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| Statue of Shi Pingmei and Gao Junyu in Taoranting Park in Beijing, photo credit: Glenn Belverio |
How are they related to (or deviate from) the increasingly dominant trend of realism in literary and social activism as represented by Lu Xun and Rou Shi?
How are the specificities of literary forms (traditional Chinese theatre, Western-style drama, diary, memoir, short story, novella, etc.) contributing to or hindering the expression of aesthetic or political content?
Cite sources if you are quoting others to avoid plagiarizing. You will receive zero point for any portion of plagiarized responses. Use quotes and cite authors' surnames (Tian, Shi, and Lu) and page numbers to support your responses. Due Wednesday October 2nd by 8 pm. Comments to two other responses due Wednesday by 10 pm.
"What we should do is set ourselves ablaze so that we might be a torch to those who come after us" (Shih Ping-mei, 71). The May Fourth Movement was a radical exchange between post-Confucius thinkers that called for an acknowledgment of what China is today, and how China should be molded for tomorrow. From the readings, we see Tian Han, Shih Ping-mei, and Lu Yin present the realities of what it takes to bring forth real change, and the consequences of reality. In the former quote, we see the idea of the May Fourth radical; despite the circumstances, the end goal is more important than the individual trying to achieve this goal, and that taking the step across those boundaries can be what leads others into following those footsteps.
ReplyDeleteWhen we look at Lu Yin, we see a woman who is neglected as a child, almost beaten to death (page 97), nearly tossed into the waters by her father because of her crying (page 98), had seen her mother driven to the brink of insanity (page 100), and faced almost every kind of setback that would keep her from being the person she wants to be due to Confucian ideals of arranged marriage and a woman's education; however, through all of this, she is persistent. Mr. Chen tells her on page 118 of her autobiography that she should give up on writing after she had handed him a "lackluster" short story; through the adversity, Lu Yin is later published in "Fiction Monthly" (118). She states on page 188: "Thank heavens I was born with a stubborn temperament..." She went on to write around 10,000 words while at the university and today we are still reading about her and how she paved the way for modern Chinese culture.
As for Tian Han, he presents a female character, Liangu, who seems quite similar to the two female authors that we read from this week; she is an oppressed Chinese woman who is seeking the desires of her heart and what she knows is right. When Huang, who can represent the "Youth" and the ideas behind the revolution, is brought in, wounded, Liangu states on page 28 of the drama: "...from now on I will never leave you again. If you live. If you die. I will never leave you," and "I'll die before I let go. No one in the whole world can tear us apart." Liangu knows what is right and is desiring Huang - symbolism for everything that the revolution stands for - but Fusheng is not having it. As a result, the worst happens and Huang kills himself as Liangu is being beaten; however, because of this, there is a possibility that Fusheng - possibly a representation of the Confucian ideals - will see the error in his ways.
Each of these authors, and characters, represent a seed of the May Fourth Movement that was buried in the ground, allowing a sprout to grow from their sacrifice and persistence, which eventually became the fruit from the labor of the movement: a new China.
"No one in the whole world can tear us apart" is an excellent line of dialogue. The irony of this statement is truly profound, considering the actual outcomes for the young lovers' relationship. This irony (and tragedy) emphasizes the strong thematic parallel between this story and that of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
DeleteI completely agree with this, I actually used one of the same quotes because it shows how strong these characters are. It really is remarkable how much the character will sacrifice for a belief.
DeleteIts amusing how Lu Yin and Liangu from Tian Han's piece are both incredibly stubborn and insist on doing things how they wish. This, in-of-itself during the times, is very progressive.
DeleteI like your analogy of fruits and undergrounds, the articles represent the spirits of that period and finally break out within the movements and reforms, which changed the whole country.
DeleteI agree that Yu Lin was a very strong woman. I think that the hardships she faced early in life contributed to her determination to be a writer and express her opinions.
DeleteI believe Tyler tying everything in with how the May Fourth Movement was a seed to a "New China" is very key and important. In my response I focused on the historical aspect and it was indeed the catalyst that led to the New Culture Movement.
DeleteYou did a great job bringing everything together, especially in reference to the female characters, "an oppressed Chinese woman who is seeking the desires of her heart and what she knows is right." Han, Ping-mei, and the character of Liangu are expressing passion in a true form, seeking meaning for themselves and for China.
DeleteI really enjoyed your post. You post is very detailed and filled with great ideas and connections for the stories.
Delete"The Night a Tiger was Captured" mainly told a story about the daughter of a wealthy hunter, Liangu fell in love with a poor guy, Huang Dasha. But was rejected by her father. Her father wants her to marry a guy from a rich family. Finally, Dasha was shoot by the gun for hunting a tiger. In Shi pingmei's memories, she talked about her mother, her family and how did the family and society influenced her. Foe Shi Pingmei's friend, Lu Yin, is a writer with a miserable life. She did not get any love from her family in her childhood and she wants to express herself in the words, devote her life in the literature.
ReplyDeleteFor the first story, the author expressed his desire for free love. In ancient China, class is quite clear for distinguish. A man cannot marry a woman who has a higher class forever. But in this story, Liangu did act like a brave girl, her words, " I have already promised myself to him, and so I am a Huang."(Tianhan, p.27) represented her wish to decide her own destiny. For the memories, both of the women are wish to get free and want a new literary in that time. Just like Shi Pingmei said"There is more to life than just worrying about clothes, food and survival. Yet how much of one's happiness is sacrified for material fulfillment? I's not the only one."(Ng & Janie p.70) For myself, I was also impressed by Shi Pingmei's love. She cannot be able to get together with Kao for life, but they finally got together after death. The arranged marriage caused such kind of tragedies. Couple did not know each other, but when they met the one, they cannot be together by the limitation of the morality. That really impressed me.
I think that "The Night a Tiger Was Captured" not only describes a love tragedy, but also show us the tragedy of the society. The social status of females at that time is very low, and people had feudal thought. Like the arranged marriage. Under that social environment, the thoughts of some people became deformed. Wei Fusheng insisted on letting his daughter marry to a rich man, even she is unwilling to.
DeleteI agree with how you said that the the story describes the common theme of tragedy in the Chinese culture and how the characters deal with it. The environment they live in makes most fold but these characters do not.
Deleteyou have a good summary of the story and brings your idea about free love. I agree with you that most arranged marriage is tragedies and that why couple should chase their free love
DeleteI agree with you. In ancient China, hierarchy is very obvious. In a way wealth and power determine your status in society. Human relations should not be like this, every individual is equal.
DeleteI agree with you. A lot of arranged marriages are tragedies. Couple did not know each other until they married. That is so lamentable.
DeleteI agree completely with Jun Zheng in the sense that it was simply a story of tragedy and romance between a young couple. It was also a story that made a bold cultural statement with regards to the way society operated back then (with their highly traditional beliefs and customs).
DeleteThe trends of realism and romanticism in the May Fourth Movement are particularly interesting in their contribution to the evolution of individualism. Women especially are caught in the transition between a rigid, hierarchic society to a greater awareness of the individual.
ReplyDeleteIn Tian Han’s play, “The Night a Tiger Was Captured,” Liangu’s character takes action for her individual desires, despite societal pressure to marry the man her father chooses. This freedom of expression is displayed in her passionate declaration to her father, “Fusheng: I have promised you to them, and so you are a Chen. Liangu: But I have already promised myself to him, and so I am a Huang” (Han 27). Within her love for Huang, emerges the awareness of self as she finds her voice to fight for the right to promise herself to the man she chooses. Similarly, the memoirs of two women of the May Fourth Movement call for a greater awareness of individual worth and its contribution to revolution. Shi Ping-mei sacrifices being with her family for her right to be educated, and Lu Yin perseveres for the right to a respected voice in writing. Within these pieces of literature, the depth of emotion, particularly weariness and adversity, presses the audience to persevere, “if a tiny spark can illuminate a corner of heaven and earth, then we must be diligent in our duty and our pursuits” (Ping-mei 71). In order for China to truly progress, each individual must persist in finding their voice and committing to their passions. Thus the evolution of individual thought was critical in the evolution towards a modern China.
I definitely understand what you mean. Your quote from Ping-mei truly shows how dedicated and, in a sense, sacrificial the activists of the May Fourth Movement were; even if the smallest push forward could achieve a glimpse of greater things to come, then that push was well worth it for the writers and their characters. I think I could learn a thing or two about persistence from these guys.
DeleteI really like the sentence you choose in this short novel. "Wei Fusheng: You already belong to the Chen family. LianGu: How can I belong to the Chens. Wei Fusheng: I have promised you to them, so you are a Chen. Lian Gu: But I have already promised myself to him, and so I am a Huang." (Tian Han, 27)Lian Gu is a brave woman at that time, she dared to fight against the arranged marriage by her father and pursue free love.
DeleteI agree with you that China need to push up in oder to persist and people in China have to find their voice. good analysis of Liangu's character as well
DeleteI think class system is normal even for today. Nowadays, getting marry with the same social class family is a common sense. So do you still think individual voice can change the traditional marriage thought?
DeleteI agree with Fei that to this day association in regards to class is common everywhere (especially the US and Asia). Most people associate with those they share common backgrounds with. I have two friends from New Delhi and Sana'a (The capital of Yemen) and they both say arranged marriages are still a common thing there, especially among tribal communities in the outskirts of these two cities. I think that a voice can change this....but only in more modernized places.
Delete"The Night a Tiger was Captured" is about two young lovers doomed from the very start. On page 5 it says, “In 1933, however, Tian had asserted that the doomed lovers were thoroughly realistic reflections of the masses’ struggles and failures “to find their own way… since his attitudes seem always to reflect prevailing literary dogma: whichever way political winds wandered.” In this story, Tian presents his political views through the story of a rich girl, Liangu, and a poor boy, Huang, who fall in love but are not allowed to be together. Liangu portrays a sense of individualism that women in this culture were not used to. However, her parents wanted to arrange a marriage to a rich boy. On page 28, her father, Fusheng says, “Once your mother and I have had our say, you’ll come around once and for all and consent with your own mouth.” This related to realism because it followed the old Chinese culture of women having a lack of say in what they did because of their family. It was typical for Chinese parents to arrange marriages for their daughters. The daughters would not have a say. Unfortunately, this story ended in the death of these two lovers. This demining display of women was also portrayed in the “Slave Mother” from last week and the stories from the 2 young ladies Lu Xin and Rou Shi.
ReplyDeleteLu Xun is an inspiring story about a young writer. She was unappreciated by her family and tells of many life-death stories. Her parents also arranged a marriage for her but the engagement was called off. She said she always felt guilty for her fiancé until he finally married a young rich girl. She had tried many times to write a short story that Mr. Chen would approve and publish in Fiction Monthly. Reject after reject, this memoir ends with one of her short stories being published. Shi Pingmei told memories of her family and how they molded her social and cultural influence. The published writing by these women set a new bar in Chinese culture for women writers. These memoirs and “The Night a Tiger was Captured” display the old Chinese culture and why a movement towards new Westernized culture was seen as more promising. Women were not valued as anything other than a house wife. They were not seen as writers, poets or individualist. These stories show the struggle that Chinese women have gone through to an increasingly dominant trend of realism by becoming individuals and having a voice in social activism.
It was obvious how different these writers were, specifically through realism, and how Tian Han didn't have to puff up his story and make it have a happy ending, instead he told it exactly how it probably would end up in the China of that time; it was tragic. We know that this is the truth because we can examine both of the other writers, Shih and Lu, and see that tragedy was also laced throughout the fabric of their life stories. They may have not been directly calling for change, but their stories proved that change was necessary.
DeleteThe realism of Tian Han's story really stood out to me. Especially when compared with the dramatic "Sea of Regret" story-line. The female authors' memoirs were excellent examples of why revolution was needed in China. Through their struggles they definitely paved the way for other women.
DeleteTian Han’s “The Night a Tiger was Captured”, and the writings of Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin paved the way for the May Fourth Movement. During this time period, China was caught in-between the traditional Confucian ways of life and the freedom oriented Western style ideas. All three of these stories concentrated on the fact that life was bounded by societal and mental constraints. In “The Night a Tiger was Captured”, Liangu had an arranged marriage with Chen. However, Luangu doesn’t love Chen and had already given her heart to Huang. Her parents disapproved of Huang because of his family and social status. People at that time and even maybe today bases their marriage on the wealth of the family. In a conversation to her husband, Huangshi says, “When you get another tiger, our Lian-er can have an even bigger dowry (pg. 10)”. From this quote, it seems that Huangshi only cares about the financial status of the family rather than the fact that if her daughter was marrying someone whom she loves. In her conversation to Li, Huang says, “Still, such a husband is a good one. The harder a family works, the more prosperous it’ll be.” Li replies, “Right, That’s why I wanted my second daughter to marry into that family. (pg.14).” Liangu’s parents never did cared whether if she liked the man she was going to marry. Liangu tried to oppose this marriage but ends in tragedy. The interesting thing is that Luangu actually failed in listening to her parents. She had contradicted the Confucian teachings of filial piety. The reason for this occurrence might be due to the influence of Western culture and education.
ReplyDeleteSimilary, the two short stories of Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin described their personal struggles for individualism and women status in society. These two women were able to voice their opinion because they have been educated by Western ideas. Shi Pingmei fought for her right to be educated and described her misfortunate childhood in her story. Lu Yin was a brave woman who wanted to voice her opinions and be free of her arranged marriage. Their works paved the way for the left behind Chinese society for reforms and cultural movements.
I agree it was important to understand the memoirs of Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin were examples of how women showed their individualism. These women stood as a voice in the cultural movement for the women of China.
Delete“The Night a Tiger Was Captured” describes a love tragedy between a tramp and a rich girl. This short novel critique against the feudal marriage consciousness and praise the lovers who dare to pursue free love. Lu Yin and Shi Pingmei were in same school, Peking Women’s normal college, their literary friendship is well known in modern China. They are talented and have great personality at that period, they are social progressive and wrote essays to tell youth, love, affection and friendship. They also wrote articles on women’s right and helped edit “the Rose”, a popular Peking newspaper. They not only tell stories about love and friendship, but also involve society and life. After May fourth movement, young women in China began to free their mind and pursue spiritual life, Lu Yin and Shi Pingmei are some of them. They promoted women’s rights and fought against old system.
ReplyDeleteMost noteworthy about Shi Pingmei is the relationship between she and Kao Chun-yu. Kao Chun-yu is a founding member of the Chinese communist party and he fell in love with Shi Pingmei. I know a famous love story about them, Kao wrote some love poems on the maple leaf to express love to Shi, but Shi refused him. It is said that Shi was hurt by her first, but in this article “Although deeply in love, Shi rebuffed Kao’s advances when she learned of his previous arranged marriage to a girl in his hometown” (Janet Ng and Janice Wickeri, May Fourth Women Writers: Memoirs, page64). After read this, I think that even Shi opened her mind and pursuit new thought, she didn’t completely get rid of old traditional views. She didn’t accept Kao until Kao was terminally ill. After Kao died three years, she passed away. Before she died, she asked to bury with Kao, so “Shi Ping-mei was buried by Kao’s side in Tao Jan Pavilion Park on the outskirts of Peking. Their tombstones remain a favorite pilgrimage spot for young lovers” (Janet Ng and Janice Wickeri, May Fourth Women Writers: Memoirs, page64) Although it is so, I am sure they are happy.
"Most noteworthy about Shi Pingmei is the relationship between she and Kao Chun-yu." This is a very interesting point you bring up. I saw the story to center more on individualism, but this relationship definitely does reflect the changing attitudes in China towards marriage and relationships. Like the story of Liangu and Huang, this is also a reaction to the traditional Confucian marriage demands.
DeleteI think you had a great summary. Also your ideas and evidence to support your ideas is written very well.
DeleteThe May 4th movement was a time of change for China since everyone was trying to move towards being more modern. The first play, "The Night a Tiger was Captured", was one of the very first play to ever have a live fire be built directly on stage. Also furnishings accompanied the actors as well. Tian Han was praised for introducing a new aspect to the theatre world: Realism. Romanticism played a huge role during this time as well since students wanted to a change.With each of the readings there were many key aspects pertaining to the May 4th movement. In the play "The Night a Tiger was Captured", we saw that Liangu was trying break away from tradition and follow what she believe was true in her heart. At the beginning of the play she was very passive and wasn't really memorable, however, during the second half of the play Liangu made a dramatic change. She became more rebellious and head strong. With the other readings I saw that Lu Yin was also very rebellious with the fact that she wanted to further her education to a college level. Once again we see that she is going against her families wishes and wants to date someone that she loves. The main reoccurring idea I keep seeing is individuality among females. "I didn't have any strong notions of marriage at the time, but I felt a bit afraid of this mysterious thing, and the more attention my mother paid to it, the more unhappy I grew" (108, Lu Yin) shows how stubborn she was and how much she wanted to have her own life.
ReplyDelete"Yes I was willing to stay here and beg. I was willing to sleep alone under the temple altar. But I was not willing to leave." (25, Tian Han) just further proves that the May 4th movement was slowly influencing people all around to stand up for what they believed in rather than follow some old tradition.When Liangu lashes out, "No! I'll die before I let go. No one in the whole world can tear us apart." (28, Tian Han), it puts her into further peril because females of the time weren't ever portrayed as the type of people to talk back to their fathers. With all this in mind these readings were more than a stepping stone for China; it was the powerful wave that took China by storm and changed all aspects.
"I didn't have any strong notions of marriage at the time, but I felt a bit afraid of this mysterious thing, and the more attention my mother paid to it, the more unhappy I grew." Excellent quote for the idea of individualism! I remember reading this quote now. It just ties the whole idea together of the women moving away from just the idea of a house wife. To become their own individual human being.
DeleteThe Night When a Tiger Is Captured & memoirs both emphasize character individualism and the personal rebellions against the constrictive grips of pre-revolutionary Confuscian ideals. Until alternative ideals of individuality, progress, and women's rights took the scene in May Fourth literature, Chinese writing tended to promote traditional views of China as a self-centric and isolated nation. The prevalent social norms were conservative, with a relative amount of intolerance for radical free thought, class de-stratification, freedom in romance or women's rights. These stories are a radical contrast for traditional Confucian values.
ReplyDeleteThe play "The Night When a Tiger Is Captured" tells the unhappy and dramatic story of two "star-crossed" young lovers destined in a Shakespearian fashion to remain apart. The plot is reminiscent of the Romeo-and-Juliet story of social differences getting in the way of true love. Liangu is an upper-class woman engaged to a wealthy man; however, she does not love the man and wish to marry him. This is partly because she is actually in love with Huang--a young man who is not nearly as well off. Her parents disapprove desperately of the marriage, claiming that "a pretty face isn't enough: if her dowry is too small, her sisters-in-law will look down their noses at her" (Tian, 10). This story emphasizes the romantic and social oppression of COnfuscianist culture, a notion contrasted sharply by the characters' unconventional attitudes of social equality and romantic freedom.
The Memoirs are yet another excellent example of the changing cultural values during the transformational process that was thje cultural movement. The main changing attitudes emphasized here are women's rights. Women's struggles for equality in self-expression in comparison to their male counterparts are illustrated by the determination of the female writers such as Lu Yin, who aspires only to use her voice in the literary world. Despite the fact that her writing is consistently rejected by the critical gaze of the male judges at the time, she refuses to give up her vision and finally becomes recognized as a powerful revolutionary voice.
I like how you compared "The Night a Tiger Was Captured" with "Romeo and Juliet". I also noticed strong similarities between the two; namely the ending where Huang ('Romeo') takes is own life in despair, and Liangu ('Juliet') was left crying his name.
DeleteI also liked the comparison to Romeo and Juliet. It is very helpful to compare these stories to those we may understand better so thatwe are able to fully grasp what is going on.
DeleteHuang is chasing the way of love that, “ I would slowly make my way to my place behind the mountain and gaze at the firelight in this room, especially the firelight that came through Sister Lian’s window… it would take me back to those times when I would call for Sister Lian every day to come play with me, to when I would pick all the flowers on the mountain and give them to sister Lian no wear in her hair”, which represents the “Youth” in that period of time during the May forth movement. However, those people around him are quit different. The living environment decides the living philosophy. People not only have to work hard in their fields, but also have to deal with those beasts around, which forces people always to make compromises to their living environments. Obviously, the “youth” is far behind an ideal option to marry the hunter’s daughter. When I just started reading this drama, I thought that this might be just another love tragedy, which was all about rich and poor, but its not, or at least not all. “One day you told me I should become a tailor, but I refused, and after you beat me, I ran away. The next day you demanded that I become a carpenter…” If he did what the hunter recommended making a living, he might have a chance to win his love just like a normal youth in town, but he refused. Well, we could say that love to the “youth” was nothing about the material, which made him a “freak”. All I see was just a weak and pathetic “loser”. He would never be accepted by the environment, which made a sense to the suicide.
ReplyDeleteThis romantic love tragedy represented the new idea of freedom of love under the May forth movement and also reflected a huge conflict with tradition concept of marriage in that time. Those ideas like the new lives just breaking out from ground, not strong enough, which was probably what the author tried to express in this drama.
When looking at the reading it is evident that The May Furth Movement was a movement that called for the people who used to believe in the Confucius beliefs to rethink old thoughts and look at the new China and what it was going to become. The characters in the readings make it apparent that change is not something that comes along by its self, without a strong leading force like these characters nothing in a society can be progressed. Even though the characters are faced with adversity every single day they show the apparent Chinese theme seen in all of the readings and this is a strong will that does not get deterred until breath has left the person who is fighting for what they think is right. This is apparent when Shih Ping-mei says “What we should do is set ourselves ablaze so that we might be a torch to those who come after us” (Shih Ping-Mei, 71). The Chinese culture is one of the few in the world where national pride is so strong that one would die in order to keep the traditions of the past and reform for the present alive.
ReplyDeleteThis same strong desire for a belief is also shown in “The Night a Tiger was Captured” the old confusion belief of arranged marriage is a lack of women’s education is something that should no longer be allowed to stay in place. We see a woman in the reading that was born into a world where it would be so easy to fall through the cracks and follow the same old way of life where she would get married and lack an education. As is the norm in the readings the character Liangu has a hard head and a belief in an ideal that could change her culture forever. She believes that she should be able to marry the man she loves and pursue a higher education in order to advance herself into a smart strong woman. This is what china lacked in the time, women who are intelligent and have free will to do as they please are one of the strongest weapons in the world, yet it is remarkable how many cultures around the world still believe that it is acceptable to have only men in schools and holding high positions in the workforce. Cultures who realize that diversity is the key are the ones that advance themselves to their full potential.
Realizing the diversity to advance themselves to their full potential is a great point. China could be seen as a nation too prideful in the beginning, which in turn faulted them to become so technologically behind (can be seen within their navy). Once China accepted these ideas, they went from a nation seen as barbaric and behind, to a nation and land of prosper and opportunity (opportunity in the sense of other countries wanting to gain with trade)
Delete“I’m not getting married, and that’s all there is to it.” [Tian, 21] This quote from “The Night a Tiger Was Captured”, said by the to-be-wed-daughter, Liangu, is a reflection of women’s desires to be able to pursue free love and not be forced into an arranged marriage. This was opposed to conventional customs at the time and was an act of social activism. Liangu’s love stretched from the beginning of childhood to death, denying even the arranged betrothal. She simply wanted to be with the one she loved, but her father instead (having all authority as her father,) demanded she marry an honorable Chen. We see how a woman has no authority, not even over herself.
ReplyDeleteThe short stories by Shi and Lu both have elements of love. Shi’s story is a deep yearning for her mother while she is away studying. “I don’t know how to calm my quivering heart. I begin to think of my mother.” [Shi, 68] Lu’s story has more of a realization of lack of love; she originally proposes to betroth a man to escape an arranged marriage her mother and elder brother were discussing, but realizes during her attendance of college that life with him would be too dull and that she cannot marry him.
“By not marrying him, I was simply respecting my own aspirations. Furthermore our personalities were too different, and if we were forced into this marriage neither of us would be happy, so it would be best for both of us to break it off now.” [Lu, 116]
Both short stories also include similar elements of a woman’s self-authority; the ability to choose one’s own destiny and to marry who one wants.
Lu's lacking of love also shocked me, and in that time the girls are not be able to get enough attention. In this case, Shi may be lucky cause she has a good mother, but her love seems unhappy to the end.
DeleteThe Night a Tiger Was Captured was written by Tian Han in 1922. The story happened in winter. The season winter is a main point in this reading . In the reading, the author describes that Huang sleeps outside in the winter time. This gives reader a feeling that how Huang is miserable. This story talks about a love story between Huang and Lian Gu. Huang and Lian Gu was together in their childhood. At that time, Huang’s parents were still alive. After Huang’s parents died, Huang became poor. Lian Gu’s father stopped Lian Gu being with Huang. However, they have already fallen in love with each other. Their love is romantic and impressive, but the reality is cruel. At the end, Huang chose the death to stop the hopeless love.
ReplyDeleteThe Night a Tiger was captured and The Regret of Sea have the common points. Both of the stories describe love stories, and these two stories have a sad ending. However, the characters of people in each story are different. In the The Regret of Sea, I think protagonists are cowardly and pedantic. In the The Night a Tiger Was Captured, the main protagonists Huang and Lian Gu were brave in the love revaluation. At the beginning of the reading, Lian Gu was clever and quiet. After she saw what her father did for Huang. She stood out and demonstrated her thought to her father. Even though Huang chose the death to end the story, I am deeply impressive by the love. They try to resist the feudal class system and get freedom.
Good point about the differences and similarities of The Night a Tiger was Captured and The Sea of Regret. The way Dihua and Liangu handled their arranged marriages were completely different.
DeleteI think it might be due to the differences in family background and education. Liangu lived in a rich family and had a decent education. On the other hand, Dihua's family was average and had to run away during the war.
DeleteI think "The Night a Tiger was captured and The Regret of Sea have the common points. Both of the stories describe love stories, and these two stories have a sad ending." is a good point. Both of them not only talk about love tragedies, but also tell us the tragedies of the society in China
DeleteI agree with your opinion. Liangu is a very successful character in "The Night a Tiger was Captured". She struggles for freedom and love bravely, her struggling spirit really impressed me.
DeleteAlthough Liangu and Dihua are very different, I think they were both brave in their own ways.
DeleteA period drama can reflect a period of people's living conditions, plays and articles are want to get people freed from feudal minds, so that people are free to love, free breathing.
DeleteI am very appreciate her courage and persistence.At the feudal society, many people are longing for freedom, is not only a couple, and some are slaves of the feudal regime.
DeleteI really enjoyed this week's readings. Thus far, in each story women had little freedom and complied with every unreasonable (by our standards) expectation and order, so reading about Liangu's defiance is somewhat refreshing. Her defiance must have shocked the audience, especially in addition to the graphic violence and blood depicted in the play. Towards the end Liangu says, "But I have already promised myself to him, and so I am a Huang." and "Father, you can beat me till I die, but I will not let him go." (Tian Han, 27) These two quotes show how great her love for Huang Dasha really is, as well as how tragic it is for both of them to be denied happiness.
ReplyDeleteLu Yin also shows some defiance in regard to love in her memoirs. "I decided it was necessary to stand up to my mother and brother, so I wrote a letter to my mother stating, 'I want to marry him. No matter what the future may hold, I'm willing to accept it.'"(Lu Yin, 110) Even though the May Fourth Movement was still considered radical by most people. Both of the women authors furthered their education and suffered many hardships to get where they were. If not for them and others paving the way, who knows what affect that would've had on Chinese literature? To sum it all up, "What we should do is set ourselves ablaze so that we might be a torch to those who come after us. If a tiny spark can illuminate a corner of heaven and earth, then we must also be diligent in our duty and in our pursuits." (Shih P'ing-mei, 71)
I agree with you,Liang Gu is a brave girl, she can fight for her love and face tha challenge.This is a really love.
DeleteI also agree that Liang Gu is a brave girl. It was unheard of for a daughter to disobey her family like this during this time.
DeleteI agree with you, Liangu is a brave girl. She has courage to struggle with her father during that time.
DeleteThis is a great response, some of my points echo your ideas. Like Ryan said, during this time period, a daughter to do the exact opposite of what her father told her called for extreme punishment. This was true bravery.
DeleteThis situation was rarely seen before, i mean a daughter go exact opposite her father's order. This is a highlight of the drama.
DeleteIn China, we always say, "listen to your parents and you won't be regret." Even today, there are still a lot of sad love stories happen because of different class system. I want to know for the Americans, do you have the situations ?
DeleteI had similar thoughts! I loved seeing women break away from the conventional mold and pursue love or education not only for their sake but for women after them. It really does only take a small spark or a blazing torch to model the concept of freedom and start a revolution.
DeleteI agree with your point of the importance of their works. China might have moved at a slower pace if it had not for these writers.
ReplyDelete"The Night a Tiger was Captured" mianly told Liang Gu and Huang Dasha group up together, they loved each other. But Huang Dasha was a poor guy and had low class, but Liang Gu was a rich girl and had higher class than Dasha. So Liang Gu's father Fu Sheng wanted Liang Gu marry with Chen who had the same family background as Lang Gu. But Liang Gu was a brave girl. Because she tried to Escape from her family and created their own life with Dasha. Like( page 28) "Liang: I have already thought about running away with Brother Huang before the wedding could take place!" When they failed and Fu Shen catched them, however Liang Gu never yield, (page 28) " Liang : NO! I will die before I let go. No one in the whole world can tear us apart." Liang Gu was beat by Fu Shen very hard tried to change her mind, then (page 29) "Youth: Ai-ya, I cannot bear it any longer!" and killed himself by a knife for Liang Gu. This play describes a homeless youth and rich girl love story. The play created Lian Gu, Huang Dasha this couple yearning for freedom and happiness, and give us a deep impression of young men and women image. From the tragedy stoty of Lian Gu and Huang Dasha ,the author wanted to condemned to rank, wealth and status to determine the feudal marriage.The feudal system accused the persecution of young men and women love and praised the youth can challenge the feudal thoughts.
ReplyDeleteShi Pingmei wanted the pursuit of love and the desire for women rights and freedom but she was not lucky at all. She is full of the memory of both revered and beloved person. Lu yin was her friend and in Lu yin's family a lot of people passed away. So both of them have a tragic fate, so they deep understanding of China Labor women and the tragic fate of the whole nation and on the dark struggle for freedom and liberation.
From page 28 “ no one in the whole world can tear us apart”. I see Liangu does not want someone to intervene her decision and she is brave to chase her love. In this case, Lian is falling in love with Huang even if her father Wei strongly separates them. So, Tian use Lian and Huang to represent that it is hard for couple to get together even if they fall in love with each other. Tian focus on romanticism which show in page 26 “each night, when the sun had set and …… gaze at the firelight in this room..” .I see Huang missing Lian so much and he always make sure if Lian is safe. Besides, Huang cannot leave Lian even if he has chance to study aboard and earn money to enrich himself. Tian’s writing style gives an strong against to feudalism because feudalism repress couple to have free love. Tian criticize marriage has to relate with the extent of rich and degree.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of writer in May Fourth moment, Shi and Lu’s literacy reveal that they chase for free love and having a good life. Most of their writing has tragedy ending and expresses their negative emotion. It deviate from LuXun and RouShi’s literacy because Luxun’s writing is reveals the realism and supports the trend of social activism. Luxun’s writing encourages people to face their fate and renew their mind. In addition, literacy forms like Western-style drama change people’s aesthetic that people start to have their own judgement and become more active towards others. People want to get a better life like Western people, because the performance of drama influences people to face their real life.
lian gu these words can be said that the whole drama the most exciting place to realize the lotus Regardless determination. This period drama will reflect the people's minds, can change people's minds at this time.
DeleteI just realized that you quoted the same part of the story as I had, which I think is a very powerful and important quote that could basically summarize her feelings of the entire story. I also agree with your statement about the other two pieces and how people did want to get a better life and how the Western-style did have an effect on that.
DeleteAll three authors use elements of both realism and romanticism in their writing. Some of the romantic elements in Tian’s play include the forbidden love between Liangu and Huang Dasha, Liangu’s rebellion in asserting her own wishes, and Huang Dasha’s loneliness in life. Shi Pingmei romanticizes her feelings of loneliness, desolation, and homesickness by comparing them to firecrackers. “Like the firecrackers, my anxious heart rises and falls, burst into shards and splinters, then lies frozen on the ground.” (Shi p. 72) Lu Yin also uses elements of romanticism by focusing on her life experiences, feelings, and choices: basically, her identity as an individual.
ReplyDeleteOf these three writers, Tian Han is the most obvious advocate of realism. In the notes before his play, “The Night a Tiger Was Captured,” Randy Barbara Kaplan describes how Tian strove to make every aspect of his play as realistic as possible, in regards to both content and performance. Everyday people inspired his characters, the problems were relatable, and his plots were plausible. His sets were detailed and extensive, and perhaps most importantly, “Tian departed from the established practice in the extreme, substituting plain, vernacular Chinese for the high-flown, often incomprehensible, dialogue and lyrics of musical drama…” (Kaplan, p.3) Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin’s use of everyday language shows that they were also proponents of the vernacular. Shi Pingmei in particular “established a reputation as one of the first wave of vernacular, free verse poets in China.” (Ng, p. 63) These three writers’ use of the vernacular made their language accessible to people from all walks of life. In the same way, when any reformation-minded author used a certain form of literature, such as a short story or novella, it was likely to convey their message in a way that the Chinese people could understand, even those who might not find reading a political journal or newspaper accessible or desirable.
This is an great comparison response. The stories shared many common trends, and you exposed them well. I enjoyed reading your analysis and how you tied them all together through the elements realism and romanticism.
DeleteYour summary is very good! I enjoyed reading it.
DeleteI agree there was a good mix of romanticism and realism. Good analysis!
DeleteThere were quite a few characteristics of May Fourth romanticism in both "The Night a Tiger was Captured" and the memoirs written by Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin. The story "The Night a Tiger was Captured" includes two star-crossed lovers who were not to be together because the woman, Liangu was a rich, higher-class woman and her lover, Huang Dasha was of low social class and did not have money. She wanted to go against the traditions and marry him because she loved him, rather than marry Chen, just because he had money. The two women writers, Shi Pingmei and Lu Yin also did not wish to follow the ways of tradition. Lu Yin's "writings in the period of depression and dissipation which followed earned her a reputation as a "romantic" woman"(Lu, 96).
ReplyDelete"Tian's promotion of realism was his most significant contribution to twentieth-century Chinese theatre and drama. His experiments with the new style extended both to staging conventions and design elements as well as to his approach to dramatic writing" (Tian Han, 3). Tian's use of realistic setting was completely new to Chinese theatre. I think his realism of his characters in many ways relate to the writings by Lu Yin and Shi Pingmei because of the changing times and the loss of interest in the traditional ways.
"The Night the Tiger Was Captured" is a play written by Tian Han in the early half of the 20th century. Tian Han was one of the first playwrights to introduce a sense of realism into his works as opposed to the traditional stories containing only romanticism. In the story Liangu disobeys her father's wishes and runs away from an arranged marriage to instead chase a forbidden love with a local begger named Huang Dasha. This was a problem in part because Liangu came from a wealthy family whereas Huang Dasha was a member of the lower class.
ReplyDeleteThe way that Liangu dealt with the situation of an arranged marriage was very different from that of other stories at the time. While typically stories would have focused on other aspects of the relationship, Tian Han instead had Linagu stand up to her father and fight for what she knew would make her happy. This is an example of how even though realism was an important aspect of theatre to him, romanticism is still very important as well.
In class we discussed how gender roles were very evident in theatre and this story is a prime example given that the men were all referred to by their occupation and the women were all acknowledged primarily by their familial role.
I also thought it was very interesting how he incorporated two different styles of writing in this story. Really great post!
DeleteThe May Fourth movement was a time of transition to Modernism for China. It was at this point that the literature styles of realism and romanticism were introduced to the culture. "The Night a Tiger was Captured" was the first of its kind for China. The play shows the transition of young woman from her passive, quiet personality to a determined personality in which she started began to follow the things she believed were truly right. She disobeyed her parents' wishes and this house the movement towards Modernism began; as more people realized what was right and they were determined to accomplish what they felt was right.
ReplyDeleteIn comparison to the other play, both displayed how children disobeyed their parents because of what they felt was truly right and best for them. In this story, Lu Yin longs to be with a person who her parents don't approve of. Also, Lu Yin wished to acquire a college education, which was very uncommon for women to do during this time period. Previous to the transition to modernism, women were basically assigned their roles from a young age and expected to perform those roles. Both of these stories show how women began to leave their traditional rules, and finally developed individuality between them; pursuing things that they desired.
I think your analysis and comparison of the two stories is very accurate. You did an excellent job of connecting the theme of the two stories back to the general theme of the May 4th Movement.
Delete“The Night a Tiger was Captured” is a love tragedy. It mainly talks about a love story between a poor young man and a girl who from a wealthy family. One of the main characters in this drama is Liangu, she struggles with the feudal consciousness and strives for the free love. This drama has a high reputation in Chinese dramatic history. It truly reflected the backward feudal ideas in that period of time and also honoring the struggle spirit of young men and women.
ReplyDeleteIn ancient China, hierarchy is very obvious, people in different class life is quite different. For example, “The Night a Tiger was Captured” is a typical example to show the general marriage customs in ancient China. Young men and women from different class cannot get married. A poor young man married a wealthy girl can only be a unrealistic dream. In addition, women's social status in ancient China is not very high. In other word, women always have to obey the arrangement of the male, I totally disagree with this kind of customs but it was fact. These feudal consciousness really hindered the development of society and the progress of thought. So in modern China, there were many progressive thinker organized lots of movements to change feudalism. May Fourth Movement is one of the most famous movement in modern China history. It was a free and pure Romantic movement.Both of Shi pingmei and Lu Yin are outstanding poet in this movement. They used their personal experience to express their pursuit of light and freedom. Same as Lu Xun and Wu Jianren, all of them are used their pen as weapon to fight against feudalism
"Won the Tiger of the Night" is Mr. Tian Han in 1922 the creation of a scene one-act play, the drama depicts a homeless youth and kulak daughter love story. Cousins huang Dasha and Lian gu childhood, initiation of sincere love, because Huang family come down, Lian gu's father Wei fusheng decided to marry the daughter of a wealthy family, two young people were made within the capacity of each maximize the protest, the last still ended in tragedy. lian gu is kind, strong, brave, dare to boldly pursue marital autonomy and personal liberation, she does not want to marry wealthy Chen family, because she has heart quietly promised to the poor cousin Huang Dasha. Lian gu brave announced: No one in the whole world can tear us apart.P28 Expression a contempt patriarchal, feudal contempt for traditional thinking, the courage to pursue marriage autonomous sense of progress.
ReplyDeleteI love this phrase, lian gu on Huang dasha love is so pure, so warm, so I had to whom, alas, Chinese have a saying called "The lovers finally got married"( You qing ren zhong cheng juan shu)but their love is based on end in tragedy. Have lamented that period of feudal ideology has been deeply rooted in people's minds, people without any idea of their own, with no love, freedom, Confucianism stresses from the Make match by parents' order and match-maker's word, the child did not choose love right, parents are the child's god.
This is really romatic and it remind me of the story of Romeo and Juliet. Although they are forbiden love, but nothing can stop them.
DeleteAt that time, free love is very difficult. I think they can insisted on their ideas and get rid of the shackles of the feudal society,It is very worthy of respect
DeleteThey both did what they could do at that time to protect their love, but parents and the social status issues were still strong enough to reject it. The behaviors occurred between those two young lovers proved that they wanted to break the tradition constraint and to do what they really want in deep heart, but still had a big part of fear about the feelings because of influence of the tradition.
DeleteAll three of these stories wrote before the May Fourth Movement. During this time, China was struggled between traditional Confucianism and western new ideas. Most of Chinese has accepted the new ideas from western countries. In “The Night a Tiger was Captured”, Liangu’s father desires Liangu to get married with Chen who is a rich guy. But, she doesn’t love the man her father chooses, and loves her cousin Huang dasha who is a poor man. Liangu objects to married with Chen, and starts to revolt her parents. “Liangu: I don’t want any man. I’ll stay home and take care of my granny and my mama.” “Liangu: I don’t care if Papa gets angry or not. I’m not getting married, and that’s all there is to it.”(Tian. P21) “Liangu: I’m not going to. I don’t want to live.” (Tian. P20) These quotes all represent her strong rebelliousness. Unfortunately, Huang and Liangu doesn't have a happy ending, Huang was died in the end. Maybe a lot of people think Liangu and huang are losers in this story because they don’t get married with each other. In my opinion, Liangu and Huang are winners; Liangu doesn’t married with Chen in the end of story. I think it is an advanced step to people.
ReplyDeleteThe other two short stories narrate their struggles for women rights and status in society. In Shi pingmei’s memories, she talked about her parents how influenced her. Lu Yin talked about her parents too. Her parents arranged a marriage for her, but it cancelled in the end. Their struggles have completely won in the end.
I agreet with you. It is the first step that women can choose the life that they want instead of obey the rule that the old morality set up for them.
DeleteAfter reading The Night a Tiger Was Capture, it still as tragic as other stories that we have read before, but I love it because it is the first time to show the power of female and they were brave to say no to the arrange marriage. I appreciate Dihua which is a female character of novella The Sea of Regret because she was so strong to face all the difficult and show her filial piety to her parents. However, she surrendered to the old morality and it is really pity that she did not get married again.
ReplyDeleteThere are many aspects in this play such as love, class and so on. Lian Gu who was a daughter of a rich hunter Fusheng grew up with Huang Dasha and fell in love with each other. After a huge change to Dasha’s family, he became poor and orphan who was living a hard life. Lian Gu was not allowed to be with Dasha due to his poverty and lowest class in the society. And this forbidden love did not have a good ending because Dasha cannot bear that he was insulted and Lian Gu was beaten and scolded by her father, so Dasha suicide. There is a point that it leave me a deep impression. Lian Gu finally rejected to marry with Chen when her father talk to her tenderly. Even her father changed his attitude to yelled and beat her, she still insisted her decision. This is the point that I never see in the previous reading. Chinese is so traditional. It is a kind of filial piety that children should obey parents’ decision such as arrange marriage. At that time, it is impossible that reject the requirement from parents. So I think this is the reason that Fusheng was so angry and beat her daughter even he always thought that her daughter was his angel. Page 10, Fusheng was talking to his wife about Lian Gu, “everyone says there’s no one who can coe close to our girl.” And Fusheng decide to hunt a tiger to buy more dowry for her daughter. It can be seen that he love his daughter. So the reason that he become so violent at the end is because Her daughter was challenging his power.
Within this week's readings, I noticed a new trend; a trend that I enjoyed reading and learning about. Women standing up for the beliefs that which they are passionate about. A couple of quotes that stood out to me, were, "I'm not getting married, and that's all there is to it."(Tian, 21) and, "But I have already promised myself to him, and so I am a Huang" (Han, 27). These statements share the common characteristics of young women disobeying. This is something that, traditionally, would never be prevalent. A female's role within this culture of this time period is fairly decided upon by someone else; whether its the husband, father, or another guardian, girls, especially young, do not get to make many decisions of their own. As times change, everyone changes; both men fight for what they care about, and now women too. And now young women. This proves the strength and willpower of love is a factor that will cause young and rebellious children to the unexpected. This symbolizes whole the whole culture is changing. However, is it considered a positive change? Is disobeying one's orders justified if the orders are not fair or considered corrupt? Opinions will clash from both sides, but I think it is important that they do clash, because without these events, they cannot move forward. This week's reading were a nice change of pace from the past weeks', as well as offered many interesting topics for discussion for class tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteIt's true! Without these kinds of arguments the world could not move forward to what it is today! Similar events are currently taking place and it just comes to show that things like this never stops
DeleteMay forth romanticism at Lu Xun’s time have a great influence in society. The May 4th New Literature ideological trend, along with the deepening of new culture movement and the development of literary revolution, the development of western literature thought into China and other factors. Actually, the May 4th literature is directly affected by the strong enlightenment literature. The May 4th literature absorbs the rational spirit of enlightenment literature in Europe and the fight spirit of feudalism, to criticize the Chinese feudalism and reforming the national character. From Tian Han’s “The Night a Tiger was captured”, we can find that the main heroine Lian Gu and with always love hers boyfriend Huang Dashai are in the era of the feudal marriage, order to have a freedom of marriage to regardless of the blood to fight family . Lian Gu’s father did not asked Lian Gu’s idea, betrothed to a very rich man, he is Cheng family’s the third son. Through this point, we can see in the traditional era, a couple did not have freedom love and the huge gap between rich and poor family is very hardly to let a couple to achieve their get marriage’s dream. This is very lamentable.
ReplyDeleteWith the influence of the May 4th movement, Lu Xun and other intellectual, like Roushi, Tian Han, they used kinds of eat peope’s phenomenon to judging the feudal society, people began to abandon old idea, to enlightenment to accept new democratic life with dignity. Although the Mat 4th literature advocated realism, but rather than put authenticity, objectivity, in the first, they put the progressive and militancy in the first place. So the original writers of literary works as a function of enlightenment to people.
Whatever what kind of literary forms, they can use a critical eye to write a literature let people thought began gradually from the feudal thought.
This "tale of romance" was actually never the tale of romance most would think of. It is more of a tale of new theories and beliefs. Why is this? Because, again...China had very traditional values that they were trying to maintain (probably in an effort to stabilize the Chinese identity in a changing world). The Chinese had a very strict caste system imbedded deep within their culture and society at that time. People were not permitted to marry those of a different caste. If you're poor you mingle with the poor and I you're rich you mingle with the rich. But this is not what Liangu (the rich girl of the story) wanted. She fell I'm love with a poor fellow by the name of Huang Dasha. The characters in this story are much different than those from previous readings. They act very brave and speak out often about the unfairness of the system of classes when it comes to true love. They are essentially speaking out against the flaws of their traditional beliefs in a time in the world where everything is transitioning into a more modern society.
ReplyDelete“The Night a Tiger Was Captured” was a representative work of Tian Han’s early career. It is a tragic story about a hunter's family in the countryside of Hunan Province. In the story the hunter's daughter Liangu fell in love with her cousin Huang Dasha. He was very poor and he grew up with her. Her father didn’t approve of him and made her marry a wealthy man. As a great and meaningful gift for his daughter, the hunter planned to capture a tiger for its skin. Dasha was shot for hunting for a tiger. Shi Pingmei often expressed in her memories the way she felt about her mother and her family. She told us how her family and society had a great influence on her. Her friend Lu Yin is a writer and her life wasn’t so great either. Lu’s family didn’t love her and she wants to be a writer to express her life in words.
ReplyDeleteBasically the story tells a tragic story and it shows how the characters within this culture deal with it. Instead of backing down, they stand up for what they believe is right. Most people are not brave enough to do this. They make it so that wealth and power will determine where you are in life, but real love isn’t based off of materialistic things. The activists of the May Fourth Movement were very dedicated and sacrificed a lot. It proves it in this quote here, “if a tiny spark can illuminate a corner of heaven and earth, then we must be diligent in our duty and our pursuits” (Ping-mei 71). These stories show how Chinese woman have had to go through many trials and tribulations to gain a voice in the Chinese society.
The story The Night A Tiger was Captured is a tragic love story of a boy named, Huang whose parents had passed and he became poor, he fell in love with Liangu who came from a wealthy family. Obviously because of this her family did not encourage their love, as her parents wanted her to marry rich. Even without their approval and her father, Fusheng, already chosen a husband for her, she still wanted to be with him. “I’ll die before I let go. No one in the world can tear us apart.” (page 28.) I think that this story is a really good depiction of the romanticism literature trend that was following but also at the same time the realism as well. But I also think that it hits the political aspect of the separating class and that being the main reason that they were not allowed to be together.
ReplyDeleteThe two memoirs I thought were really fascinating. The first one was very good at capturing the attention of the readers, or at least it did for me, in making me wondering why she dreaded the New Years so much and why she counted them from time and time. I think that this memoir really resembles the trend of realism, the feelings and problems that perhaps at this time period a lot of people faced, having to leave their home and go far away to make money. The second autobiography by Lu Yin described her childhood and how this is suppose to be a happy time of her life became a past that she remembers being hated. “But as fate would have it, my maternal grandmother passed away on the very day I was born, causing my mother to regard me as an unlucky creature.” I think this is a very realistic problem that children faced especially in that culture when they are very superstitious and show ‘tough love’. “I could not stop crying. My father was standing nearby with several assistants discussing some case, when my crying suddenly set off his temper. He walked over, picked me up, and was about to toss me overboard.
I completely agree, "tough love" is kind of an understatement. Just because she was assumed to be "bad" luck they just abandon her
Deletei agree that the two memoirs were really interesting to read, especially from a woman's point of view during the time of change.
DeleteTo understand the nature of both pieces I looked more towards the history and meaning behind the May Fourth Movement. Rather than focus on the obvious political and cultural issues presented in each literary work, I got a better understanding of the direction that both authors and China were trying to move towards. The May Fourth Movement was first a response to the Chinese government and their lack of initiative with the Treaty of Versailles after WWI. One of the biggest points was letting Japan reclaim the Shandong Province. This movement of 5000 students from Peking University was in my opinion foreshadowing the eventual “New Culture Movement” that leads to one vernacular literature and women’s liberation. The students, represented the people of China, frustrated by China’s lack of initiative (seen from the Treaty of Versailles and WWI) to try and drive their country to a more modernized society.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking on page 20 of “The Night a Tiger was Capture” it states “My dear child, you’ve already agreed. How can you back out on a promise? A Marriage like this is really nothing to get upset over now, is it? His parents already sent us gifts, and now you say you won’t go. But what about what I want? What about what your father wants? And the Chens – you think they’d go along with this? You must try to understand. You’re not a little two or three-year old girl anymore. If you won’t accept a young man like Chen’s son, what kind of a fellow do you think you’ll get?” (20)
Harsh words spoken by Huangshi and two main points can come from this. The most obvious is because Liangu’s mother is from a different generation and does not understand where Liangu is coming from. She does not understand that she wants to break away from the tradition, and instead of marrying for “rank” she instead wants to follow her heart and explore what true love really is. Huangshi could be used as a direct representation of China here. Wanting to break away from the traditional cultural norms and move in a new direction creating new cultural acceptances like woman’s rights (can be seen through her desire of wanting to choose her own husband). More importantly the second point ties directly into the cultural norms that were being commented on by the author to try and move away from the cultural norm. Because the quote is said to Liangu’s mother instead of her father is very important. It would have been normal for her father to say this to her, but for a mother to say this to her daughter shows how a mother’s sympathy was nonexistence when it came to marriage. To uphold the cultural norm and standing was more important than her daughter’s happiness.
In regards to Lu Yin, using the same quote of Tyler on page 97 we see her neglected as a child. Bad enough she was born a girl and her mother died, it cursed her throughout her life. We see through both readings that woman rights were being directly commented on. China’s cultural norms and traditions were driving these women to resent the very country they lived in. That is why the May Fourth movement is thought to have sparked the New Culture Movement in China. More literary works were being published, and as the more educated woman came to be, they were beginning to see the inequality and lack of open mindedness their country possessed.
http://chineseposters.net/themes/may-fourth-movement.php was also used as a source for historical context