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Family Tradition in China essay
Chinese family culture essay
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Feng Meng-long’s story, “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger,” authentically represents how money is valued between Du Tenth and Li Jia. The classic story brings forth how tradition and family values are upheld in the highest honor. The young master Li Jia, who is the son of a prominent local official, embarks on a journey to the Ming capitol of Nanjing with the intention of taking exams. During his travels he meets the beautiful courtesan named Du Tenth who is bound to her madam in a house of ill fame in what is known as the pleasure district. Li Jia, being an immature and unmotivated by any type of responsibility, finds himself splurging all of his travel funds on pleasures with the beautiful Du Tenth. The couple find themselves to have fallen in love with one other. Du Tenth proves to be a very smart and loyal character. She cleverly devises a plan to escape her bind to her madam and leave to be with her love. When the couple make their departure, they go on their journey to their new life together as husband and wife. Du Tenth continues to prove how smart she is by showing time and time again to Li Jia that she was very prepared for their future. The story tragically ends when the gullible Li Jia is tricked by the manipulating Sun Fu to trade his love, Du Tenth, for a thousand pieces of white silver.
It's 1996,and we're in Shanghai,China.Anguish and rage is in the air.Why?Because 1996 is when Chairman Mao launched the Cultural Revolution,when intelligence became a crime and a wealthy family background invited persecution' or worse.Ji-Li Jiang is 12-years-old.An outstanding student and leader in her school,she had everything a young girl could want:brains,ability,the admiration of her peers and a shining future in Chairman Mao's New China.Her life was perfect,but with the occurence of the Cultural Revolution,Ji-Li's world begins to crumble.She had an unfortunate situation,her family fell under one o...
[He tells her she was] born in New China. [She]can choose [her] own destiny; [she] can make a clean break from [her] parents and have a bright future, or [she] can follow [her] parents, and then… [she] will not come to a good end” (190). Her parents’ futures are already destroyed. However, Ji-Li grew up during the Cultural Revolution; thus, she has the opportunity for a bright future as an educable student apart from her parents. In order to succeed, Ji-Li is required to reject the people she loves the most, a task she is not willing to undertake. Despite numerous tribulations, Ji-Li is determined to keep her family together. However, when a news article is released, exposing her grandfather as a wealthy landlord, she feels that her parents have deceived her. Thinking her efforts to gain back the respect of her peers had gone to waste, she shouts, “I hate landlords. I hate this landlord family” (211). At the time, landlords were despised throughout the community. In addition to living a bourgeois, capitalist lifestyle, they were considered, according to the Communist Party, the Revolution’s
Although ignorance is bliss, there is nothing more dangerous than a closed mind. Therefore, it is only bliss for those who choose to remain ignorant, not for the ones who suffer because of that ignorance. In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, this historical, fable novel and love story tells of a moving testament to the transformative power of literature. It follows two “city-youths,” the narrator and Luo who are exiled from their hometown, Chengdu to a mountain village in the countryside for “re-education” in the midst of Mao’s Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1971 for being sons of doctors. While working among the peasants of Phoenix Mountain, the two ingeniously conceal their forbidden treasure, a hidden stash of Western
“Fan Jin Passes the Juren Examination” is a story written by Wu Jingxi, a failed scholar, that attempts to satirize the lofty ideals of the imperial examination. It tells the story of a fifty-year old man who has continually failed the examinations for thirty four years and has sought to pass the exams for all his life. Fan Jin exemplifies the struggle of every male in this era who has also devoted their lives in passing the examination in order to acquire an official title. This struggle is especially true for males coming from a humble background, like Fan Jin, and because the imperial examinations offer an opportunity of climbing up the steep and rigid social hierarchy of Chinese society, the mentality of bringing this glory to your family and yourself is romanticized. This glorification is with good reason too, because indeed the fruit of a scholar’s labor will taste so sweet. When Fan Jin passes the examinations, he is revered by his neighbours, villagers, and his whole family, including his father-in-law, Butcher Hu, who has always treated him with little respect. It is interesting to note that Butcher Hu changes his blunt attitude towards Fan Jin after learning that he passed. He went from treating Fan Jin like dirt to regarding him highly as “one of the stars in heaven” and hesitates to hit him unlike before. Other people around the village also show them their respect by offering him gifts. In conclusion, the story “Fan Jin Passes the Juren Examination” satirizes the struggle of pursuing scholars and the glorification of the rewards that come with passing the imperial
Chongyue’s claim is that the story is describing an ungrateful and unfaithful wife. Chongyue’s evidence to support her thoughts are accurate and interesting. They are interesting because without the background of the author and preconceived thoughts, they make sense. Look at
While in China, Lindo’s life takes a complete turn around as she escapes a prearranged Chinese marriage. In "The Red Candle," Lindo obeys the typical female role of being obedient at the beginning of her marriage to Tyan-yu, but later goes against these expectations and flees to America. She listens to her mother-in-law by doing household chores and by being a submissive individual. Asian society says their women "value marriage. They do not believe in divorce. They marry for life…in good times and bad," ( China Bride ). However, Lindo manages to outwit her new family and escape the m...
The romance of Liang Shan-Pai and Chu Ying-Tai is as popular as Romeo and Juliet in the United States. It has been made into a play, movies, and even ballads. It is the story of an smart, ambitious young girl who wants to pursue an education in China. However, being a girl in China at the time prevents her from achieving that goal. So to make her dream a reality she dresses as a young man to disguise herself at school. In her years at school she manages to keep her disguise intact and fool her peers. While she is at school she falls in love with another male student, whose name is Liang Shan-Pai. Chu Ying-Tai feels that it is time to go home and she leaves the school. Chu Ying-Tai is in love with Liang Shan-Pai, but knows she must leave the
Some professors prefer to put tragedy of Du due to Sun Fu and Li Jia. We can see some social issue from these two people’s personality, which is money, and power corrupts the human nature. In addition, this also shows that the disregards and teasing of women dignity from traditional concept. These are the reason of Du’s tragedy.
Fugui, in both stories is portrayed as a young naïve man that is consumed with gambling and whoring around. Due to his lack of concern for his family and future, his wife Jiazhen returns home to her father after failing to stop his catastrophic path. The novel exhibits a vibrant image of Fugui’s misconducts. That involves his demeaning outlook towards his “fat prostitute” of a wife. Fugui would have her carry him on her back like a horse, each time stopping by her fathers shop to mock him (Hua 14). After losing everything to his gambling obsession, the father-in-law took his daughter and unborn son away from Fugui, while she “wailed with grief” (Hua 42). Exposed to poverty, Fugui has no chose but to move to the country with his parents and daughter. The decision to settle in the countrysi...
This story follows Wang Lang a poor young farmer in rural China that is forced by his father to marry a slave that belongs to the powerful local Hwang family. The Hwangs sell Wang a 20-year-old slave named O-lan who becomes his wife. O-lan and Wang Lung are pleased with each other, although they exchange few words and although Wang is initially disappointed that O-lan does not have bound feet. Together, Wang Lung and O-lan have a cultivate, beautiful and profitable harvest from their land. O-lan becomes pregnant, and Wang Lung is overjoyed when O-lan’s first child is a son. Meanwhile, the powerful Hwang family lives decadently the husband is obsessed with women, and the wife is an opium addict. Because of their costly habits, the Hwangs fall
At first, the anticipation of riches and fame propel Jing-Mei into cooperating with her mother, persuading Jing-Mei in the belief she can attain perfection. She imagines herself in several wonderful images, each colorful and immensely sati...
This Chinese literary study will define the similarities of patriarchal marital relationships and the silent suffering of infidelity in the poem “Southern Song” by Li Qingzhao and “The Drunken Lord” by Yin E. The problem of patriarchal marital relationships in Qingzhao’s poem define the suffering of a woman that is unable to see her husband due to his being away on business. In “Southern Song”, Qingzhao defines the loneliness of being away from her husband, which is defined by her forced isolation within the home: “Up in heaven the star-river
Xin Ran meets with a college student who gives Xin Ran a definition of a “good woman”. The good Chinese woman is conditioned to behave in a “soft, meek manner” (42). She then goes on to say that the bad woman, or the mistress, is a woman a man despises and that is why he does not marry her. This idea of a good woman is a topic that is explored by a lot of literature. Looking at Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
Mulan is a young girl in China, who is trying to honor her family and ancestors by finding a husband. She was expects to be delicate, quiet, obedient, graceful, polite, and poised, none of which Mulan displayed. She showed up late to the meeting with the woman, “The Match Maker”, who picked whom Mulan would one day marry. Although they expect women in China to have a tiny waist, too small of a waist, which Mulan had, was no good. She would not be great at baring children. Mulan could not pour the tea right for the woman either. She missed the cup, spilling the tea on the table. She was not very graceful and upset “The Match Maker”, who believed Mulan would never honor her family. Mulan did not display the characteristics that the Chinese society expected a woman to have and was looked at as dishonorable to outsiders.
The next example, of showing the cost and benefits of conformity and rebellion is expressed in the story “Two Kinds” (Tan). The Mother of Jing-mei...