Analysis Of Jung Chang 's ' Wild Swans : Three Daughters Of China

Over a span of several decades, Wu Zetian inalterably changed life in China for woman as well the clergy and the poor. By doing so, she left a perpetual footprint on China’s long history that transcends the mere fact that she was the first woman to rule the “Red Dragon”.

She is significant in Chinese history because of her writings and teachings of the “Admonitions for Women” using a Confucian approach to define appropriate behavior (Gregory p. 123).

“We may look and act modern in many ways, but we can’t escape what we are... obedient chinese daughters.” This quote sums up the world that May and Pearl live in, that no matter the culture, no matter the time period, and no matter the situation, your gender decides your fate or does it? The theme of gender and how they dictate our roles in society run rampant in Shanghai Girls by Lisa Lee. Lee’s novel covers a great deal about the immigrant experience and the struggles they had to go through to adapt to their new environment but one thing they didn 't need to adapt was the parts they played in their families. The importance of this traditional society,where the men are the breadwinners and the women the caretakers are first shown in how Pearl and Mays family worked. The father was expected to make money and take care of the household, while the mother, May and Pearl were off fooling around. When the situation turns dire, the father does not conform to his role to help his family and takes the easy way out and sells off his daughters. However the father did not account for his daughters refusing the offer he already made to pay back his debts. This caused a thunderstorm of confusion and trouble, which led to the death of respect, Pearl had for her father. For in this critical moment, the father wet himself and could not muster out a word but the mother brilliantly stepped in and defused the situation. “I see hardness in her that I’ve never seen before.”,

Firstly, the relationship expectations in Chinese customs and traditions were strongly held onto. The daughters of the Chinese

Shen Fu and Yün were cousins. (Fu: 25) They met when they were thirteen years old and became engaged soon after meeting. (Fu: 26) After their marriage, Yün played the role of perfect wife: Shen Fu pronounces her “quiet”, “never [. . .] angry”, “respectful to her elders”, and describes her actions as “orderly” and “done properly”. (Fu: 29) These actions were those considered very desirable in Qing China, as women were expected to be quiet and subservient to men. (Scarlett, Daily Life in Imperial China Lecture)

Book Review: Growing Up in the People’s Republic: Conversations Between Two Daughters of China’s Revolution. By- Ye Weili with Ma Xiaodong

In Jan Wong’s entrancing expose Red China Blues, she details her plight to take part in a system of “harmony and perfection” (12) that was Maoist China. Wong discloses her trials and tribulations over a course of three decades that sees her searching for her roots and her transformation of ideologies that span over two distinctive forms of Communist governments. This tale is so enticing in due part to the events the author encountered that radically changed her very existence and more importantly, her personal quest for self-discovery.

In Wild Swans, Jung Chang describes the life of three generations of woman in her family. Beginning in the year 1909 and ending in present time, it gives an insight into almost eighty years of the cultural history of China. Jung Chang has said in a interview that her intention in writing Wild Swans was to show how the Chinese people, and in particular the women in her family, "fought tenaciously and courageously against impossible odds."

As China faced new international pressures and the change to a communist society, gender relations transformed women from servants of men to full independent workers, who finally became soldiers of the communist state. In Jung Chang’s novel, Wild Swans, the three women – grandmother Yu-Fang, mother Bao-Qin and daughter Jung Chang – exemplify the expected gender roles of each generation. I will argue that Confucian society presented few economic opportunities for women to support

In this time in China, the role that women and men had were very different from each other. Women were expected to be quite, obedient, and respectful. While men were the provider, the intellectual and the decision maker in the family. In Shen Fu and his wife, Yun marriage it started out like the typical relationship in eightieth century China, each one fulfilling the roles that society had in place for them. But as they became to know each other more, Shen Fu saw Yun real personality and wanted someone to experience life, so he started to encourage her to be herself and told her she didn’t have to live up to this gender stereotypes for women. They both were always

Although not a political or historical book, Shanghai Girls exposes some of the intricate and complex political and social dynamics of some of the most turbulent times in world history.

She grew up as a peasant, where she worked amongst the local villagers. In her mid-twenties, she was caught up in China’s Cultural Revolution, where the People’s Republic was established. This revolution played a deep role in the development of her

Women in Ancient China during the Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty lived in oppressed lives. Society perceived them as inferior to their husbands and parents-in-law. Their role in the family were to be housewives taking care of their family and maintaining the household chores. They were always under the instructions of their husbands and parents-in-law in they were treated like servants. They also had no control in their personal decisions because they were not allowed to decide who they were going to marry and what they wanted to do in their careers. Parents of daughters would also force their daughters to foot-binding because it would attract potential wealthy husbands. This paper argues that although the Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty were known as the golden periods for China, nevertheless, it was overlooked by historians that women during the time were victims of gender inequality because they lived with no control over their personal lives and were expected to be submissive to their husbands.

She was born to parents whose marriage had been arranged, they were probably never in love, neither before, nor after the wedding. Yu-fang's mother was not even given a name, and her husband was 6 years younger than her and only a boy of fourteen at the time of their marriage. She was expected to help raise her husband which was expected of a Chinese bride. Yu-fang's feet were bound when she was the age of two. This was done by her own mother, and was an extremely painful process. Jung Chang said, "My Grandmother screamed in agony and begged her to stop. Her mother had to stick a cloth into her mouth to gag her. My grandmother passed out repeatedly from the pain." (24) This painful tradition is one of the worst examples mistreatment of women that was considered a necessity.

The book, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, is a intimate memoir and a piece of history that shows life through generations. This book shows us the change and evolution of China through the lives of three women. Allow me to give a brief synopsis of who these women are so that it is easier to understand the story.