Adeline Yen Mahs Presentation of Chinese Culture in Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah was born in 1937 in China during cultural upheaval.
'Chinese Cinderella' is an autobiography of Yen Mah's life during the
ages of 4-14 years. As the book is a portrait that is only written
from Yen Mah's view over life it would differ if someone else wrote
it. The Chinese culture, traditions and history changed dramatically
when the French involved themselves in their lives.
Yen Mah actually lived in a French concession, this meant that she and
any other Chinese people living in the area, were classed as
second-class people over the French in their own country. This was a
result of the Chinese losing the Opium war in 1842, which led their
country to fall under foreign control. In 1941 the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbour, which involved the United States in the Second World
War, although Tianjin (The place where yen Mah and her family lived)
was occupied by the Japanese the French concession was still being
governed by French officials. 'French policemen strutted about looking
important and barking out orders in their language, which they
expected everyone to understand', even though the French had taken
over parts of China no one could understand them, 'at my school,
mother Agnes taught us the alphabet and how to count in
French…bilingual store signs were common but the most exclusive shops
painted their signs only in French'. In restaurants French people
overpowered Chinese people. If there was a queue of Chinese people
trying to get in French people would walk to the front, give their
French name and walk right in.
As soon as she was bor...
... middle of paper ...
... announced
today that 14-year-old Hong Kong school girl Adeline Jun-Ling Yen won
first prize in the International Play-writing Competition…our sincere
congratulations Adeline Yen for bringing honour to Hong Kong'. Yen Mah
finally had a father, 'I was quite pleased to tell him you are my
daughter'. The superstition that Yen Mah was 'bad luck' had been
lifted, she had her father back and the chance to go to medical school
in England. 'That's a foolproof profession for you…father I shall go
to medical school in England and become a doctor, thank you very, very
much'.
Adeline Yen Mah had overcome all of the traditions, culture and
historic problems that faced her, and had been rewarded with her
father classing her as his daughter again and she was able to travel
to England, far away form all of China's upheavals.
The bitter cold bit against the starved girl’s skeletal body. She was tired. Her parents discussed ways to get to good lands. They told her the only way to have a better life was to sell her into slavery. The girl, only ten years old was silent. She dreamed of fine clothing and good food. The girl went to the House of Hwang. She was too ugly to be in sight; she was kept in the scullery. All dreams of any kind were lashed out of her young mind. Mistreated, beaten, and underestimated, young O-lan learned to work hard and became resigned to her fate. One day, the Old Mistress summoned her and told her that she was to be married to a poor farmer. The other slaves scoffed, but O-lan was grateful for a chance to be free - they married. O-lan vowed to return to the great house one day in fine clothing with a son. Her resolve was strong; no one could say otherwise. Her years of abuse as a slave had made O-lan wise, stoic, and bitter; whether the events of her life strengthened or weakened her is the question.
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She started working at seventeen years old to support her family. In her situation, the necessity of supporting her family is very significant in her life. In Chinese tradition, parents do not expect anything from their sons and daughters, but the sense of respect towards the hard work that Chinese parents do for their kids is a must for successful men and women to support their parents with their free-will. These people are grateful that their parents gave them existence—creating opportunities for searching for ethical values that will help them succeed.
She honored her parents as she should, but longed for them to pass. In the beginning of the story she said "I had never expected my parents to take so long to die.” She had taken care of them all of her life she was in her fifty’s and her parents in their ninety’s. She was ready to live and break free of all the rules and duties put upon her, they were like chains binding her and holding her down. She was ready to explore to go on journeys and adventures she was already aging all she wanted was to be free. Her parents’ death let her run free, she left Hong Kong to start over and maybe find love, in any way possible, maybe even through food or luxuries. She wanted to be rebellious of her parents I’m sure she knew they wouldn’t approve but she didn’t care she wanted change. All her life she had followed so many rules, she had to fight to teach, to learn, to be with friends, her fight was finally over. She now had no one to rebel against, she now had the freedom to
Family became an important aspect in Mah’s life. In the Chinese culture family is typically a vital part of the way of life. Mah may have been ashamed the way her first marriage ended and did not want the same with this man she met named Leon. Leon is a Chinese immigrant and family is his priority. Mah and Leon marry and have two girls, Ona and Nina. They form a family like connection more than ever before. Leon was a fairly stable man and loved his family. Mah and Leon were b...
Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a magical experience that epitomizes the name of Broadway. The set, costumes, music, lights and choreography are nothing short of divine.
Understanding the Chinese culture was confusing for Kingston. “Chinese-Americans, when you try to understand what things in you are Chinese , how do you separate what is peculiar to childhood, to poverty, insanities, one family, your mother who marked your growing with stories, from what is Chinese? What is Chinese tradition and what is the movies?” (Kingston 223). Kingston questions her tradition and she doesn’t seem very sure what it is. She questions whether what her mother did by...
“Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strengths to establish realities”(5). In the book “The Woman Warrior,” Maxine Kingston is most interested in finding out about Chinese culture and history and relating them to her emerging American sense of self. One of the main ways she does so is listening to her mother’s talk-stories about the family’s Chinese past and applying them to her life.
Work, Work and Work. This was Cinderella's life, and it was all because of my mother. You may think you know how Cinderella's story went but its not true I am not just one of the evil stepsister. This is what really happened.
Lindo Jong provides the reader with a summary of her difficulty in passing along the Chinese culture to her daughter: “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame . . . You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head . . . In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. . . . but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character . . . How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best”(Tan 289).
In the Chinese Cinderella, the main character is a young Chinese girl named Adeline. Her home life is not good. Adeline is a very unwanted, unincluded, forgotten, young girl. She is one of seven kids neglected and discluded by her family, many times throughout the book. Her evil stepmother named Niang is mean and doesn't appreciate all the children, and rejects her stepchildren, but accepts the children Niang had with the father. Adeline lives a hard life and she powers through all of it and does it all with straight A’s. Adeline is a very nice and caring girl, living in a difficult situation, with a difficult family life. She goes through many heart-breaking moments with Niang, the stepmother. She earns her father’s attention by hard work; she impresses him when she wins the writing competition with “Gone With The Locus”.
The women in the novel, The Joy Luck Club, deal with all of the good and the bad that their history and culture have to offer. At times they experience difficulties because the mothers and daughters, although they are as one, share different cultures, while their history is the same. Ying-Ying St.Claire is the mother of Lena, who is a Chinese-American women. Lena and her mother don’t see eye to eye at all times because of the fact that they were raised in different cultures. Ying-Ying grew up in China in a very well-to-do family. At first she had very few worries, other than being obedient. Her Amah once told her, “You don’t need to understand. Just behave, follow your mothers example (Tan,66)”. As she grew older, she had to prepare for her future; a life of following future husbands orders and taking care of her husbands family. Chinese women would do this because it was expected of them. They would care for their husbands parents so that when they were old they would be taken care of as well.
In today 's society, it is normal for young children to believe in fairytales. These fairytales are normally seen throughout books and movies but also through parents reading them as bedtime stories. These tales in our society have unrecognized hidden guidelines for ethics and behaviors that we provide for children. One such children 's story is Disney’s Cinderella, this film seems to be a simple tale of a young woman whose wishes work out as to be expected. This tale reflects the expectations of women 's actions and beliefs of a proper women.
Chinese mythology began in the first dynasty of China. Their were many many many gods and goddess of the Chinese myths. Some important factors in Chinese mythology include Taoism(the search for immortality - literal, physical immortality) Confucianism(He taught the virtues of order, structure and correct behavior) And Buddism(the main religion of China) And some God’s and Goddesses’ are Heng-O, The Chinese moon goddess, Heng-O was the mother of the 12 moons and 10 suns. Mu GongYang counterpart of Yin goddess Si-wang-mu, creator god Mu Gong was the Lord of the East. Nugua, a Chinese creator goddess who made man from area mud. Pangu, the Chinese creator god who emerged from the cosmic egg. Shangdi was the supreme deity during the Shang dynasty and creator god before Pangu.
One of my most memorable experiences in Asia was my trip to the doctor. I knew that my slight fever and scratchy throat could be contributed to lack of sleep. With a twelve-hour time difference, I had the worst jet lag that was possible. Yet, the Secretariat felt that I should go to the doctor, so off I went. Once we arrived I took one look at the building and decided that I felt much better. The office was a hole in the wall that practiced family medicine and surgery. It was in stark contrast to the gigantic, pristine medical facilities I was used to. There was a very long line to see the doctor so I took a seat next to a hacking baby and an anxious young mother. What happened next was the most distressing part of my adventure. Once my chaperone announced that I was part of the school program, the doctor took me right away. As I followed the nurse back I passed by people who had been sitting there for much longer. There was a man with b...