Significance of the Quotations - Essay Example

I. Identify the and work and explain the significance of the following quotations (15 Energy is limited to the bounds of one’s self; desire is boundless as the universe.” Ximen Qing said this in Golden Lotus after realizing that his sexual desires are greater than his actual physical energy. He has just taken an aphrodisiac which multiplies his sexual energy, although too much sex still extremely wears him. The significance of this quotation to the story is that those who are licentious like Ximen Qing will soon find themselves punished for their lust and immorality. Since Ximen Qing dies horribly because of being overdosed by Pan Jinlian with the aphrodisiac, it means that the author is not sympathetic toward womanizers like Ximen Qing. Ximen Qing only wasted his life by spending it having sex with numerous women. The author suggests that to yield too much to sexual desires is not only physically draining, but spiritually draining as well. As a result, Ximen Qing dies from the same act that gives him pleasure, an example of dramatic irony. His desire is his doom. His boundless desire is his fall of grace to boundless shame too. “How foolish are the people of this world! That which is clearly bewitching they think beautiful…What is clearly trustworthy they think absurd…?” The sentence comes from the Chronicler of Tales of “Painted Skin,” a short story from Pu Songling. It is part of the ending paragraph, where Chen saves her husband, Scholar Wang of Taiyuan, from completely dying after a demon tore his heart away and stole it. The phlegm of the beggar that Chen ate has turned into a human heart which she puts back into her husband’s chest. The significance of the quotation is that it criticizes people for making judgment on others based on physical looks alone. Wang, for instance, takes in a young beautiful girl easily to his home, even when he is not sure of who, or, in this case, what she is. Her beauty and youth bewitch him completely. The beggar, on the contrary, looks ugly and is smelly. He looks real, however, and more trustworthy than the beautiful young girl who is actually a demon, but people do not trust him easily. Chen trusts him only because the Taoist told her so. This smelly and ugly person is the one who saves Wang who trusted a beautiful girl. Thus, the quotation reminds people to not rely on physical looks too much when trusting people. “If might is honor, let them yield to me. / Only he is hero who dares to fight and win!” Sun Wukong says this to Sakyamuni in Journey to the West. Sakyamuni is asking Sun Wukong where he was born and where he learned his magical abilities. Sun Wukong briefly says that he comes from the merging of the Earth and the Sky and that he learned magic from a teacher. He says that he plans to live in Green Jade Sky. Sun Wukong says these words because he is confident that he is strong and powerful enough to defeat his enemies. He also means that those who now know him should know how powerful he is, so they can only show their might as a form of honor through surrendering to him. Those who fight him are considered heroes since they are doing something they cannot achieve, which is to defeat him. In other words, Sun Woking shows his arrogant side because of his complete confidence in his power and intelligence. “The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide.” This is the first line from Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong. Three Kingdoms tells the story of the unification and division of three countries, Wei, Shu, and Wu, based on ancient Chinese history. The line summarizes the history of rise and fall of dynasties in China. It captures the history of China where, after being divided for so long, the countries’ leaders decide to unite, and then after being united for a long time, they come at war against each other and become divided again. The significance of the line is its accurate portrayal of Chinese history, and even, human history, since people who are united cannot seem to stay united for a long time. Always, certain factors or people lead to their disagreements or conflicts which are soon enough for them to go into war and be divided again. The line also seems to say something about human nature, a nature that has violence and discontentment with power. I. Essay questions (15% Choose three out of the following four questions) 1. What are the problems of love relationships as represented in the readings (discuss at least two stories)? The problems of love relationships are related to family, traditions, or personal weaknesses for the lovers or spouses involved. Some of the main problems of love relationships are because of family obligations and traditions. In “The Magic Mirror,” Hsien-hsien cannot decide who to marry because their social tradition is that her father will choose her husband. Her father, Mr. Chan, however, prefers to be picky and to leave the decision to his two sons who have high-ranking positions. Mr. Chan uses his sons as a pretext for not agreeing to marry Ch’ü to Hsien-hsien. In reality, he does not think that Ch’ü is distinguished enough for his daughter. Hsien-hsien and Hsien-hsien have to go through several challenges, before they got married. Another source of problem in love relationships is personal weaknesses. In “Du Shiniang Sinks her Jewl Box in Anger,” Du Shiniang falls in love with an emotionally weak man, Li Jia. She already sacrifices everything for him and gives him even her money, so that they can get married, and yet, when Li Jia meets a stranger, Sun Fu, who tells Li Jia that he should leave Du Shiniang because she is a prostitute and because family relationships are more important than her, Li Jia accepts Sun Fu’s offer of a thousand taels. Li Jia shows that he is a weak man who cannot defend his relationship, while Du Shiniang is the one who is more committed and courageous in their relationship. One more example of personal weakness is lust. In “The Elegant Eunuch,” Yen Shih-fan uses deception to trap Ch’üan into becoming his male concubine. He makes a plan with Sha, who castrates Ch’üan against his will. Young Ch’üan loses his hopes for marriage because of his castration. Yen is an example of a person who started a relationship because of his lust. Xu Xuan of “Madam White is Kept Forever under Thunder Peak Tower” is also a lustful man. Even if Madam White deceives him twice, he falls for her beauty because of his sexual desires. When sexual desire is greater than love and intelligence, problems are sure to follow. 2. Select and analyze two women characters from the readings. Hsien-hsien and Du Shiniang are virtuous, intelligent, and loyal women, but unfortunately, they are also both easily duped by their suitor/lover in different ways. Still, they loved their men the best way that decent women could. Hsien-hsien is virtuous in the traditional sense because she follows her father’s orders most of the time, except regarding her marriage. When her father asks her to teach their servants’ daughters, she obediently follows him. Hsien-hsien is also intelligent in dealing with her father. She makes up a dream about her mother to prevent being married to another man aside from Ch’ü. In addition, Hsien-hsien is loyal to her husband because after she knows that Ch’ü lied to her in being an immortal, she remains committed to him. Du Shiniang is not as virtuous as Hsien-hsien in the traditional sense because she is a courtesan. Nevertheless, her virtues are in her honesty and dedication to Li Jian. She gives up having any other lover who could have also married her because she truly loves Li Jian. At the same time, she is intelligent too because she knows how to plan ahead, unlike Li Jian who spent everything he has. She saved money and jewelry because she does not plan to stay as a prostitute forever. When she met Li Jian, she has vowed eternal love and faithfulness to him, but she wasted her love on the fickle and weak Li Jian. She is a loyal woman, but Li Jian betrays her. Li Jian sells her like an object for his own safety and fear of his father. Shiniang remains loyal by killing herself instead of marrying another person. Hsien-hsien and Du Shiniang are good women who know how to love with loyalty. 3. What is your impression of women’s condition of life from the readings (discuss this with specific examples)? From these readings, my impression is that women, because of their gender, are slaves or second-class citizens in their society. Those who are poor are like slaves to their families, while those who are rich or born to the upper-class have at least some access to education, but they continue to have no freedom to make important decisions and they only live to perform their gender roles and responsibilities. First, poor women grow up as slaves, mostly to their families or are sold as concubines. In “Painted Skin,” the demon pretending to be a girl says that she has been sold as a courtesan. The demon is not a real girl but her story is realistic, as many poor girls are sold to prostitution or slavery. In “Du Shiniang Sinks her Jewl Box in Anger,” Du Shiniang is turned into a courtesan because she lacks wealth and social status. Poor women do not have a chance to be educated and make important decisions regarding their future. Second, upper-class women can at least have some education, but they are not free citizens at all. Hsien-hsien is literate because her social class allows her some form of education, but she cannot marry the one she loves because, in their society, fathers or brothers, when fathers are dead, decide the marriage for their female family members. Even rich women do not have the rights and freedoms as men. Third, women are married to their traditional roles and responsibilities. In “Painted Skin,” Chen does her duties as wife faithfully, doing everything she can to bring back her husband to life, as if her only duty is to be a wife. In “Nie Xiaoquian,” the spirit-turned-girl does everything she can to win her mother-in-law’s trust, and she is also dedicated to her roles as daughter-in-law and wife. Moreover, another gender role of women in these stories is to be sexual objects. In “Madam White is Kept Forever under Thunder Peak Tower,” Madam White is a demon, but how she acts to attract Xu Xuan shows that women are seen as licentious beings. Du Shining is also a sexual object to her patrons because she works as a courtesan. Even to her Madam, the owner of the brothel, she is a product to be sold. Hence, the conditions of women in these stories are largely about their oppression because they are women, but more so, when they are poor. Read More