"Life floats like a dream, how much joy could we have?", versified by Li Bai. While with a special genre—autobiography, Shen Fu wrote down his floating life named "Six Chapters of a Floating Life". Obviously, there are six chapters to describe his lifetime. However, the last two of them have already missed. As to the first four chapters, here are some of my opinions.
The author Shen Fu(1763-1825), who is proficient in poetry and painting and good at prose, is not like traditional Chinese literati. Never did he attend the imperial examination. Also he was not a well-known literati. All his life is filled with going sightseeing, being in business, writing poem and painting. He lived in the bottom of the society. Due to all these factors, his
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However, the most regrettable is, the last two chapters have already missed. In the remained 4 chapters, the author described his love story, dramatic changes of the life, leisurely and carefree mood and sightseeing experiences via a simple but vivid tone. From Kuan Yi’e’s poems and the known headings of the last chapters, we know that the fifth chapter recorded his experiences in Taiwan, and the sixth chapter contained the author’s reflection on the way of life.(From:Lin Yutang in Preface) The first four chapters imply the author’s distinctive and admirable values and view of life in-between the …show more content…
Conclusion
The reading of Shen Fu’s story gives one this sense of the mystery of happiness,which transcends all bodily sorrows and actual hardships—similar, I think, to the happiness of an innocent man condemned to a life-long sentence with the consciousness of having done no wrong, the same happiness that is so subtly depicted for us in Tolstoy’s “resurrection”, in which the spirit conquers the body. For this reason, I think the life of this couple is one of the saddest and yet at the same time “gayest” lives, the type of gaiety that bears sorrow so well.(Lin Yutang said in “Preface of ‘Six Chapters of a Floating Life’”)
We could not say this book was written rough and ready, while we also don't know whether it was made elaborately. It is perfect like having been carved but there is no trace of hatchet; like a nature scenery but it matches with intention of craftsman. Like a perfect crystal, we can see how bright and clear it is, while we do not know what color on earth it is. Thus it is different from others. Also it is the reason that it can be published again and be well-known by generations of people. (Yu Pingbo said in "Preface of Reprinted
“The Death of Woman Wang”, written by Chinese historian Jonathan Spence, is a book recounting the harsh realities facing citizens of Tancheng country, Shandong Province, Qing controlled China in the late 17th century. Using various primary sources, Spence describes some of the hardships and sorrow that the people of Tancheng faced. From natural disasters, poor leadership, banditry, and invasions, the citizens of Tancheng struggled to survive in a devastated and changing world around them. On its own, “Woman Wang” is an insightful snapshot of one of the worst-off counties in imperial Qing China, however when taking a step back and weaving in an understanding of long held Chinese traditions, there is a greater understanding what happened in
In Yeh-Shen, the cultural aspects, such as her name, the theme of fish on her shoes, along with her attire help represent the Asian aspects of this version. Similarly, the father in the story has two wives, showing us that China’s laws about marriage are much different than the United States’ laws. In addition, Yeh-Shen shows themes of love, dead advising the living, and good versus evil. The archetypes in this version help convey the traditional story of love and a happy ending by the hero or heroine.
Yu Hua, the author of one of the most influential books published in the last decade, To Live.
The Cultural Revolution in China was led by Mao Zedong, due to this Liang and many others faced overwhelming obstacles in many aspects of their life such as work, family and everyday encounters, if affected everyone’s families life and education, Liang lets us experience his everyday struggles during this era, where the government determined almost every aspect of life. The beginning of the book starts out with Liang’s typical life, which seems normal, he has a family which consists of three children, two older sisters and him the youngest, his two sister’s reside in Changsha 1. his father has an everyday occupation working as a journalist at a local newspaper. Things start to take a turn early in life for Liang Heng, his family politics were always questioned, the mistake made by one of his family members would impact his entire family and it would be something they would have to suffer through, it was impossible for them to live down such a sin.... ...
Throughout Jing-mei’s childhood, she never truly appreciated how much her mother, Suyuan, had done for her. Purchasing an expensive piano and working away to get Jing-mei piano lessons are a couple of the many things her mother has done for her. When Jing-mei became an adult she finally understood how considerate her mother is. Once her mother had passed she grew an appreciation to the physical objects her mother had given her “...sentimental attachment to the piano, and one day she plays Schumann’s piano pieces “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contented” and discovers that they are “two halves of the same song”” (Wang). Due to the difficulty of communication, the message of the two songs Suyuan wished to depict was not evident to Jing-mei at the time. Similarly, Jing-mei only valued her mother’s necklace after she passed. Once Jing-mei accepted her mother’s necklace she began to wear it in hopes to absorb and understand Suyuan, “June accepts this as a deep expression of her mother’s love, despite the fact the intricate carvings are opaque to her, carrying secrets she supposes she will never understand” (Gerhardt). If it wasn’t for the troubled relationship they share, then the mother and daughter could have conversed on a deeper
The Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu is an autobiography, majorly about Shen Fu’s love life and his marriage to Chen Yun, a smart girl he falls in love with as a child. Throughout the Six Records of a Floating Life, different situations faced by the couple can reflect to the family structure of the peasants at the time. Shen Fu was born in an official family which works for the government. Although his family was not at a very high status, they do care a lot about the reputation of the family, and they also care a lot about manners. Chen Yun, according to Shen Fu, is a very smart and well-mannered woman, she thinks a lot about Shen’s family, and always try to do her best for them. Chen Yun’s father died when she was 4 years old, which
McDougall, Bonnie S. "Bei Dao's Poetry: Revelation & Communication." Modern Chinese Literature 1.2 (1985): 225-252.
The family's personal encounters with the destructive nature of the traditional family have forced them to think in modern ways so they will not follow the same destructive path that they've seen so many before they get lost. In this new age struggle for happiness within the Kao family, a cultural barrier is constructed between the modern youth and the traditional adults, with Chueh-hsin teeter tottering on the edge, lost between them both. While the traditional family seems to be cracking and falling apart much like an iceberg in warm ocean waters, the bond between Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, Chin and their friends becomes as strong as the ocean itself. While traditional Confucianism plays a large role in the problems faced by the Kao family, it is the combination of both Confucianism and modernization that brings the family to its knees. Chueh-hsin is a huge factor in the novel for many reasons.
The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the seventeenth century. The author's focus was to enlighten a reader on the Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provoking stories of the Chinese county T'an-ch'eng, in the province of Shantung, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of the sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling convey the reader directly into the lives of poor farmers, their workers and wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang consists on observing these people working on the land, their family structure, and their local conflicts.
their every day lives. In this novel each major principle of Taoism is followed by an explanation made though a humorous story staring Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends.
Huong uses a circular writing style to portray the characterization of Hang. As the novel flows from Hang’s past memories to the present, her feelings are paralleled with the different events. This allows the reader to see Hang’s feelings towards her current situation. Because the reader is exposed to Hang’s feelings, her journey to find her self-purpose is
When analyzing the Joy Luck club it is important to consider the life of the author. It is apparent after studying both The Joy Luck Club and Amy Tan that there are some incredible similarities among the two, particularly the story of mother Suyuan-Woo and her daughter Jing-Mei Woo. Suyuan is a main character and plays an extremely important role in the novel even though she passed away. She created the Joy Luck club years ago and is the main reason why this tight kit family exists today. Suyuan decided to create the Joy Luck club during a ve...
“The Bridegroom” by Ha Jin, is a short story about a man struggling with homosexuality in modern day China. The narrator, Old Chang, is the non-biological father of a young woman named Beina. Old Change promised to take care of Beina after her father, a close family friend, passed away. Beina then gets married to a very handsome man named Huang Baowen. Baowen quickly becomes the focus of this story. The climax of this short story is Baowen being revealed as a homosexual. This short story highlights Jin’s theme of homosexuality and shows the internal and external struggles of both Baowen and Old Cheng, through first person narrative, setting, and emotional appeal.
Coming of age is essential to the theme of many major novels in the literary world. A characters journey through any route to self-discovery outlines a part of the readers own emotional perception of their own self-awareness. This represents a bridge between the book itself and the reader for the stimulating connection amongst the two. It is seen throughout Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong, Hang’s coming of age represents her development as a woman, her changing process of thinking, and her ability to connect to the reader on a personal level.
Confucius. The Four Books. Mandarin and English. Ed. And Trans. By James Legge. Beijing: Culture Book Co. 1992. Print.