Introduction
The multiple crises in China at the beginning of the twentieth century were predetermined with overlapping of traditional Chinese and Western capitalist-industrial ideologies. The decline of the Quing dynasty resulted in rapid growth of Western capitalism and required courage of common people for adapting to this pressure and ongoing changes.
Focusing on Chinese history between 1890s and 1980s, Jonathan Spence in his The Gate of Heavenly Peace described biographies of Chinese writers and philosophers for examining wider context of historical situation in the country, using particular examples. Lu Hsun in his The True Story of Ah Q and Pa Chin in his The Family used life stories of their contemporaries for shedding light upon the political, cultural and social aspects of the multiple crises in China at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The Social Pressure of the Feudalist Order
The social pressure and controversies as depicted by Lu Hsun and Pa Chin in their stories were rooted in the disillusionment with traditional Chinese principles, criticism of Confucian philosophy and growing popularity of Western standards. However, the views of the Chinese community concerning the future path of the country’s development divided. There was a group of writers and historians supporting the traditional Confucian principles and criticizing the influence of the Western standards.
“The new institutional and scientific elements being introduced by the Western powers could be seen as having antecedents in the Chinese tradition, and thus need to be simply rejected out of hand in an attempt to preserve Chinese ‘purity’” (Spence 33). The two thousand year dominance of feudalist order carved the whole generations of Chinese people with a set of characteristic features, including their desire to save face and complete obedience to injustice imposed by authorities.
For example, Ah Q, the main character of The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Hsun tries to maintain his face and look as a victor in any situation. He is a caricature of a national hero and the author uses comic effect for criticizing his features. Lu Hsun reduces some of the scenes to an absurdity for expressing his attitude towards Ah Q’s blindness and narrow-mindedness. In the situation when the main character is beaten and robbed, he still tries to preserve his face by all means. Ah Q slaps himself so that to look as a victor because it is he who does the slapping.
Being beaten by Mr. Zhao, an honored landlord, the main character does not question the reasonability of this punishment but is proud of this minor association with such a person. This episode is the criticism of the tradition of group punishment which was popular in China. The plot line which shows how Ah Q arrives into a new town and criticizes the traditions of another community can be associated with the unwillingness of some of the Chinese people to accept the Western standards.
The Family by Pa Chin shows the coexistence of four generations of the Kao family for exploring the conflict between the age and youth, historical traditions and innovations, Confucian philosophy and Western influence. The lives of the three young Kao brothers Chueh-hui, Chueh-min and Chueh-hsin and their struggle against the social pressure and prejudices are meant to demonstrate the obsoleteness of the norms of the feudal society.
The estrangement within the Kao family and the broadening gap between the generations symbolize the struggle between the tradition and the innovative trends. The Confucian traditions of the Kao family and the norms of the Chinese society precondition the unhappiness of the elder brother and the suicide of Ming-feng. Thus, the younger brothers question the benefits of preserving the old traditions and criticize the external limits imposed by the social structures.
“You can lock up a person physically, but you cannot imprison his heart” (Chin 70). The difficulties of adaptation to the social pressure and the roots of this social aspect of the Chinese crisis are one of the central motifs of The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Hsun and The Family by Pa Chin.
The Place of Women in the Chinese Society
The place of women in the Chinese patriarchal society is another important theme developed by Lu Hsun and Pa Chin in their stories. The Chinese traditions concerning women’s rights for education, work and marriage limited their opportunities and were unequal to the rights of males. The restriction of the females’ rights was another characteristic feature of the Chinese society during the discussed period along with the social inequality between different social strata and controversy between the Confucian tradition and Western standards.
In The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Hsun, the main character expresses widely spread prejudices concerning the differences between men and women, justifying the discrepancy in their rights. “He [Ah Q] had always shown himself most scrupulous in observing ‘strict segregation of the sexes’…” (Hsun 22). Thus, these limitations and segregation are rooted not only in the social order and laws but also deep in the consciousness of an average citizen whose personality has been carved by the obsolete tradition.
In one of the scenes of the story, Ah Q offends a nun with the aim of mere self-affirmation. The main character hurts a woman, blaming his personal problems on her. Even more significant for the development of the idea is the reaction of the surrounding people who take the situation for granted. Instead of expressing their indignation with the observed injustice, the crowd laughs at Ah Q’s behavior.
This example is one of the brightest episodes in The True Story of Ah Q which demonstrates the powerless position of women in Chinese society and the community’s silent approval of the existing state of affairs. When Pa Chin touches upon the rights of women in his The Family, he shows that the rights of both honorable and common women are equally violated.
Both rich female Chin who wants to receive education and Ming-feng who tries to protect her rights cannot reach their goals because of the established customs in the society which are not even questioned by some Chinese. Actually, the women’s indignation with their position is unusual and unexpected for their community. Their protest indicates the beginning of the new era of criticism of Confucian traditions.
However, the fact that the women’s attempts are not crowned with success, and Ming-feng even commits a suicide shows the challenges which Chinese women have to meet before any substantial changes take place. Taking into account the inequality of their rights for men and women in the Chinese community at the beginning of the twentieth century, the powerless position of Chinese women became one of the basic problems highlighted in the stories under consideration.
Lu Hsun’s and Pa Chin’s Messages to Their Readers
Shedding light upon the burning problems of their community, Lu Hsun and Pa Chin were aimed at educating their readers and contributing to the social changes within the Chinese community. One of the main messages encoded in the development of the plot lines of the stories and the symbols chosen by the authors is the demand of changes. Implementing various stylistic devices, the writers try to draw the readers’ attention to the existing injustice to which most of them have already got accustomed.
Criticizing the cultural-historic burden of Confucian China, Lu Hsun and Pa Chin do not point at the ways for making the necessary changes directly. Lu Hsun’s caricatures are aimed at not only entertaining readers but also providing them with food for thought. Even the comic scenes with Ah Q contain the deeply philosophical context and smiling at the adventures of the main character, a reader is expected to think over his/her own life style and the historical context of the depicted events.
Pa Chin in his story depicts the conflict between the external limitations and the characters’ inner aspiration to protect their rights and change the existing state of affairs. Pa Chin’s main message is the importance of overcoming the outdated prejudices and resolving the conflict between Confucian traditions and the Western influence in the society for revolutionizing the social, political and cultural spheres of life of Chinese community.
The Significance of the Two Stories for Understanding Modern Chinese History
The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Hsun and The Family by Pa Chin provide valuable insight into the understanding of social and cultural life of China at the beginning of the twentieth century. Depicting life of individuals and their families, the authors allow readers to create the link between the destiny of one citizen and the social order of the whole country.
The stories under consideration demonstrate that not only the traditions of the country carve the personality of its people but also the public consciousness of citizens can play an important role in further development and modification of traditions and norms. Thus, belief in the existing order and devotion to Confucian philosophy of some Chinese was a significant hindrance for the integration of the Western principles in the country’s traditions and lifestyles.
These literary works demonstrate the complexity of social processes which took place in the Chinese community at the beginning of the twentieth century, showing various dimensions of the community life and numerous challenges which citizens had to face for adapting to the ongoing changes in the country social mode. Using specific examples within the historically accurate background is valuable for enhancing understanding of historical processes in China by evaluating their impact on life of an average citizen.
Conclusion
Overlapping of traditional Chinese and Western ideologies resulted in multiple crises in China at the beginning of the twentieth century which is depicted in The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Hsun and The Family by Pa Chin.
The plot lines of the stories under consideration explore the complicated processes within the Chinese community which required high level of flexibility and adaptability of an average citizen. Drawing the parallels between the lives of the main characters and the revolutionary changes in the community, Lu Hsun and Pa Chin not only educate their readers, drawing their attention to the most significant aspects of the community life but also providing valuable insight into the historical period.
Works Cited
Chin, Pa. The Family. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2001. Print.
Hsun, Lu. The True Story of Ah Q. Objective Systems Pty, 2006. Print.
Spence, Jonathan. The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895 – 1980. New Jersey: Paw Prints, 2008. Print.