Essay on "Chinese Literature Is Always Rooted"

Essay 4 pages (1306 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Those grounds include gender, politics, and economics.

Gender roles and norms are common themes in modernist literature, reflecting trends in society. In "Xiaoxiao," the views of the grandfather conflict with the views of the younger generation regarding the education of women. The Grandfather is belittling when he sees the "girl students." He sees them as being "like foreigners" because of their uniforms, and his statement comes across as an insult (p. 105). Grandfather then issues a prescient statement that Xiaoxiao is destined to become one of the "foreign" girl students, and Xiaoxiao protests. She claims that she will not but she is a product of her generation, and her grandfather knows this to be true. Suddenly, Xiaoxiao's self-image and self-concept start to change as she contemplates the implications of modernity in her own life. There is provocative sexual innuendo, such as when Brother Huagou remarks there is "no part of me that isn't big," (p. 111). Yet Xiaoxiao is married and fully entrenched in traditional gender roles. This is certainly not the case for Sixth Sister in "Love in a Fallen City." For all intents and purposes, Sixth Sister symbolizes modernity and feminism. She is divorced, and the reasons for her not wanting to be married seem to be so that she can capitalize on her freedom. Her family criticizes Sixth Sister, but she knows that independence is the emerging social value for women in modern society. This is a foreign concept, though. As her brother criticizes Sixth Sister, they and the Master fight about the fact that modern divorce law is no match for the eternal "law of family relations," (p. 2738).

Political issues are also salient in these three short stories. In "The Drowning of an Old Cat," allegorical narrative technique is used to discuss political matters. As this story is a nativist Taiwanese genre story, there are rural imageries that correspond to the need to distinguish Taiwan from its mainland counterpart. The villagers represent the past but the foreign people with "Western suits" and a system of police come by (p. 24). Here is a clash between the old world and the new. Language is also something that is changing, and has political meaning. In "The Drowning of an Old Cat," Mandarin is presented as a language of Chinese cultural imperialism. This type of analysis is similar to the imagery and symbolism at the start of "Love in a Fallen City," which starts with symbolic reference to Daylight Savings Time. To "save daylight" is a Western construct. The Bai residence would not turn their clocks back to keep up with modernity, which offers both a literal and figurative reference to the times that are changing. Likewise, all three stories use superstitious beliefs as a symbol of the past.

Economic realities are also important to these three short stories, but are treated in special detail in "Love in a Fallen City." In "Love in a Fallen City," women are becoming more in control of their finances. Finances are also more in control by Western influences. Stock markets and other modern creations are discussed. In "The Drowning of an Old Cat," modern urban centers and even large towns are viewed as being economically far more powerful than their rural counterparts, driving young people from the rural regions to the cities.

Modernism is a time of conflict and change, reflected in changing gender, political, and economic norms. The three Chinese short stories capture three distinct views of modernity from different parts of the Chinese diaspora in the region. Each of these three stories shows how the past and the future can comingle in the Chinese consciousness, albeit with difficulty.

Works Cited

Chen, Lingchei. "Reading between Chinese Modernism and Modernity." Chinese Literature 24(December 2002).

"The Drowning of an Old Cat."

"Love in a Fallen City." Retrieved online: http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/aubry2850/files/2013/04/Zhang-Ailing.pdf

"Xiaoxiao." READ MORE

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