About Paper Moon and Ivory Tower
A novel exploring the possibility of coexistence between dislocation and belonging; it is also a gentle deconstruction of the myth of the global elite.
Paper Moons and Ivory Towers is a chronicle of a millennial Chinese woman born in the 1980s, as well as a literary experiment on history and transition, dislocation and discovery, misalignment and belonging, and the tension between the elite and the truth. It is not a narrative of conventional success, nor is it a showcase of global elite lifestyles. Instead, it poses a series of profound questions:
As we step onto the so-called “world stage,” are we being reshaped by invisible, internalized structures?
Does the tide of globalization inevitably dissolve an individual’s roots?
How can a woman establish her true subjectivity amidst the pull of culture and self, power and conviction?
Ho Zhiyao (Yaoyao) was born in a second-tier Chinese city in the wake of the Reform and Opening-up. Raised within the rigid order of a military compound, her childhood memories are woven from national flags and discipline, alongside the confusion and curiosity sparked by foreign friendships. Before the waves of globalization had truly arrived, she had already begun to construct a “paper moon” of the far-off world in her mind.
From the subtle exclusions within school hallways to the cross-cultural shocks of crossing the ocean;
From losing oneself in emotional experiments to navigating the power structures within international organizations;
From the projection of idealism to a growing skepticism of the elite narrative—
Zhiyao’s journey is not a simple story of social climbing or professional advancement. It is a long, tentative process of “subject formation.”
The Paper Moon represents ideals and projections;
The Ivory Tower represents institutions and structures.
Between the two, Zhiyao learns not how to climb, but how to discern what is real.
How does a woman generate her own subjectivity within disparate socio-cultural and historical frameworks?
Does the global elite narrative mask a deeper truth?
Can dislocation and belonging truly coexist?
Moving between different social cultures and historical structures, she is constantly being defined—and constantly breaking free from those definitions. National identity, gender order, intellectual elitism, choices of faith, and intimate relationships—every turning point forces her to answer once more:
Who am I? And how did I become who I am?
This is a novel exploring the possibility of coexistence between dislocation and belonging; it is a gentle deconstruction of the myth of the elite.
