香港作家陳冠中（1952-）於2009年出版《盛世：中國‧2013年》，此書是作家創作生涯中的第一部長篇小說，在定居北京九年後寫出，奠定了陳冠中在香港文學中的重要地位，同時亦惹來爭議。自2000年後，陳冠中長期不居於香港，並寫作一系列不以香港為背景的作品，其人其作應在怎樣的意義下被理解為香港文學的一部分？本文將通過多個閱讀向度，另闢蹊徑地重新解讀《盛世》。首先，本文將通過文本細讀發掘《盛世》中的「香港」及其作為香港文學的詮釋和意義。接著，本文將對《盛世》作微言大義式和互文式閱讀，重新解讀小說中的一些關鍵情節及其建基於「香港性」的創作動機。最後，本文把《盛世》回置到陳冠中接近四十年的寫作生涯作互文閱讀，闡析《盛世》如何體現陳冠中這位出身香港的文化人貫徹始終的反專制主義的思考，以及他畢生作為「左翼自由主義知識分子」的文化立場和所面對的挑戰。

Chan Koon-chung’s (1952- ) first full-length novel, Times of Prosperity: China, 2013, was published in 2009, nine years after the Hong Kong writer settled in Beijing. The novel cements Chan’s status in Hong Kong literature, but it is also a source of controversy. As a writer who, since 2000, has spent so little time in Hong Kong and written very few works set in the city, under what understanding can Chan and his works be defined as part of Hong Kong literature? This paper aims to reinterpret Times of Prosperity through multiple reading dimensions. This paper first investigates the idea of “Hong Kong” in Times of Prosperity through textual analysis and how such analysis is integral in the significance and interpretation of Times of Prosperity as part of Hong Kong literature. This paper then reinterprets the key plot points and the creative motives of the novel by means of uncovering its subtle meanings and intertextual connections. Finally, this paper situates Times of Prosperity in Chan’s nearly 40-year writing career, exploring how the novel reflects his consistently anti-authoritarian thinking as a Hong Kong culturati, as well as his lifelong cultural stance and challenges encountered as a “left-wing liberal intellectual.”