Wang Meng was particularly prolific in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to novel creation, he also published a large number of essays, creative talks, critical articles, and some research papers on China's classical literature.

During the novel period of "scar" and "reflection" at the turn of the 1980s, Wang Meng's works related to the Cultural Revolution quickly left the subject matter and emotional way of exposure and accusation, and also left the structural framework of historical events generally adopted at that time. The works show more concern for people's spiritual reality and philosophical speculation on historical concepts and logic.

The basic theme of these works is the complex relationship between the individual and the "ideal society" to which he devoted himself. At the beginning, the protagonists of the novel all have unique ideals and beliefs endowed by the times, and enthusiastically participate in the creation of the "new world". However, the "ideal society" not only failed to effectively practice this belief, but also hurt the converts and fell into a spiritual misunderstanding. When exploring this historical phenomenon, his novels show a "dialectical" view. He does not attribute the responsibility of history to one or a few people, nor does he want to judge personnel with some rigid ethics. He tried his best to find the possibility of establishing order from the chaos, to find a place to forgive from the responsible person, and to find his weaknesses and "bad habits" that need to be reflected in the injustice and injury. In some works, the twists and turns of history and individuals will be attributed to a superficial political proposition, but in the same work or another work, there is a deep feeling of life and some basic themes of China's modern history are touched. His introspective attitude towards history and himself makes his novels avoid universal sentimentality, various contradictions and complexity, which is the connotation of his novels, and at the same time he has an ambiguous attitude towards history and spirit; The vague relationship between "dialectical" viewpoint and spirit is often confusing. Activities become people, a novel with persistent introspection spirit. It describes the failure of Ni Wucheng's life and tries to show the physical and mental embarrassment of intellectuals in the cultural conflict between the East and the West. The author once said that it was very painful for him to write this novel. This kind of pain may not only come from the recognized cultural contradictions, but also be related to the pain of the author's shoes, and his works reveal profound spiritual disappointment. In this novel, the cruelty and barbarity of "keeping up with the joneses in feudal literature" are reflected by a group of women. The deep memory of not knowing makes these women's "devil" character portrayed mercilessly.