Fletcher Zuo
Professor Maria Vinogradova
CINE-UT 55
12.15.2016
Chinese Pre-revolutionary Cinema:
Social Environment as the Antagonist In Chinese history, the pre-revolutionary period (1945-1949) is particularly associated with struggle and painfulness that are unprecedented in Chinese history. It is a period between China’s bitter victory in Sino-Japanese War and Communist Party’s takeover of the country, establishing the People’s Republic of China; while the former, lasted 8 years, caused more than 20 millions casualties, the later brought more than 10 million lives devastated, let alone incalculable economic and cultural losses. Yet just as an old Chinese saying that ‘Fate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity’, the fate of Chinese people was devastated by countless numbers of floods, drought, earthquakes, causing severe famines and economic depressions, aggravating the fate of this country and its people. Struggle and Pain seem to be the idiosyncrasy of pre-revolutionary China. Such societal circumstances certainly had a profound impact on the contemporaneous artists. The subject-matter that artists concerned the most was struggle and pain. Instead of making ‘pure art’, artists had a profound concentration on social conflicts and difficulties. Such attention on social issue was even regarded as politically correct. Shen Congwen, a Chinese man of letters, indignantly denounced the poet Xu Zhimo, whose writings mainly concerned with polished rhetoric and
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”.
Over the past thousands of years, the dynasties have ruled over the great vast land of China. This Chinese political system had been influenced by a cycle called the ‘Mandate of Heaven’. The ‘Mandate of Heaven’ is more commonly described as a ‘command from heaven’. This cycle was put in place to bring in a new dynasty when the old dynasty had aged or therefore lost the ‘Mandate of Heaven’. When the old dynasty starts experiencing problems such as earthquakes, rebellions, high taxes, etc. that means that they have lost the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ therefore making room for a new dynasty to bring peace and happiness amongst the people. In this essay I will be discussing the affect
Confucian scholars were expected to master the skills of poetry since it was the most respected form of Chinese literature. Chinese writers often focused on a broad topic such as life or the universe. Poetry never faded throughout these years, and new forms of popular literature began to emerge in the Ming dynasty. Stories began to be told by specific pieces of literature, and classical poetry continued to play a part in Chinese literature for many years.
“As one of the Red Guards in the middle school, I was given power through Mao to torture and humiliate our teachers, headmaster or anyone we didn’t like. I didn’t know it was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing to continue the revolution, to fight and win the class struggle”- Zhao, Lin Qing. As a teenager Zhao was a Red Guard in Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution. When asked what her impression was a member of the Red Guards, Zhao answered with two words: “naïve and senseless”. She refused answering anything more about her experience. She said, “The memories are still too painful to recall.”
When Jan Wong first arrived in China, she was filled with the complete belief that China’s totalitarianism way of government was the best way of governing, and that no other way would do. While natives smiled behind false expressions, she failed to realize the true extent of the miserable lives under the Maoist regime until she herself experienced the injustices faced by the Chinese citizens. In Red China Blues, author Jan Wong writes of her experiences during her life in China and after, and how her whole journey led to the realization of the harsh reality that Maoism really was. As Wong learned more and more about the truth behind the totalitarian government, her own experiences helped her to transform
Originally, Liang’s “parents were deeply involved in all the excitement of working to transform China into a great Socialist country” (4). Over a serious of unfortunate events, though, he became the child of a “Rightist’s cap” mother and a “Reactionary Capitalist stinking intellectuals” father (9, 51). Impacted by the shattering of his family and horrific bloodshed created by fighting, Liang Heng began to question the Cultural Revolution. He claimed that his “family had scarified so much… but it had given [them] nothing in return” (148). Liang Heng presents his shift in ideology to demonstrate that most Chinese were no longer in support of a Communist nation. His “troubles were common enough and anyone could see there was a discrepancy between the glorious words of the newspapers and [their] painful reality (232). Even Liang Heng’s father, after many years of devotion, found that he could no longer defend the Party’s policies after he experienced the ill-treatment of the peasants in the country
China has been a communist country. Despite persistent debate over an extended period of time, the question whether which Chinese government is the most responsive to its people has never been permanently settled. However, I dare to claim that Qing Dynasty was the most open and receptive to its people among several Chinese governments. Some people might contend that Republic of China, Warlords, and Chinese Communist Party were the most responsive to its people. However, a close examination throughout this essay will clearly reveal the fallacious nature of their argument. My line of reasoning will derive its support from the most fundamental sources of human wisdom and history.
This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution
There can be no denying that the first half of the 20th century was such an important period in Chinese history. Within the span of 38 years, China overthrew two different national governments. In 1911, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and the Republic of China (ROC) took its place. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China would replace the ROC. Though both were revolutions, there were significant factors that differentiated the two.
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.
The Han dynasty was a golden era for China. It saw the greatest land confiscation of the nation’s history and economic success. In this paper I will be focusing on the structure of the national government, the monopolizing of iron and salt, the Yumen Pass and the Yellow Turban rebellion. Join me as we take a trip back in time to visit a time in Chinas history that is highly revered.
BIBLIOGRAPHYBarnett, A. (1965), 'Multiple factors', in Pichon Loh (ed.) 'The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?' D.C. Heath & Company, BostonBianco, Lucien. (1971), 'Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949' Stanford University Press, StanfordChang, Carsun. (1965), 'Chiang Kai-shek and Kuomintang dictatorship', in PichonLoh (ed.) 'The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?' D.C. Heath& Company, BostonChang, Kia-Ngua. (1965) 'War and Inflation' in Pichon Loh (ed.) 'T
I chose this topic because I view women as the backbone to the development or a nation, therefore the Chinese woman is paramount in one of the world’s great civilizations. The role of women in Chinese culture has changed over the years. When we consider the position that women held in ancient Chinese society we find that they have come a long way to be where they are today.
Imagine 400 million persons living at the bare subsistence level experiencing floods, droughts, epidemics, owning no land of their own (pg. 13). China was a Feudal system rotten with unfair tax collectors, bandits,
If you applied the chaos theory to Chinas Revolution, Mao Zedong would most definitely be the butterfly whose wings set off a series of disasters in China. He assembled the Chinese youth in 1966, to initiate the “Cultural Revolution” . This revolution was a violent operation eliminating thoughts, customs, old Chinese culture, and habits, removing “counter-revolutionary” party members, and heightening Mao’s personality cult . In this paper, I will condense evidence collected from books, documents, biographies and more about the events that occurred between 1959 and 1966. I will then talk about the failure of Mao’s resignation as president, Great Leap Forward, his power struggle with Liu Shoaqi and Deng Xiaoping and the propagating of his