' s ▁families , ▁who ▁are ▁later ▁revealed ▁to ▁be ▁intr ins ically ▁connected . ▁These ▁sub - plots ▁are ▁set ▁during ▁a ▁tum ult uous ▁period ▁in ▁China ' s ▁history , ▁from ▁the ▁beginning ▁of ▁Ma o ▁Z ed ong ' s ▁reign ▁in ▁the ▁late ▁ 1 9 4 0 s ▁to ▁the ▁after math ▁of ▁the ▁T ian an men ▁Square ▁protest s ▁of ▁ 1 9 8 9 . ▁ ▁There ▁are ▁four ▁main ▁er as ▁that ▁the ▁novel ▁focus es ▁on , ▁though ▁they ▁do ▁not ▁necessarily ▁occur ▁in ▁chron ological ▁order . ▁The ▁first ▁involves ▁Big ▁Mother ▁Kn ife , ▁her ▁sister ▁Sw irl , ▁and ▁Sw irl ' s ▁husband ▁W en ▁the ▁Dream er ▁during ▁the ▁land ▁reform ▁campaign ▁and ▁the ▁execution s ▁that ▁were ▁involved . ▁Second ly ▁is ▁the ▁era ▁foc using ▁on ▁S par row , ▁K ai ▁and ▁Zh uli ▁during ▁the ▁Cultural ▁Revolution ▁which ▁cent ers ▁around ▁the ▁Shang hai ▁Conserv atory ▁and ▁their ▁experiences ▁there . ▁Third ly ▁is ▁S par row ▁and ▁A i - M ing , ▁his ▁daughter , ▁during ▁the ▁T ian an men ▁Square ▁protest s ▁and ▁after math . ▁Finally , ▁the ▁last ▁era ▁is ▁the ▁" present " ▁which ▁is ▁Marie ▁discover ing ▁her ▁connection ▁to ▁all ▁these ▁stories . ▁As ▁well , ▁the ▁story ▁contained ▁in ▁the ▁Book ▁of ▁Records ▁is ▁a ▁constant ▁presence ▁throughout ▁all ▁these ▁other ▁narr atives . ▁While ▁W en ▁the ▁Dream er ▁is ▁the ▁principal