Book III in Wang Shifu's The Story of the Western Wing

See bases the story of the book behind the three women who wrote The Three Wives’ Commentary. The book is split into three different parts, one part for each wife. The first wife, Peony, is the first to be brought to the light. She grew up in a wealthy family and was born after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Peony is soon to turn 16 and is already betrothed to a suitor that her father has chosen for her, as followed by tradition. She is infatuated by the opera: The Peony Pavilion, which she is granted to observe, along with the rest of her family, behind a curtain, since at the time, unmarried women were not supposed to be seen. All she was allowed to do was read about the opera, but when she is given the opportunity to see it for herself, she becomes extremely enthusiastic. She becomes so mesmerized and entranced by the opera that she had to take a step outside to calm herself down. While she takes a walk outside, she meets with a male stranger also decided to step out during the opera. Peony knew she wasn’t supposed to be speaking with any male that wasn’t within her family, but she fell for him the moment she saw him. The opera was so long that it took three nights to perform, so they agreed to meet each other on each night. They both knew they were to be wed to another since they were both betrothed at the time, but little did they know they were actually betrothed to each other.

After being selected as the Last Emperor of China by the ill Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi, Henry Pu yi at his childhood lived a lavish life not knowing of what obligations will face him in growing up. At the age of 6 in the year of 1912, China converts to republic and the Ching Dynasty was forced to abdicate.

When the Chinese and Europeans first came into contact with each other, there was a mutual fascination for the other's culture, or way of life. The Chinese began to look at the European culture. They became interested in Western thinking. They were also beginning to look at the religion that the European missionaries were preaching about, Christianity. On the other end, the Europeans who came in contact with the Chinese were fascinated by their culture and their philosophy, mainly the philosophy of Confucius. While the two cultures seemed to be a good match, each respecting and admiring the other, it came to an abrupt halt. The end result was China and Europe both rejecting the other culture.

The historical classic, “The Good Earth”, revolves around the life of Wang Lung, introducing the average Chinese farmer on his wedding day to the slave O-lan. Together, the newly married couple care for Wang Lung’s father and farm the land, prospering from the fruits of their labor. Their early life continues to bring great fortune when they are able to purchase land from the House of Hwang, who O-lan served, and when their first two children are born sons.

Son of the Revolution is a unique novel because it describes the author’s personal experiences. Liang Heng writes this with his wife, Judith Sharpiro, about his involvements growing up in communist China during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Judith Sharpiro, an American, helped Liang Heng write and publish this novel in 1983, a period of intense relations between America and China. This was prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics, hosted in Los Angeles, California, where China returned to the games for the first time since 1952. Additionally, Ronald Regan, who viewed Communism as a dangerous ideology, was president during this period. Through the use of misery anecdotes, Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro argue in the Son of the Revolution that the average Chinese individual no longer agrees with the Communist ideology and is of no threat to other

Mark C Elliott’s book Emperor Qianlong Son of Heaven, Man of the World is a short biography about Hongli. Hongli was the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor and the favorite of his father and grandfather and was born in 1711. In the beginning it describes how he rose up in rank as a son through his father who introduced him to the current emperor Kangxi, his grandfather. The first chapter gives us the story of what Hongli was like as a child and how he won the favor of the Emperor. The book follows Hongli all the time from his birth from a low ranking palace consort right up to the end of his life even after he technically gave up his title as

In Yi Yang-Ji’s “Koku”, the sound of the second-hand “Tick, Tick, Tick” appears at least six times in her article and every time it appears strengthen or change the narrator’s sense of self. It really evokes stronger and stronger emotions about herself and or transforms her emotions. From the first sound of the second-hand to the second sound of the second-hand, the narrator’s sense from her nostalgic to feeling “The second of second hand was irritating” (P134). This irritating feeling get stronger and stronger that a voice deep from her chest that urges her to “go ahead and break” the Korean music instrument kayagum that is metaphorically referred to as “a naked woman”, more especially, “a woman hung upside down” (P135). I think, to some extent,

The nature of being human is the desire to stay together, there is strength in numbers. We valued allies so much that we gained them within the animal kingdom. On the other hand, groups can cause tension, and hatred. A character in Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese experiences both sides of the spectrum through his time on earth. The twist at the end of American Born Chinese is that Wei-Chen is not another student, but an emissary-monkey, following in his father's footsteps.

Mckissick, Floyd. “CORE Endorses Black Power.” In Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform and Renewal: An African American Anthology, edited by Marable, Manning, and Leith Mullings. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Compare and contrast the presentation of love and marriage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby.

The course of love never did run smooth (Shakespeare I.i.134). William Shakespeare’s captivating, profound play illustrates the complications of four Athenians’ love lives. Two lovers yearn to run away together to get married, but trouble sets in and their lives become more complex when magical fairies and a love potion get involved. The four Athenians have to battle their way through love’s complications. The perplexing “love square,” mythical interference, and the endeavor to find equanimity are the three obstacles that the main characters urge to get past during the comedy. As these obstacles are thrown at the Athenians, the four lovers grow confused, and because of Robin, the audience laughs often. The play may begin with anything and end with anything, but if the dreamer is sad at the end he will be sad as if by prescience at the beginning; if he is cheerful at the beginning he will be cheerful if the stars fall (The American Chesterton Society).

An individual’s identity is shaped by the way they perceive their connections with others and the world around them. An individual’s approach towards belonging is determined by their shared or personal experiences and through their different cultures and the atmospheres they are placed in. In “Kew Gardens” a short story by Virginia Woolf and the speech “Funeral of the Unknown Solider” delivered by Paul Keating it is shared experiences that influences our view points and identity. However, the play “Six degrees of separation” by John Guare explores personal experiences and the effect they have towards an individual’s ability to belong.

A person may search their whole life for love. Some are lucky enough to find the perfect someone, and some are not. The one’s who are not as lucky can sometimes create their own idea of their ideal partner, but never actually find them. In D.H. Hwang’s play M. Butterfly, a man by the name of Gallimard creates his own idea of the perfect partner. He falls in love with a woman by the name of Song, who turns out to be not what he expected. Song is actuality a Chinese spy disguised as a woman. Hwang illustrates in the play M. Butterfly, people are not always who they perceive to be. Through Gallimards love for song, his portrayal for the East and West, and Gallimards obsession with

Providing the two heroines with strong and engaging personalities, the novel portrays the life of two young Chinese girls, who because of historical events and family secrets, have to grow up faster than what they had planned. The book delivers emotional themes that are powerful yet familiar, and is written in a compelling manner.

Dramatic arts became an essential and esteemed form of entertainment during the Song Dynasty. The Chinese theater ran the gamut of all possible kinds of play or composition. A testament to the Song’s work toward variety in entertainment “the drama made quite a feature of short farcical scenes, acrobatic turns and satirical