Zhou Shuren, better known by the pen name Lu Xun is generally regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature and was thought by many to have his finger on the pulse of the nation’s conscience. His early notoriety was achieved as a result of his short works of fiction which were often satirical, sometimes humorous, and at times very gloomy (“Lu Xun”). Lu Xun was a mindful of his art and labored over his stories to eliminate unnecessary detail, yet they are filled with rich characters, interesting plot lines, vivid imagery, and strong themes. “It can be argued that in the overall output of Lu Xun’s writings his twenty-five short stories constitute a rather slim volume. But is should also be noted that, given the relatively brief time span (eight years), Lu Xun was able to demonstrate an unparalleled range and diversity of technical experimentation. (Lee 57) “Kong Yiji” and Ah-Q-The Real Story are exceptional examples of his talent and contain numerous similarities in terms of, characterization, , plot, and theme.
“Kong Yiji,” which was published in 1919 bears the title of protagonist: yi and ji are the first characters in a child’s calligraphy primer, and Kong is the English translation of the surname of Confucius. Thus the name translates loosely to “Confucius ABC” (“Lu Xun”). Ah-Q- The Real Story also bears the title of its main character whose name is also symbolic. His name is written with the Latin letter Q possibility suggesting a pun on the English word queue, or to suggest the image of the typical head of Chinese man during the Qing era with is pigtail or queue on top of his head (“Lu Xun”). A possible explanation of the translation of Kong Yiji’s name indicates he was unsuccessful, he has the typical ideolog...
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...ith Chinese symbolism, this point in the story seems to be the “end” of Kong Yiji. With the loss of his legs, he has ultimately lost his life. And in fact, we don’t really know what became of him and no one seems to care. Although falsely accused, the crowd is satisfied when Ah-Q is executed, “Everyone agreed that Ah-Q had indeed been an evil man, the clear proof of which could be found in the fact that he had in truth been executed. If he hadn’t been, then how could he have gotten himself executed (Lu Xun 172)?
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Jonathan D. Spence weaves together fact and fiction in his book The Death of Woman Wang. Approaching history through the eyes of those who lived it, he tells a story of those affected by history rather than solely recounting the historical events themselves. By incorporating factual evidence, contextualizing the scene, and introducing individual accounts, he chronicles events and experiences in a person’s life rather than episodes in history. Spence pulls together the narrative from a factual local history of T’an-ch’eng by scholar Fenge K’o-ts’an, the memoir of magistrate Huang Liu-hung, and fictional stories by writer P’u Sung-ling. The book closely resembles an historical fiction while still maintaining the integrity of an historical reconstruction.
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.
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by Kong when he reaches the top of the building with Anne (Figure 1) . Cynthia Erb describes this use of sexuality and raciness in King Kong as a, “type of commodification that was feat...
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.
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The end of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a tragedy as Jen leaps off the mountain and leaves Lo trying to understand her decision (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). She is also overwhelmed by the death of Li Mu Bai, who demonstrated chivalry in the film. She has also upset her fantasy is gone and that she is no longer the person she was in the Gobi desert where she was with Lo (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). She tells him to make a wish and this connects the story of the young man leaping from the mountain to save his parents (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Jen feels by leaping, she is granting Lo’s wish (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). This makes Jen the tragic hero as she is finally free from the imprisonment of her duties as a governor’s daughter as well as her past with the Jade Fox (Crouching Tiger, Hidden
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