Literature’s a best friend that is always at your side. It gives you a sense of belonging, guides you, and provides an escape from all your troubles and worries. Snow Falling in Spring, a memoir by Moying Li, takes readers into her rocky past as she endures some of China’s most tempestuous times. Throughout these turbulent times, literature remains a haven for Moying Li and guides her on the path to becoming the influential woman she is today. Moying Li loses the innocence of her childhood when the draconian claws of Chairman Mao and the Red Guard wrench it away. Despite this, literature provides Moying Li with an innocent childhood she can resort to; specifically, Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She states, “Mark Twain offered me my own passport for adventure--the adventure of the mind, separating the world of reality from the world of the imagination. In his world, I felt safe and happy.” (pg. 103). During crises, literature is her most reliant friend. No matter all the hardships she encountered as a child, literature was her getaway to a halcyon world. Moying finds a world where she can belong. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once lyrically …show more content…
Unwilling to acquiesce to the demands of the Cultural Revolution, she forms a secret reading club to advance her education in English and Chinese. Despite the risks, Moying finds fellow enthusiasts to surreptitiously read banned literature. Later on, she has an epiphany that her secret reading club serves as more than just a joyful escape: "My secret reading club... helped to keep the flame of education alive inside of me when the rest of my world was still besieged by darkness." (pg. 108). The Cultural Revolution stomped out the fires of people's dreams, whether that was learning literature or becoming a musician. Not Moying. Her indomitable spirit is kept alive by the spark of
Although Mrs. Spring Fragrance has only lived in America for a short amount of time, her husband states “There are no more American words for her learning” (865). It is obvious through reading this statement that Mrs. Spring Fragrance has become quickly acquainted with not only the English language, but also with American customs and traditions. However, not every character in Mrs. Spring Fragrance adjusts to American culture as easily as Mrs. Spring Fragrance; some characters have a difficult time leaving their Chinese traditions of marriage and accepting that in America, love comes before marriage. Throughout Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Sui Sin Far describes the process that the Chinese characters experience as they slowly begin to alienate traditional Chinese culture and becoming Americanized through accepting American culture as their own.
“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
Both awe-inspiring and indescribable is life, the defined “state of being” that historians and scholars alike have been trying to put into words ever since written language was first created. And in the words of one such intellectual, Joshua J. Marine, “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”. Essentially, he is comparing life to a bowl of soup. Without challenges or hardship into which we can put forth effort and show our potential, it becomes a dull and flavorless broth. But for characters in novels like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the difficulties and trials that we all must face can transfigure the mundane liquid mixture of existence into a vibrant and fulfilling gumbo. The protagonists of these works are two strong-willed and highly admirable women, who prevail in the face of overwhelming odds stacked in everyone’s favor but theirs. In their trying periods of isolation brought about by cold and unwelcoming peers, particularly men, they give their lives meaning by simply pushing forward, and living to tell the tale.
The novel 'Mao's Last Dancer', is a gripping story about the author, Li Cunxin and his story to success as a professional ballet dancer in communist China. The story shows how hard work, determination and hardships lead to the achievement of goals. Throughout the book, Li suffers from a number of physically and mentally challenging struggles that test him and push him to become stronger and more determined. Both mental and physical struggles are equally as difficult to overcome and both play a big part in different stages of Li's life.
The two short stories, “The Princess of Nebraska” and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, depict the lives of two people under Chinese communist control, trapped by the social restraints of their society in search of individual salvation. In “Princess of Nebraska”, a young girl (Sasha) struggles to find internal purpose and satisfaction within her life, feeling that the restraints of communist control keep her from achieving the sense of self she desires. She believes the United States is the solution to gaining her individual freedom and fantasizes the recreation of her identity and life. Similarly, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” revolves around the same theme of social freedom vs the discovery of the individual self. Mr.Shi,
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.
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.... ...
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
The initial two lines of this poem present the recollections that the primary individual storyteller will be transferring. The speaker, when she ponders the importance of her life, "… what I'm like, underneath (1)" she considers her initial two
She dreams and wonders about her future life with the perfect man. Her journey can be compared to our own personal pursue for self-happiness. This captivating novel begins with a statement that makes the readers contemplate. The author, Zora Neale Hurston, begins the book with “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they circle with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon… That is the life of men” (1). These “ships” symbolize a person’s goals and wishes in life. The journey to chase and obtain these ambitions is exciting and unpredictable. Likewise to Janie’s journey, there will be struggles along the way. However, one can continue their journey and learn from their experiences. In life, there are many complications and harsh experiences. Some people have more of these memories than others. Janie views her eventful life as “a great tree in leaf with things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches” (8). Janie has many pleasant and horrible memories and experiences. From the horrific incidents, she learns more about herself and what she truly needs. These memories make her a stronger, independent woman. We, the readers, can learn from Janie and apply her knowledge to our everyday
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.
The poem of A Story by Li-Young Lee analyzes the coming of age of a son through the eyes and emotions of a father. On the surface, it seems like a simple situation of a father telling the son a story to entertain him. But it is upon closer inspection and deep analysis that reveals the true meaning of the poem that the poet is trying to convey to the reader.
In his poem, “Notes from the City of the Sun”, Bei Dao utilizes obscure imagery consistent with the Misty Poets and veiled political references to illustrate the struggles in Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. The poem is sectioned into fourteen short stanzas containing imagery that are symbolic of the cultural hegemony in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. Bei Dao, born Zhao Zhen-kai, is an anti-revolutionary poet and one of the founders of a group known as the Misty Poets. The Misty Poets wrote poems that protested the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong. Therefore, a lot of Bei Dao’s poems speak out against the Cultural Revolution and the restrictions that it placed on any form of art. Bei Dao’s poetry is categorized as “misty” because of the ambiguity in its references to Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. An obscure imagery that occurs twice in “Notes” is the sun imagery. Another imagery that depicts the injustice of the Cultural Revolution is the description of freedom as scraps of paper. In the poem, Bei Dao also equates faith to sheep falling into a ditch; this is a depiction blind faith during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how Bei Dao’s use of the Misty Poet’s ambiguous imagery and implicit political context in the poem “Notes from the City of the Sun” to illustrate the cultural hegemony in China under Mao.
Julia Alvarez. “Snow”. Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Lauren G, Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. Boston, Wadsworth 2011. 75-76. Print
Chen, Zu-yan. Li Bai & Du Fu: An Advanced Reader of Chinese Language and Literature =. Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2008. Print.