Family is a symbol of security and one of its main roles is to provide security to its members. Similarly, a nation is supposed to provide a sense of identity and security for its citizens, ensuring each individual that they are part of something greater. Family Catastrophe, a novel published in 1973 was written by Wang Wen-hsing. When the novel was first released it created controversy because it radically exposed the oppressive traditional ethics of the Chinese family. It included some attributes of literary modernism such as “moral relativism and unflinching scrutiny of the deep recesses of the human psyche” (Chang 282), which were deemed disturbing and offensive by Wan Wen-hsing’s original readers. Other readers were appalled by the scandal …show more content…
Despite Taiwan having features of a nation-state, its search for independence has been actively contested by the PRC (People’s Republic of China), which claims the island of Taiwan as a long-lost province of China. National identity is any collectivity where a membership identifies with it, and it stems from two dimensions. The first dimension is the group’s culture, shared language, or ethnicity. These are the individual components of the group, which leads the members to identity with one another. The second dimension are the characteristics of the group itself, including the narrative history a founding, a role in the international society, which leads to a common interest in the fate of the whole. With regard to the first dimension (Taiwan’s constituent characteristics), the Taiwanese are relatively homogeneous. Although about 98% of the island’s population are Han Chinese, Taiwan’s ethnic origins has been complicated due to the two distinguishable groups (frequently called sub-ethnic groups because both are Han Chinese). These compose of (1) benshengren, or natives of the province whose ancestors migrated from the mainland during or since the 17th century, and (2) waishengren, or provincial outsiders who sought refuge from the mainland during the wake of the Nationalists’ loss of the Chinese civil war in 1946–1949. Regarding the second dimension, the island shares a common history and destiny, being part of imperial China up until late 1895 when Japan conquered through the Sino-Japanese War. Taiwan then became a Japanese colony until it was returned to China after World War II following Japan’s defeat. Taiwan then came under the one-party dictatorship of the Nationalist Party and represented “China” in various international forums (Dittmer 476). Throughout years of additional complicated events, Taiwan’s national identity, as stated by Chu Yun-han “fluctuates according to
First, if the CCP recognizes Taipei as an independent state, the CCP risks losing it bargaining power over the decisions and actions taken in regard to the island. A country’s bargaining power is the strength of a states claim over the disputed territory. A decline in this power mea...
In her book, The House of Lim, author Margery Wolf observes the Lims, a large Chinese family living in a small village in Taiwan in the early 1960s (Wolf iv). She utilizes her book to portray the Lim family through multiple generations. She provides audiences with a firsthand account of the family life and structure within this specific region and offers information on various customs that the Lims and other families participate in. She particularly mentions and explains the marriage customs that are the norm within the society. Through Wolf’s ethnography it can be argued that parents should not dec5pide whom their children marry. This argument is obvious through the decline in marriage to simpua, or little girls taken in and raised as future daughter-in-laws, and the influence parents have over their children (Freedman xi).
For the documentary China 's Lost Girls, there are two macro social level theories such as the ecological theory and the human rights perspective theory that could explain this movie from a different viewpoint. The ecological approach has a focus on the exchange and the relationship between systems and shows how all the elements in the environment are put together to keep a balance between individual 's interactions with the outside world as a whole. This theory is useful when trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the transactional relationships between systems. Considering this approach, we can observe that the stress Chinese families are put under, is influenced by factors in their environment such as overpopulation, fear to
Fairbank, John King, and Merle Goldman. "The Nationalist Revolution and the Nanjing Government." China: a new history. 2nd enl. ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006. 279. Print.
well as claiming that it was "explicitly pornographic" and "immoral." After months of controversy, the board ruled that the novel could be read
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.... ...
In the 18th century, China was influenced by various teachings of philosophers and beliefs that the society had placed emphasis on. Filial piety (xiao) was a major practice around this period when it was strongly carried inside and outside the household. Filial piety is not only the guiding principle of Chinese ethics but it also played an affirmative role in determining the Chinese lifestyle; it was practiced daily in the family and in other areas such as education, religion and government. It was the central root of Chinese morals and the society was constructed upon the principles of xiao, which certainly became the premises of Chinese culture and the society. In Confucianism, the approach of respect, fidelity, and care toward one’s parents and elder family members is the origin of individual ethical behaviour and social agreement. One must put the needs of parents and family elders over self, spouse, and children (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). Many philosophers and rulers such as Mencius and Chu Hsi also focused on filial piety, applying the virtue to marital life, family, death, and politics. Filial piety was demonstrate in various literatures such as “Dream of the Red Chamber”, “Six Records of a Floating Life”, and “The Classic of Filial Piety” which demonstrated the roles of individuals in Chinese society including politics.
The main characters in this story are a generation of mothers and their daughters. This story is told in sections as a narrative, where each chapter is recounted by a different woman. The mothers speak of their experiences growing up under the strict conditions in China. They told of how their marriages were predetermined and how they had to do as any male ordered. The daughters, on the other hand, being raised under American ways, told of their hardships with pressure given to them by their mothers. They spoke of American husbands, equality between both sexes, and how they’d rather believe that their futures could indeed be controlled.
Throughout, 1900- 1950 there were a number of changes and continuities in China. From the fall of the dynasties to the rise of the Communist Party, these changes shaped China’s government and society. Although, many political changes were made multiple continuities were held constant such as, consistent rebellions and the lack of democracy.
But one begins to detect a new theme emerging in society, especially amongst the Chinese reformers: the theme of individualism opposed to familialism. Today, would the Confucian family be more and more aware of abuse of women and children? Rituals and traditions can be seen as both positive and negative. The ways in which women suffered affirm that some rituals were abusive. There are multiple signs indeed that something has gone badly wrong with the Chinese family traditions that led to family instability.
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.
Relation between china and Taiwan Introduction The current conflict between china and Taiwan originally began in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek (President of Republic of China) and his followers fled to Taiwan after their defeat by the Chinese communist party (led by Moa Tse-Tung) in the Chinese civil war, which erupted immediately after the Second World War. In 1950, the Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and invaded Taiwan, to unify all of China under their rule. Their plan failed, when the United States sent naval forces to defend Taiwan. Since then, both countries have existed in neither a state of complete independence nor integration of neither war nor peace.
The opening line of “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu introduces a looming sense of sadness and trauma: “One of my earliest memories starts with me sobbing” (Liu 178). Liu presents a narrative in which trauma is passed on from generation to generation, asserting its existence as an intentional inheritance. Through the loss of Chinese culture and the culture’s inevitability, Jack and his family fall victim to the cyclical suffering that can only be lessened through a balancing act of backgrounds. In the moments leading up to, during and after Jack reads his mother’s bleak letter, Liu constructs a paper chain of trauma, urging his characters to marry opposing ethnicities.
Historical conceptions of China’s culture and global position shaped the PRC’s perspective. Central to this is Sino-centrism and its edict from heaven for dynastic China to spread civilisation (Xinning 2001: 70). Imperial China’s tribute system represented a “Pax Sinica” and the physical manifestation of Sino-centrism, with its success affirming Chinese cultural superiority (Y. Zhang 2001: 52). Instructive in this is Sino-centrism’s similarity to, and conflict with American Manifest Destiny, itself an articulation that Anglo-Saxon American’s are God’s chosen people, with a superior culture and who are pre-ordained to spread civilisation to inferior peoples (Hollander 2009: 169). The PRC’s nationalism can be seen in part as a rejection of this competing celestial mandate, linking China’s decline to foreign intervention and the acceding to unequal treaties that saw the loss of peripheral territories considered intrinsic to historic China (Kissinger 2011: 112). In this way, the PRC’s formation as a modern nation state is the recrudescence of Sino-...
Family plays an enormous role in people’s lives, and whether we like it or not our family helps shape us into who we are today. Many families were torn apart during the perilous 2004 tsunami that shook the earth and acquired many lives. When Dang was running, trying to escape the colossal wave that was ravaging her village, all she could contemplate was how to get back to her family. She did not stop to help other people, because she wanted to make sure her husband and children were unscathed. At one point, Dang ignored the warnings of a man who saved her, only thinking that, “…she needed to get home, and she needed to get there now.”(Krauss 127) Family provides unconditional love for most, and that love is something that we cling to in a hard-hearted world. Furthermore, a mother’s love for her child is undying and genuine. Nearly all mothers would give their lives for their children without a second thought. When facing disaster our loved ones are there cheering us on and holding us together. Family keeps us moving forward, and helps us overcome and conquer our worst fears and hardships.