Throughout the course of his lifetime, Ah Cheng experienced major political and historical events that strongly influenced his literature. The Cultural Revolution and rule of Mao Zedong was widespread throughout China starting in the 1960s, and devastated millions of families. Cheng took a different approach to much of the literature ("scar literature") that emerged from the revolution, and instead of focusing on the detrimental effects, chose to use his literature as a way to point out the flaws of the revolution. These counter-revolutionary ideals are subtle but evident throughout The King of Trees, as the political chaos creates a backdrop in the novella, rather than the central focus. They can especially be seen through the use of abundant metaphorical elements. By showing the effects of the “down to the countryside movement”, a major reform under the rule of Mao Zedong, Cheng is able to provide a commentary on the Revolution through his characters and the setting as well. Throughout The King of Trees, Ah Cheng reveals his political views towards the Cultural Revolution through his use of symbolism, and his descriptions of the characters and the setting.
Symbolism plays a key role in the novella in allowing the author to relay his political ideals. In The King of Trees, Cheng uses many elements of nature to represent both revolutionary and counter-revolutionary ideas. The king of trees - and trees in general - throughout the novella is a symbol of counter-revolutionary ideals, and the older Chinese customs. Li Li, and in turn, the followers of Mao Zedong/the Red Guard, believe that “In practical terms, old things must be destroyed” (Cheng 43). This is shown through the felling of the trees – getting rid of the Old Chinese cus...
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...etimes had to be disregarded in order for the goals of the Cultural Revolution to become a reality.
The usage of characters, setting, and symbolism in The King of Trees allows Ah Cheng to display his political ideals. In The King of Trees, Cheng utilizes symbolism of nature to show the positive aspects of tradition Chinese customs and the negative aspects of the Cultural Revolution. The characters, most specifically Li Li and Knotty, represent Confucian ideals, which Cheng finds important to emphasize, especially after their eradication during the Cultural Revolution. Overall, the novella is largely affected by the historical background of its author, and Cheng utilizes a variety to different components to disseminate their personal political messages.
Works Cited
Cheng, Ah. The King of Trees. Trans: Bonnie S. McDougall. New York,NY: New Directions, 2010. Print.
Knowles foreshadows the boys’ loss of innocence through the war, and their constant jumps from the tree. While getting ready for the war the boys practice and show off their skills on the tree by the Devon River. These jumps are done for fun yet the boys see them as a routine, something that has to be done. Knowles brings the theme of the loss of innocence in the novel for the first time by portraying Finny as the defender who gets the boys out of trouble by saying they had to jump out of the tree (22). This foreshadows how the innocence of the boys will be banished from themselves and their world. The tree also symbolizes the Forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Just like it is forbidden to eat the fruit, jumping from the tree was not allowed as well. By jumping from the tree the boys symbolically accept their loss of innocence, just like Adam and Eve accepted theirs.
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...
The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
The novel is about two teenagers. "Luo, who is good a story telling and an unnamed narrator, "a fine violin player" who are sent to be re-educated after the Chinese cultural revolution. They are sent to a mountain called "Phoenix of the Sky because their parents were publicly denounced and recognized as enemies of people. The general idea behind the Cultural Revolution was element of control. And Mao thought that all intellectuals were a thread to his power. The reason for that was that most of the intellectuals had the ability to think for themselves. Mao foun...
Alexis Rockman traveled the world, and used his travels as inspiration for his paintings. He painted the Kapok Tree after visiting Guyana, a country in South America. This painting beautifully depicts a tree in the rainforest. He addresses the fact that there are so many problems in society that are being overlooked. People do not realize their importance in changing things for good. Not only do we have the ability to cause change, it is our responsibility because we are the root of all the problems. Alexis Rockman frames the Kapok Tree in such a way that the audience notices the vibrantly colored lifeforms at the bottom and then he draws a line, with the tree, up to the dark sky showing how there is so much more to this world than we first realize.
...non-conformist attitudes, and in The King of Chess the chess fool defeating the old chess master symbolizes the act of the old culture being defeated by the new. The King of Trees depicts how the belief systems in revolutionary China enforced new social norms on the population. Understanding the power of the social norms that were imposed in China at this time helps the reader understand how individuality in the citizens might have been expressed as well as why the government felt threatened by such behavior. One theme in The King of Trees is that individuality is persistent despite what is socially acceptable, and understanding the concept of social norms allows one to appreciate both sides of the difficulty conforming to social norms.
The forest represents freedom. There is no one in the forest to watch for misconduct, so people can do as they please. The wilderness calls to independent spirits such as Hester and Pearl.
A.S. Byatt uses symbolism in her story “The Thing in the Forest” to show how children in England during World War II, like herself, felt and reacted to the events that they knew where bad but didn’t understand. This can easily be shown through the sequencing of the plot, the deeper meanings behind characters and places, and the post effects it had the main characters.
I am exploring the embodiment of the chestnut tree by Yeats in “Among School Children.” Yeats becomes gloomy and nostalgic when he is among the children due to his realization that he is significantly aged, and in this poem, he looks to a chestnut tree for wisdom, for an answer. I think that the tree signifies strength, beauty, and resilience. I would like to show how the symbolism of trees is significant and perhaps show that the tree is intimately important to Yeats by showing that the tree signifies unrequited love.
"Son of the Revolution" showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. It followed the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life. But most of all "Son of the Revolution" showed us the horrible way China treated its people during this time period. "You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262).
Analysis: This setting shows in detail a location which is directly tied to the author. He remembers the tree in such detail because this was the place were the main conflict in his life took place.
The tall, lanky, dead tree depicts the darkness involved in the protagonists lives such as the death of friends and family, the disobedience they followed through with just to be together, Romeo exiled for murder, Juliet unable to marry Paris as she has consummated her marriage with Romeo, etc. The background behind the tree is cloudy/ashy to show that there is no light, which means that there is no hope for the conflict to end. However, there is a small sprouting plant which represents the pure, happy love between Romeo and Juliet. It shows that their love is everlasting, even in the dry barren area. All they need is each other. The black rose signifies delicacy and death at the same time to show that the love between Romeo and Juliet is deadly and it will result in deep sadness. Yet it is still a fragile
The tree is almost created into somewhat of a creature. With the limbs twisting out and rising into the air. Irving takes ordinary earthlike objects and changes the perspective of them into imaginary matter.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, beginning as a campaign targeted at removing Chairman Mao Zedong's political opponents, was a time when practically every aspect of Chinese society was in pandemonium. From 1966 through 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees, including the red guards, to take power from the Chinese Communist party authorities of the state. The Red Guards, the majority being young adults, rose up against their teachers, parents, and neighbors. Following Mao and his ideas, The Red Guard's main goal was to eliminate all remnants of the old culture in China. They were the 'frontline implementers' who produced havoc, used bloody force, punished supposed 'counter revolutionists', and overthrew government officials, all in order to support their 'beloved leader'.
Porter, Barbara Nevling. "Sacred Trees, Date Palms, and the Royal Persona of Ashurnasirpal II." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, no. 2 (1993): 129-39.