小鮑莊》被歸入尋根文學，「我覺得滿委屈的」，王安憶表示她是在批判一個仁義的村莊最後被現實的利益所瓦解。