Pa Chins Family - The Tensions within Chinese Society and within the Chinese Family - Term Paper Example

Pa Chins “Family" Order No. 433664 April ‘10 Pa Chins “Family" Family, written in 1931, by Pa Chin, is one of the most popular books in China. It is an excellent book that gives an absorbing account of a Chinese family of early 20th century China. His portrayal of the conflicts that happen between generations in a family, gives us a view of the larger conflicts and tensions happening in society. China faced a period of turmoil and tension in the first half of the twentieth century Family vividly reflects this turmoil and helps us to understand what happened after that. The writer uses his own experiences to draw a superb portrayal of society and family life of his time. This book will be of interest to all who are interested in the society and history of modern China. Family is the story of the Kao family which consists of four generations. The story takes place in Chengtu, a large city in the province of Szechwan. The novel’s principal characters are the three brothers, Chueh-hsin, Chueh-min and Chueh-hui. The brothers live with their uncles and aunts, cousins and their grandfather, the Venerable Master Kao, in their family estate. It is the Venerable Master Kao who is the autocrat in the family, in control of all family affairs, unable and unwilling to admit that his country and his family are changing with time. Chueh-hsin, the eldest and the meekest of the three brothers, takes over the responsibility of his younger brothers after the death of their father. Chueh-hsin is supposedly responsible for his brothers, but as the novel progresses we come to know how much or rather how little control he has over them. He is married against his wishes to a woman chosen by his family. He is doing a job he hates, this too being chosen by his family. He is shown navigating through life using his "compliant bow" philosophy which to him means that he should not oppose the elders of the family under any circumstance. Chueh-min, the second brother, is determined to marry the girl he loves in spite of his familys opposition. The youngest brother, Chueh-hui, hates everything the family represents and is trying hard to break the fetters and live life according to his wishes. Each brother is facing challenges at home, a home characterized by archaic morality and hierarchical dependence that was typical of those days. The brothers are caught in between the old system and their desire for a new system. The book records the daily lives of the Kao family. The situations that are described, unique as they may be to that time, are similar to many circumstances of todays world, such as the conflict between generations, conflict between classes, political activities of students, unsuccessful love affairs and the fight for the liberation of women. The similarities indicate the universality of human experience. From the novel it is clear that Pa Chin identifies himself with Chueh-hui and through him voices his feeling against the stifling conventionality of Chinese family life which dictates that everyone should bow down to the will the family elders. When Pa Chin wrote the novel, a series of changes were about to take place in Chinese society in the wake of modernity. Predominant changes were taking place in family life, social tradition and ways of government and society was about to be redefined. There was tension all over as people struggled to free themselves from the shackles of tradition and the old patriarchal family system. The country too was facing issues of nationalization and liberation movements. The novel reflects all these tensions. The struggle of Chueh-hui and his brothers represents the struggle of millions of Chinese in the early twentieth-century. It was at this time that the process of modernization of China had just begun. Chueh-hsin the oldest is the prime example of a victim of tradition. Chueh-hsin believed in pleasing his elders. "Whatever people told him to do; he did, as if these acts were duties which he was obliged to perform." (Pa Chin, 1931) He represents the many early Chinese people who complied with tradition Chueh-min represented the younger generation who took progressive steps to rebel against the old ways. Chueh-min, instead of agreeing for an arranged marriage decided to choose his own spouse. He represents the intermediate stage of the younger generations struggle for a “free" society. Chueh-hui the youngest brother was more radical than Chueh-min. Chueh-hui was against every aspect of the "old ways". He had seen the struggles and sufferings of his brothers and did not want to be a victim of the old ways like them. When Ming- feng the maid with whom he was in love committed suicide to save herself from becoming the concubine of an elderly gentleman, Chueh-hui was devastated and also outraged at the ill treatment of the lower class. He belongs to the new generation. He escapes to live in an environment where there are no restrictions. Chueh-hui represents the frustrations of the young generation against tradition and the values of the elder generation. He belonged to the new generation that finally broke away from the oppressive environment of tradition to form a free society. The story of the three brothers thus reflects the tensions present within the Chinese family and within Chinese society. It also represents the progression of society as it frees itself from old tradition and moves towards a free society. The novel also reflects some other signs of changing times. For instance Pa Chin writes about the split between the military and education. By writing about the dispute with the military over funding of the school system he tries to show that cracks have started to occur in the changing society. The issue of admitting girl students into a previously all-male school is another sign of the change that is taking place in Chinese society. This move also challenges old traditions. There were many instances of inequality in Chinese society. Throughout the novel Cheuh-hui sees instances of inequality, and it is this that makes him want to rebel against traditional family values with which he has grown up. One instance of inequality that troubles Cheuh-hui is the instance when his uncles during the New Years festivities hire dancers to move the large dragons and during the celebration while they try to burn the dragon by throwing fireworks the dancers suffer burns. The uncles laugh as the dancers writhe in pain. Cheuh-hui is appalled and outraged at this behavior. The book also illustrates how China’s traditional culture places restrictions on everyone, including children and servants. Here Pa Chin writes about the servants plight: "Lying in their beds, stripped of the masks they had worn all day, people took stock of themselves. They opened their hearts and examined their innermost secrets, peering into the recesses of their souls. Stricken with remorse and anger, they wept over the waste, the losses, the bitterness of the day gone by".(Pa Chin, 1931) Pa Chin through the novel points out how the youth during his time wanted the freedom to do what they wanted but were afraid of the elders. This caused a lot of tension in the family. For instance, Chin in the novel is considered to be very brave who wants to attend a co-ed school and cut her hair. But the fact is, she is weak and does not have the courage to actually cut her hair. This is because she is afraid how her family would react to this. Here Chin says, “I love my future, but I love my mother, too”. According to Andrea Brown “it is this struggle within Chin that illustrates how many youth of China in the 1930s wanted so badly to exercise freedom of choice, but respected their family’s opinion to such a degree that they could not disobey it”. The novel also reflects the challenge women faced at that time. This is well represented by women like Chin, who wants to attend co-ed school, and the servant maid Ming-feng who commits suicide to escape from being the concubine of an elderly man. In conclusion it can be said that the novel Family reflects the struggles that were happening in the Chinese society as well as within the Chinese family, between the old and the young and between old traditions and new traditions that were undermining old traditions. As William N. Rogers has rightly said, “Pa Chin’s Family—one of the most celebrated novels of the May 4th Movement—continues to be indispensable reading. Its clash of the traditional and the modern, of age and youth, of Confucianism and individualism remains relevant to any understanding of how China struggled, and continues to struggle, to escape the constraints of stifling orthodoxy.” References 1. Brown Andrea, A Fork in the Road, http://www3.wooster.edu/chinese/Chinese/reviews/family.gb.html 2. Chin Pa (1931), Family, Waveland Press (January 1, 1972) 3. Rogers William, Quote retrieved from www.waveland.com/Titles/Pa-Chin.htm On 23/4/10 . . Read More