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"WILD SWANS."
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Analysis of Jung Chang's book.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of Jung Chang's book. Difficult role of women in China during the 20th Century. Narratives of the women of the stories. Focus on three generations of women. Stories of the grandmother, mother and author. Practice of foot binding. Influence of Communism on women in China.
Paper Introduction:
Comparison of Two Incidents from “Wild Swans” by Jang Chung
Introduction
This paper will make compare and contrast the stories of two of the daughters of China as found in the book Wild Swans and use those comparisons and contrastings to make critical assumptions concerning the role of women in 20th Century China. This paper will use as its complete source material for all of its assumptions and arguments only those words and observations of Jung Chang. A reasonably candid and valid consideration of the role of women in China during the 20th Century can be assumed by an analysis of Jung Chang’s Wild Swans.
Comparisons
Both of the narratives of the two women who are named Yu Fang (and labeled the grandmother) and Ba Qin (who is labeled the moth
Text of the Paper:
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She decided to join the Communists (p. In this fight,she tends to give up and rely on a narrative style that could be called"detached." The first series reflects incidents that happened to her grandmother,Yu Fang), and the second series reflects events that happened to her mother(Ba Qin). For instance, she tells us that by thetime Yu Fang was born, China was at a turning point in its history. We are not sure whether the purpose of the mother in thisnarrative is to represent Communism and its influence on China. Her mother, who herself had bound feet, first wrapped a cloth about twenty feet long round her feet, bending all the toes except the big one inward and under the sole. (1991), Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, New York,Anchor World Views Up to now, at the age of fifteen, she had not felt ready to commit herself fully. Although not amemory book in the Proustian vein, nor a candid and accurate portrayal inthe Samuel Pepys sense, Chang divides her book into sections, each of whichis devoted to a series of vignettes woven into a narration. References Chang, J. Here's how this brutality isdescribed. Ba Qin From this marriage came Ba Qin, the author's mother. The very word for China --"jung gwo" means "Middle kingdom," or"center of the world" and there is much power in that word. Comparisons Both of the narratives of the two women who are named Yu Fang (andlabeled the grandmother) and Ba Qin (who is labeled the mother) areintroduced and made whole by third person narrative created the daughter.Both narratives are hybrids in that they share elements of autobiographymixed with elements of biography. China had become a republic in1912, following the Wuchang Uprising inspired by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Then she placed a large stone on top to crush the arch. Yu Fang The experiences of Yu Fang, as described and filtered through thesources of Jung Chang, who was in turn only relating the experiences aspassed on to her through the source of family myth and narrative show thatduring the early years of the century, the role of a woman in Chinesesociety was one of little or no consequence, since it was hardly importantto even name a girl child. Bothnarratives also share a lack of cohesion and a certain wandering, as if theauthor is constantly grappling with explaining the women. My mother had been turning more and more against the Kuomintang for some time. This paper will use as its completesource material for all of its assumptions and arguments only those wordsand observations of Jung Chang. Forinstance, we glimpse wonderful moments of the family's generations, but wedon't develop a strong emotional feel. Millions of Chinese have similar stories of sadness and heroismand the desire to grow and survive and endure and gain an education.However, few of those have the desire or the intellect to sort out thosetales of terror and anguish and create a book that will, in itself, endure. My grandmother's feet had been bound when she was two years old. 55). In fact, the book is mostilluminating when she begins telling of herself and how she evolved from aCommunist to a disillusioned idealist to the granting of her PhD inEngland. Shewas presented to the Warlord who looked upon her with favor, and then shewas taken into his house. In fact, the two women -- the grandmother and mother -- are suchiconic figures that they almost are used as symbols to move a story. AfterWorld War II, the Communist Party came to power, and those citizens whodisagreed with Communism formed the Guomintang and moved to Taiwan,establishing a government there in 1949. 21 to 42)the author relates how her grandmother, when barely a girl, was given as aprize to the ruling warlord. The grandmother, however, did flee andfind a husband. And then we have the author's life, yet another thread in thistapestry and herself. When the three lives are considered together, theybecome a unique tapestry that shows the highlights of Chinese historyduring the last century. Since Yu Fang was just barely 15 when her feet beganbeing crushed, it is interesting to note the things that were going throughher daughter's mind at the same age. In anycase, we learn through a wandering narrative (conciseness is not theauthor's strongest talent) that her mother struggled with hardships in theearly days of Mao's revolution and rose, along with her husband, to aprominent position in the Communist Party before being denounced during theCultural Revolution. In the book we find yet anotherinstance of the changing role of women in 2 th Century China. A reasonably candid and validconsideration of the role of women in China during the 2 th Century can beassumed by an analysis of Jung Chang's Wild Swans. Comparison of Two Incidents from "Wild Swans" by Jang Chung Introduction This paper will make compare and contrast the stories of two of thedaughters of China as found in the book Wild Swans and use thosecomparisons and contrastings to make critical assumptions concerning therole of women in 2 th Century China. At the same time, the entire work isconsidered by many critics to be a candid and insightful reflection of thedifficult role that women have been assigned in China. My grandmother screamed in agony and begged her to stop (Page 24). The cultural core of Chinese society is theextended nuclear family, and the author reminds us that it was not unusualto see large families living in the same household (p. The mother hadthe benefit of being born into a family where women were at leastrespected, if not cherished. However, hergrandmother was blessed -- or cursed at times -- with an intellect. Asuccession of dynasties and inter dynastic warring kingdoms ruled China forsome 5, years, and this helped create a brilliant technologically and aculturally advanced society. We have the tales of Yu Fang at the beginningof the book. The 19th Century saw a general socialweakening of China in which rebellions killed tens of millions of people,and the governments of Russia, Japan, Britain, and the United States tookpolitical and economic control in large parts of the country. 93) It was stunning to realize the depth of philosophy and socialconscience Ba Qin had at such an early age. And thuswe have a new role for women in 2 th Century China--that of being a heartycomrade. It was there that the most terrible thinghappened -- the binding of the feet. In this first tale, we get a good sense oftwo concepts: the importance of the extended nuclear family in China, andthe non-importance of women. The news of Cousin Hu's death made her mind up. It was necessary,however, to have women for the acts of procreation and running the houseand making life better for the master. This paper will now contrast the two narratives,each of which shows another aspect of the role of women in 2 th CenturyChina. The only alternative she knew was the Communists, and she had been particularly attracted by the promise of injustices against women. There were few jobs for men, and even fewer for women. During this first chapter in the book, called"Three Inch Golden Lilies: Concubine to a Warlord General" (pp. That same year, the People'sRepublic of China was formalized in Beijing, or Peking, under Chairman MaoZedong.The beliefs and goals of the mother are not as clearly drawn as those ofthe grandmother, which suggests that perhaps the family mythology brokedown in that generation. The binding was to make the feet small and pretty and also to cripplethe woman so she would not flee. Chang Jung constantly breaks away from the narrative of hergrandmother, and her mother, and herself, by reminding us that there was aChina outside of their existence. This was indeed a huge step forward. This woman, who came from a poor and unschooled family, became theconcubine of a warlord. Not only doChinese believe that their country is the center of the world, the culturealso believes that men are the center of the country.
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