Su Tongs My Life as Emperor - Essay Example

Modern Chinese Literature: Final Paper Irrationality Of Contemporary Leaders As Depicted In Su Tong’s My Life As Emperor Shuguang Lin Gang Pan EAS284H1F 08/06/2015 Introduction The contemporary society is faced with numerous challenges including poverty, corruption, poor leadership, and wars that have high threat to jeopardize the fairly just society. Nonetheless, leaders, other than making rational and logical decisions that would help in enhancing the quality of life, they act in strange and egocentric ways to the disadvantage of their subjects. In critical exploration of the Book My Life as Emperor by Su Tong will help uncover some of the evils practiced by leaders and help contemporary leaders in different level to transform their malevolent ways 1. In this book, Su Tong uses an innocent 14-year-old prince who all of a sudden and unexpectedly, named Emperor and set in the position of Lord and leader over a whole country. A kid of limited of skills and restricted talents soon develops tanked naturally power and figures out how to wield an iron clench hand in ruling subjects inside and outside the royal residence. With narration from the ex-Emperor, this is an entrancing story of cruelty, mistresses and eunuchs, of deadly supreme competitions and imperial court interest. Su Tong portrays, with extraordinary ability, the missteps that the teen ruler makes in picking his foes. Duanbai is removed as a young adult by one of them2. Duanbai is a typical example of contemporary leaders who get to power with very minimal leadership experience and end up misusing their power and manipulating the people in their society. A leader is expected to work on improving the lives of their subjects other than making it hard and difficult. The battles for leadership as well as supremacy leave the subjects at the dispensation of the leaders. Poor governance and leadership have been identified as being one of the contributing factors to poverty and poor living standards of people in a given nation3. Dictatorial Leadership As the ultimate leader, Duanbai has the ultimate power over Xie Dynasty and this is a weakness as the limitless power makes him superior over all people. He becomes a typical example of modern dictator. Meandering around the tragic city streets and villages of his domain in camouflage, he regards what he sees as entertainment. In a shocking scenario, he orders the execution of a dedicated soldier, driven by stylish repugnance for seeing the mutilated soldier. At 14, he has the hubristic hallucination of great power and force over his people4. Duanbai in time turns into a terrifyingly and merciless leader. About all that he touches turns into dust and almost everybody whose life he touches lives bitterly with regrets and anger. However within his Xie Empire are individuals who might convey it to destroy and they appear to hold up out there waiting for a chance to take him down from the throne. Duanbai is like a sadist who enjoys and gets excited at the expense of other peoples suffering. When his armed force caught the rebel leader of the peasants, he sends his most loved eunuch to oversee the tormenting and torturing, which are stewed with extraordinary names. Like Chinese dishes, they are hanging Embroidered Balls, Immortals rides the Mist, Hollow out the Eggplant and some more. When Swallow comes back with the report of the torture, Duanbai is highly excited and fascinated with the news. Duanbais actions are not different to what is happening today. The leaders have turned to become executors, judges and jury. The subjects are left under the masses of the leaders and a simple mistake can lead to much damage. In May 2015, the Guardian reported that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of one of his defense minister, Hyon Yong Chol executed for sleeping in his meeting5. the possession of power leads to leaders enforcing power to the people harming them regardless of their rights. Antagonism from within Duanbai is faced with antagonism from his close relations like the family members and other members within the dynasty authority. This is mainly because most do not agree with his style of rule and the fact that he took power while at a very tender age. There those who feel he is not experienced enough to have the throne and that they are more deserving than him. The strategic power fight between Madame Huangfu and Duanbais biological mother, Madame Meng is passed to the leader and brings out cruelty in him. What is more, when the ruler becomes an adult, the entire royal residence is mixed and opens a Pandora box of double-crossing, murder– by mistresses. Duanbai has one top choice; Lady Hui who normally turns into the objective of different courtesans whose sole reason in life is to get the Emperors consideration and seed, by whatever method6. In addition there is the power battle between the two siblings. Duanwen the senior child and the sidelined legitimate beneficiary, arranges a fruitful overthrow and inevitably expels the young leader. Countless number of people lose their lives to this empty reason, for it should be then uncovered that Duanwen would be no preferred head over his predecessors. After Duanbai is expelled from the royal city and begins his life as a common subject, it is where the author starts the story. The author shows the weakness of the ex-emperor who cannot even work for a living in the country side7. Authenticity and validation of right to leadership The emperor’s barbaric nature was entirely developed when his childhood mentor, the experienced, wise and kindly monk Juekong is removed from his throne by his grandmother, Madame Huangfu who is the Empress Dowager and carries the actual political power. Duanbai is supported by his cruel and harsh grandmother together with his birth mother, who is the Empress Dowager. Under the control of his grandmother, Madame Huangfu, the young ruler is tossed into a whirlpool of schemes and ill will among the concubines and fatal force battles with his relatives, Prince Duanwen and Prince Duanwu, who feel they have been denied the crown unreasonably8. On her deathbed, Madame Huangfu uncovers to Duanbai that she had misrepresented the proclamation and that the late emperor had named his eldest child, Duanwen, to be his successor. The opposition from his half-brothers together with the stepmothers is justified by this statement. In the middle of this opposition, Duanbai creates enemy with close family members and feels like they are underrating him as a leader. He uses his power to cruelty deal with his brothers who aim at taking out of the throne. This cruelty widens further the differences between them. In the end we see that they work together and successfully expel him out of the throne. Duanbai later realizes that it might be true that he is just a puppet leader as he is controlled by his grandmother and other elderly members of the counsel His decisions are primarily based in their opinion other than his own logic and rational reasoning. His power and control in the dynasty is by no doubt in question. The seasoned statesmen turn him against their enemies making him take adverse decisions that see their execution. It is obvious that that his powers and control are only limited to the support of this statesmen and the elders. It is unexpected that the leader of the most enlightened land of its time could be drenched in the most uncouth of activities. The Emperor is slave to his boundless power, a weak puppet to the bickering of his incalculable courtesans and a casualty to his own particular lavishness; basically a caught winged creature in an overlaid cage. Choosing of the wrong friends and enemies alike Duanbai has obviously chosen the wrong people in the leadership circle. Most of them are there to please him and continue spearheading his ruthless rule of the dynasty9. However, all throughout Duanbais cruel leadership, he is constantly in fear that his older brother Duanwen will come to take him out of the throne in the near future10. This is strongly supported by the opposition from the peasants who decided to rebel to his rule and are willing to fight for the overthrow of his power. The author creates a fast progression of clear scenes sensationalizing the young rulers inclination to hasty decision making and irrational ruthlessness, his childish obsessions with the fantasy of turning into a circus tightrope walker and on the prevalent opportunity and elegance showed by birds. A focus is given to the relationships that limit him and at the same time defining him. The relationship with the grandmother who is the force behind the throne and the delicate eunuch (Swallow) who turns into his nearest friend, and wonderful mistresses Lady Hui, who gets the Emperors adoration and induces the desire of his hated sovereign, and her sister courtesans. Duanbais bumbling tenet starts a peasants rebellion and leads to his dethroning by the triumphant Duanwen. Eventually, the Prince losses his power and throne to Duanwen and this are in the wake of being on the throne for a long time. He escapes the royal residence with his devoted eunuch, Swallow, and starts living as an average person. With no abilities to work and excessively embarrassed, and fear of being a burden to Swallows family, Duanbai abandons Swallow looking for a circus whose tightrope strolling has intrigued him. Swallow in the long run joins Duanbai out and about. Unable to find the circus in a starvation assaulted land, Duanbai chooses to practice tightrope strolling naturally. Exceeding expectations, he frames the Tightrope Emperor Traveling Circus and gets to be known as the Emperor of Tightrope. In the novels finale, a slaughter in the capital city by troops from the Peng state, a long-lasting foe of the Xie Empire, wipes out Duanbais troupe and additionally the whole imperial family, conveying an end to the domain11. Surviving the killings, Duanbai resigns to Bitter Bamboo Monastery on Bitter Bamboo Mountain, rehearsing tightrope strolling amid the day and contemplating The Analects during the evening. The novel reviews numerous topical concerns in Su Tongs fictional world, for example, deadly domestic rivalry, unquenchable desires with critical results, and the secret and illusiveness of memory and history. The Xie Palace in the present novel is invaded with uninhibited desire and incredible savagery. The magnificent request and quality of the Xie court is however a flimsy finish scarcely covering profound corruption and horror–violence is continuous and unimportant committed for no critical reasons and rejected calmly. Insidiousness, fierceness, and exposed aspiration for power go as one until viciousness loses its motivation, turning into an end in itself, an unadulterated display to fulfill the cruel joys of the royal residence occupants. The obvious impartial tone in which demonstrations of crude severe power against the human body are described familiarizes viciousness, adding a chilling impact to the story. If the novel makes no case to authenticity, it regardless passes on Su Tongs vision of Chinas dynastic past, which, attached to no specific time, rises above history. Despite the fact that the creator pronounces to have made two histories in the novel and Wu Zetian, a hidden vision unites both. Su Tong concedes that attempt as he does; he is unsuccessful in creating an anecdote about Wu Zetian not quite the same as how she is known in authentic records–a goal-oriented, scheming, and heartless female usurper who was in charge of the pandemonium amid the Tang line. So also, he puts the fault of the pulverization of the Xie Empire on its matron, Madam Huangfu. Duanbais progression to the throne is a turn of the show of death endeavors, abhorrent torments, and heartless killing. The leaders today have turned to become tools of torture and humiliation to their subjects other than helping them out. Just like Duanbai, the interests of the few who are in power and authority matters most.The close circles in the leadership have been put above the law and their actions do not have any consequences. The lives of the subjects are on the mercies of the leaders and people fear leadership as going against the leadership or authority can lead to more harsh and adverse penalties and punishment. However, the blame cannot be placed entirely in individual leaders but instead focusing on their decisions, counsel and allies might help them improve their leadership. Duanbai had the wrong allies working with him. He allowed himself be influenced by decisions of the people around him who had personal interests12. His decisions were equally wrong as they were hasty and therefore did not make much consideration on the impacts of his decisions. The leaders in the contemporary world should be careful in their decisions. In relation t that, contemporary leaders should work on reconciling with their enemies other than intimidating as this might cause more harm to their leadership as well as their reign. Duanbai, who thought he would be in power forever, eventually losses his throne to one of the enemies. He focused on finishing the enemies other than bringing them closer. Elimination of the Bibliography Top of Form Bottom of Form Hussein, Aamer. “My Life as Emperor, by Su Tong, trans. Howard Goldblatt.” The Independent. Accessed on March 1 2005. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/my-life-as-emperor-by-su-tong-trans-howard-goldblatt-6151644.html. Top of Form Kodia, David. “Poverty In Grace: Social Responsibility Of The Church & Society In War Against Poverty”. Nairobi: Uzima Pub. House, 2005. McCurry, Justin. “North Korea Defence Chief Reportedly Executed With Anti-Aircraft Gun.” The Guardian. Accessed on May 13 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/north-korean-defence-minister-executed-by-anti-aircaft-gun-report. Minford, John. Classical Chinese literature : an anthology of translations. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2002. Su, T and Howard G. My Life As Emperor. New York: Hyperion East, 2005. Read More