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The years of the Cultural Revolution in China, from 1966 to 1976, saw the closure of many China’s schools and universities as part of a larger effort to renew China’s revolutionary spirit and to tamp out ideas that were seen as contrary to the ideals of the Chinese Communist Party. This effort was carried out by officials loyal to Mao Zedong, the chairman of the party who had founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Mao died and the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976. 

“Saboteur” was originally published in 1996 in The Antioch Review, and was then included in Jin’s short story collection The Bridegroom in 2000. The story’s original publication was twenty years after the end of the Cultural Revolution, which means that the story takes place sometime between 1976 and 1996. During this period, westernized ideas about democracy, commerce, family life, and free speech were making inroads in Chinese society. This trend came into direct conflict with older, more conservative ideas that were faithful to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman Mao. This period following the Cultural Revolution also saw the Tiananmen Square uprising and subsequent massacre in 1989, in which army forces were sent in to quell a pro-democracy protest attended by thousands of students.

Various stories in The Bridegroom look at the changes and conflicts that were taking place during in the years after the Cultural Revolution. Some of the subjects addressed in the book include topics such as changing attitudes toward marriage, the increasing presence of westernized businesses such as fast-food franchises, and sexuality. “Saboteur” is a story that shows the conflict between new ideas and the well-established old regime. On the one hand, the advertising of the hotels with their modern amenities hints at the changing world of commerce, travel, and tourism. On the other, Mr. Chiu’s treatment by the police is an indicator that the ideals of the Cultural Revolution and the suspicious attitude toward intellectuals and universities still hold sway even though the Cultural Revolution had officially ended.

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