The Sign’s Changing Command

The household sign shifts from a political emblem into a private summons, then a keepsake and finally a compulsive relic.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Sign Takes Its Place

A Household Emblem Political meaning The “Serve the People!” sign occupies the dining table, where Wu Dawang reads its imagery as a lesson in revolution and national destiny. Its authority appears unquestionable. Domestic power In the Commander’s home, the sign also marks hierarchy: it presides over meals and reminds the orderly that service to the household is service to the state.

A Private Signal

The Sign Moves A coded summons Liu Lian places the sign where Wu Dawang will notice it and tells him that its absence from the usual place means she wants him upstairs. The political object acquires an intimate second meaning. Unequal understanding He initially treats the instruction as a puzzling household request. The sign’s new code begins to pull him between obedience to the Commander and curiosity about Liu Lian.

A Failed Summons

Desire and Refusal The exposed bedroom Liu Lian appears nearly naked, but Wu Dawang’s fear of the Division Commander and the Party overwhelms his desire. He insists on political propriety where she hoped for a response. A symbol gains force Her disappointment shows that the sign’s private meaning depends on his willingness to follow it. He leaves without understanding that he has altered their relationship.

A Relic Between Them

The Sign Survives A shared emblem As their intimacy deepens, the sign repeatedly summons Wu Dawang from work and becomes part of their private routines. Their political language turns into playful erotic shorthand. The exception During their campaign against household Maoist objects, Wu Dawang refuses to let Liu Lian destroy this sign. Its political past and intimate meaning have become inseparable to him.

The Sign in Wujiagou

Compulsion at Home A substitute object Back in Wujiagou, Wu Dawang finds a battered sign bearing the same words and begins carrying it through farm work and family life. The phrase no longer serves as simple political instruction. A damaging ritual He places it beside his bed and treats his wife with the roughness he associates with the affair. When his son steps on it, Wu Dawang strikes the child, showing how the emblem has become a source of harm.

At the opening of the story

Three days before the opening scene

That evening, after his first visit upstairs

During the lovers’ last days together

After his return to the village