This essay seeks to understand the recent social and cultural dynamics of China by means of reading Zhang Dapeng's novel Golden Path. Zhang's novel describes the economic boom in China since the eighties, and the resultant shakeup of ethical and affective relationships at different social levels. It is not merely a belated bildungsroman of a man in search of his identity in economic terms, but also a sarcastic critique of a socialist system turned upside down thank to the advancement of liberal desires.