The Dead End of Traditional Ideologies and the Search for a New Way Out
Xiao Hong, like Lu Xun and many other writers during the 1930s, was looking for a new way out of China’s economic and social dilemmas, and a new way to transcend the paired animal-human relationship. In The Field of Life and Death, Xiao Hong clearly demonstrates some of her foundational beliefs: first, old traditions cannot save China. The semi-feudal semi-colonial system in China has decayed and come to brink of collapse. Her entire novel is intended to display the common people’s lives under the decayed system. Xiao Hong expresses no hope in the old traditions. In the novel, Two-and-a-Half-Li’s goat represents Old China. In chapter twelve titled "Black Tongue", the villagers are thrown into confusion because red and green flyers have been dropped from Japanese airplanes promoting the Mencian
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Moreover, the Japanese army tries to combine forces with traditional Confucian ideology through spreading propaganda that promotes "loyalty", "filial piety" and "chastity," key Confucian values. They also proclaim they are bringing back the Mencian “kingly way” of just and compassionate government and rule in order to solidify their power and discourage rebellion (Xiao, Field 73).
Fourthly, Xiao Hong sees Christianity as a passive and superstitious religion. It has little to contribute to society. Chapter seventeen says that Two-and-a-Half Li is filled with shame and prays to his goat just like Christians pray to Jesus (Xiao, Field 109). Although Xiao Hong mocks Christian prayer in her later novel Ma Bole (马伯乐), as does her lover Xiao Jun in his novel Village in August, Xiao Hong surprisingly uses the Christian symbolism of the Eucharist to proclaim the need for collective unification for the nation’s salvation and for the liberation from de-humanizing ties to animals.
The Necessary Sacrifice of Old
“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
Ultimately, The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is a timeless, educational, historical novel. Spence purpose to enlighten the reader of the Chinese culture, tradition and its land were met through the use of sources, like 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. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang will captivate any reader's attention.
At an early age, the Japanese children were educated and brainwashed into believing the words of scripture called, “The way of the subject”. This teaching claims that the emperor has the capacity, the power and the right to amalgamate the world under his rule while imposing and eventually tattooing extreme nationalistic and racist viewpoints on the Japanese public. These viewpoints combined with a raging hatred towards the “Old Order” fueled japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Document A asserts, “ The way of the subject is to be loyal to the Emperor in disregard of self,
The Sun of the Revolution by Liang Heng, is intriguing and vivid, and gives us a complex and compelling perspective on Chines culture during a confusing time period. We get the opportunity to learn the story of a young man with a promising future, but an unpleasant childhood. Liang Heng was exposed to every aspect of the Cultural Revolution in China, and shares his experiences with us, since the book is written from Liang perspective, we do not have a biased opinion from an elite member in the Chinese society nor the poor we get an honest opinion from the People’s Republic of China. Liang only had the fortunate opportunity of expressing these events due his relationship with his wife, An American woman whom helps him write the book. When Liang Heng and Judy Shapiro fell in love in China during 1979, they weren’t just a rarity they were both pioneers at a time when the idea of marriages between foreigners and Chinese were still unacceptable in society.
In a village left behind as the rest of the China is progressing, the fate of women remains in the hands of men. Old customs and traditions reign supreme, not because it is believed such ways of life are best, but rather because they have worked for many years despite harsh conditions. In response to Brother Gu’s suggestion of joining communist South China’s progress, Cuiqiao’s widower father put it best: “Farmer’s have their own rules.”
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for
Life and death are dualities. These two immaterial forces culminate into a beautiful and tenuous composition creating an awareness of abject mortality that indirectly contributes to the breadth and depth of human existence. This existence or being is marked by an incessant love of life, influenced by the pervasive knowledge of eventual death. The characters in Mrs. Dalloway endeavor to grasp the meaning of both life and death through the act of resistance and/or acceptance of the impermanence of human existence as it relates to them personally and to those around them. Nietzsche’s interpretation of the themes of life
The Chinese people experienced rapid changes, in government and their own culture in the 20th century. In the book, Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, she depicts the experiences of not only oppression and suffering, but the development of the communist revolution, under Mao. Also, to show how the Chinese people, women in particular, fought against impossible odds by interweaving historical and personal stories from the twentieth century China.
Hong, Andrew. "Confucianism and Filial Piety." Andrew Hong, Reformed Second Generation Chinese Ministry. N.p., 5 May 2008. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. .
To understand how Confucian ideals were used by Japanese leaders to promote economic prosperity, one must first understand the Confucian ideals embedded in Japanese society at the time. During the Meiji period—which marks the beginning of modern Japan for many historians—many people viewed social norms as Japanese values despite the fact that they were Confucian values rooted in Japanese society. One of the most remarkable examples occurred when the Confucian value of bushido was drawn upon by Japanese military leaders during World War II as propaganda, subsequently making the concept increasingly common in public rhetoric. The continuity of Confucian principles from the beginning of modern Japan through World War II illustrated how Confucianism remained an integral part of Japanese society despite its introduction to Japanese society being in the 6th century. Because Confucian values remained relevant to Japanese society through World War II, they continued to influence post-World War II Japanese society.
The Ki-lin is extremely complicated compared to the Western unicorn, which is representative of the complex and intricate Chinese culture. Also, according to Nigg, the unicorn is considered to be one of the four mythical creatures in Chinese culture, standing among the phoenix, dragon, and tortoise (Nigg 1995). The four mythical creatures are an integral part of the Chinese culture. The Ki-lin’s cultural role in Chinese society does not stop here, according to South. In his book, South describes how the Ki-lin has both male attributes (the ki) and female attributes (the lin).
In Wislawa Szymborska’s poem, “On Death, without Exaggeration”, the idea of Death is assigned characteristics of Deaths waged war against numerous quantities of emerging life that, itself, destroys life. Szymborska grew up in Poland during the Second World War, she was surrounded by Death, in addition, the experiences she had helped her to cope with Death and remain hopeful. The poem seems to make the reader think Death is an inevitable part of life and in order to appreciate life one must accept Death. However, if you read closely in the last line of the second stanza, “which is always beside the point” (7), Death is revealed to be indifferent, not accepting. Szymborska uses persona, irony, and personification to create rich
It supplies us gently with an important and inspiring message. Only the sick boy’s family is going to remember him in death through traditional practices; however in the case of the revolutionary, he will be remembered by his brother and sister revolutionaries. Even though this young revolutionary has perished, his fight will continue to live on and he will be remembered by those he fought beside, not just by his family. In these two stories, Lu Xun addresses the difficulties in carrying out and committing oneself to the revolutionary cause and the constant struggle between traditional China and the newly emerging Western educated youth. Being able to step up and answer the call to revolution could mean facing character assassination, as depicted through the madman in “Diary of a madman”, ostracization, and possibly even death
The abstract idea of life cannot be explained by such simple ideas as being animated, breathing, or speaking. Ordinary machines in this century can perform all of these basic functions. The quandary with defining death is not as abstract and elusive as that of life. The problem of defining life and death has plagued philosophers and the religious bodies for thousands of years for one reason; each philosophy or religion has tried to define the meaning of life and death from only their certain perspective. The seemingly appropriate approach to this problem would be to understand the ideas presented in various philosophies and religions and through this knowledge create a new definition for each idea of life and death. The movie Blade Runner has taken this exact approach in its attempt to finally define life and death in a logical and un-spiritual manner. By taking the position that death is a concrete idea that can be explained, Blade Runner accomplishes the task of interpreting the idea of life in terms death. Through this approach, the meaning of life is redefined to accommodate for the existence of the replicants. Also, as a result of this novel notion of life, it is apparent that humans and replicants never actually live, even though they are alive.