The book, “The True Story of Ah Q” was written by Lu Xun. It is a form of historical fiction, which “is a literary genre that takes place in the past. The setting is drawn from history.” The historical events and social phenomena will be presented in the story though it is a historical fiction. It can impress deeply historical frames in people’s mind and plays a significant role in history. It is another way to record history. Additionally, the author, “Lu Xun (1881-1936) is widely regarded as one of modern China’s most prominent and influential writers.” Lu Xun has enough patriotism. He advocated “literary movement”. “He concluded that a “literary movement” was needed to build awareness and incite action amongst the oppressed.” Moreover, he published many books and articles, which have had significant influence for Chinese society. “The True Story of Ah Q” was one of the most outstanding opuses. It was published in December 1921. The book was around by one person who is Ah Q. Also, satire and humor language were used by Lu Xun in order to portray the characters of Ah Q and mental activities, Lu Xun attempted to illustrate the condition of China and the story insinuated the social activity and people’s ignorant during the primary stage of new China and Revolution. Lu Xun tries to state that internal problems are vital for China. Moreover, “ The True of Ah Q” insinuates several aspects of the state of Chinese society during that period: ignorant and pathological Chinese masses, corrupt and cowardly officials and unhealthy social ethos. These are the core meanings of Lu Xun’s writing.
First of all, due to revolution overthrew the two thousand years of feudal monarchy, so it deeply rooted the concept of a democratic republic, but it...
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...es his pride. When Ah Q meet Whiskers Wang who are accustomed and wears loafers, he thought he is a lot better than Whiskers Wang, and tries to provoke him. When they start the fight, Ah Q realizes he cannot compete with Wang, and got pouched. Before Wang leaves Ah Q whispers and swears at him. However, Ah Q also gets some luck. When Ah Q saw a Buddhist nun, he swore to her said “Baldhead! Go back quickly, your monk is waiting for you”, then Buddhist nun ran away with tears. Ah Q watches the view of her back and laughs. As these stories people at that special period have abnormal mentality. They are willing to bully weak people and satisfy people with power.
In conclusion, The True Story of Ah Q exposes the social phenomena. People were illiteracy and unenlightened. They use “winner a psychological victory” to hind the pains of being oppressive inside their hearts.
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
The story “The Execution of Mayor Yin” takes a perilous look at the dark side of the events that happened during the Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao’s Red Guards were tasked with a cultural cleansing that left many people more confused at the roles they played in society than it reinforced the social class structure. The story tells of a young member of the Red Guard and the personal conflict he suffered during the cleansing of Hsingan, which lay to rest his uncle and possibly even a good friend. The torment the people suffered and the personal struggle Hsaio Wu battled with coincide strongly with the age old question, “Are humans inherently evil?”
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.
Qianlong’s education started at a very young age and was said to have been a child prodigy that by the age of six had learned Chinese characters, and commence his study under a tutor at the age of seven and studied all the Chinese classics with Hanlin scholars. As well as legendary rulers of the Chinese antiquity, Qianlong’s models were those of highly educated, usually referred to literati. Literati were scholars with high intelligence that aimed for ‘ya’, which meant elegance of thought, strong sense of character with the goal of living a simple life . Dressed in tradition Ming style clothing and headwear, Qianlong is portrayed as what he fantasies himself to be, a scholarly literati with an identical portrait of him in the background,
In conclusion, religions not being accepted by other people and unequal distribution of land led to a small decline in a democracy being formed. Although, there were many small and minor improvements, they did not make that period more democratic. In fact, in the Connecticut Gazette, it showed that the people were yearning and in many ways begging for a democracy and wanted independence (Doc L). Even though that happened, the democracy they wanted did not get as far as they hoped for. Yet, it created doors for more to be done later.
Jonathan Spence tells his readers of how Mao Zedong was a remarkable man to say the very least. He grew up a poor farm boy from a small rural town in Shaoshan, China. Mao was originally fated to be a farmer just as his father was. It was by chance that his young wife passed away and he was permitted to continue his education which he valued so greatly. Mao matured in a China that was undergoing a threat from foreign businesses and an unruly class of young people who wanted modernization. Throughout his school years and beyond Mao watched as the nation he lived in continued to change with the immense number of youth who began to westernize. Yet in classes he learned classical Chinese literature, poems, and history. Mao also attained a thorough knowledge of the modern and Western world. This great struggle between modern and classical Chinese is what can be attributed to most of the unrest in China during this time period. His education, determination and infectious personalit...
Before the French Revolution that occurred during the late 18th century, France was considered one of the most advanced and opulent countries in Europe. It was in the center of the Enlightenment era, a period of time from the 1600s to the 1800s that is considered today as one of the most significant intellectual movements in history by encouraging a new view of life. The age sparked hundreds of important thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Paine, and Adam Smith. The Enlightenment was the fuel that sparked a worldwide desire to reshape and reconsider the ways that countries were governed. Limited monarchies, direct democracies, limited democracies, and absolute monarchies, among others, were many forms of government that were disputed by these thinkers. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one the many significant Enlightenment thinkers, believed in a direct democracy, a system in which a country is governed by many, and where no one person has a considerable amount of power. This idea that citizens should receive independence and a voice would later stimulate the French and result in what is now k...
Cao Xueqin’s Story of the Stone is a classic in Chinese literature, showcasing the life and exploits of the wealthy Jia clan during the feudal era. Through Cao’s depiction, the reader is afforded a glimpse into the customs and lifestyle of the time. Chinese mode of thought is depicted as it occurred in daily life, with the coexisting beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism. While the positive aspects of both ideologies are presented, Cao ultimately depicts Taoism as the paramount, essential system of belief that guides the character Bao-yu to his eventual enlightenment.
...rom a republic to democracy. Just as all other nations before it, the post war period proved to be difficult for the young nation, but it was somehow able to withstand all the adversity and become a successful nation.
Everyone has the tendency to think or act immaturely when something does not happen the way they wanted it to. How people behave and develop in such situations can uncover hidden sides and the true inner self of their character. The changes that occur to them through conflict can depict how mature they really are. Nazneen Sadiq’s story “Shonar Arches” shows the impact on a character’s maturity as a result of the main conflict. The happy resolution of Amit’s conflict shows how through time, even a rude little boy can mature into becoming a gentleman.
The French Revolution having been a key change in promoting democratic republics across Europe. Europe has seen the rise, success and fall of diverse types of governments, all who have made a lasting impact on history. Monarchies that have passed down power through family names for centuries, Republics that have focused on putting the power in the hands of the people, nationalism and fascism that have laid strict hands on its subjects to radicalized a country. Socialism from the east made its way in and even evolved into its own form of European socialism3 that is still in place today. Murder, war, freedom and oppression all stem from the changing governments that have laid throughout the rich history of
Throughout time, history has proven that a great government style is the key for having a dominant and long lasting civilization. Without a solid government structure, a civilization is doomed to fail and will eventually fall into ruin. A republic is one of the styles of government that is beneficial to everyone who uses it. The republic style of government was created to benefit the common people and hard working citizens and reward them for their efforts. By using this republic, a civilization would thrive and be riddled with countless luxuries. The republic’s originated from the city of Rome. Therefore, the Romans used this new type of governing a country first, and gained tremendous amounts of benefits. The republic is praised so much that countries today have even taken parts of the set up of the republic and used it in their government. The Roman Republic revolutionized the Roman Civilization and has even played a minor role in the formation of the United States Constitution.
Anchee Min is a Chinese- American author who lives in San Francisco. She was born in 1957 in Shanghai during the communist rule of leader Mao Zedong. When Min was in elementary school, she was chosen to become the leader of the Red Guard, a student group who supported Mao`s ideas and carried out his orders without refuting it. She was brought up during the cultural revolutions and like many other children in China the first thing she heard and taught was “long Live Chairman Mao.” However at the age of 17, she was taken to the countryside where she and her peers were told that they are going there for rehabilitation but were instead sent to a labor camp near the East China Sea. There is she discovered the truth about the man she would have given her life for. In contrast in her early years, she was recruited by a talent scout for Madame Mao`s (Jiang Qing) Shanghai film studio production. Min loved Madame Mao, as she describes her as a great revolutionary protagonist. She mostly liked her because Quin was involved with the Red Guard as she encouraged them to leave their old habits and start a new form of thinking. Through book we learn that Jiang Qing wanted to transform the old social norms and habits to a move to a more communist propaganda, she wanted to do this by modernizing Chinese opera into on that supports both Chairman Mao and herself. But after Mao`s death, Madame Mao and the gang of four were disgraced, discredited and sent to prison as they were seen as a threat to Deng Xiao Ping and the new government. Because of Madame Mao`s arrest, Min was left to basic domestic chores. In 1984, she managed to escape to the United States with the help of her friend. Min has a gained a lot of experience while growing up in China, as s...
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 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.