Although as a young girl she had been on course to become a scientist or a doctor, Wang Anyi later found herself staring at the possibility of becoming a peasant for the rest of her life. During the hard, monotonous time she spent working in the countryside, reading books and writing her diary became all the more important to her.
因此原本想要當科學家、醫生，後來想當名農人的王安憶，在農村那些艱苦無聊的日子裡，書和寫日記加倍與她親近著，成為生活的一部份。