Through a thrilling murder mystery blended with action, romance, and suspense, Robert van Gulik captures the fascinating culture of Tang China and its political and social life. Van Gulik’s novel incorporates diverse characters with varying roles in Tang society, allowing for a more expansive view of the social expectations and perspectives of people of all social classes. ALTHOUGH THE WILLOW PATTERN IS A FICTIONAL NOVEL PUBLISHED IN THE 20TH CENTURY, IT INCORPORATES MANY PRACTICES AND HISTORICAL FACTORS FOUND IN TANG CHINA, INCLUDING A LEGAL SYSTEM, A BLEND OF BUDDHISM, TAOISM, AND CONFUCIANISM, AS WELL AS SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS OF PEASANT AND ELITE WOMEN THAT MAKES THE NOVEL A PLAUSIBLE REPRESENTATION OF THE TANG DYNASTY. Elements of the legal …show more content…
Additionally, criminals would face a trial led by a magistrate, who employed both physical and verbal evidence to convict the defendant. In his novel, Van Gulik incorporates both a court trial and system of codified laws similar to that used in the Tang Dynasty, which is evident when Judge Dee convicts Madame Mei and Hoo Pen of the murder of Mei Liang. As Judge Dee serves as the magistrate of the military tribunal in place of the Emergency Governor of the Imperial capital, he uses the evidence he gathered from Madame Mei’s home, the site of the murder, and the statements of Madame Mei, Doctor Lew, and Hoo Pen to determine how the murder was committed. The judge also abides by martial law to convict Doctor Lew and Hoo Pen – for example, he convicts Hoo Pen of a capital charge for the murder of Mr. Mei, stating that the court “sentences the accused Hoo Pen to death by decapitation” as per the law system used in Tang China (van Gulik, 168). Van Gulik utilizes the “murder mystery” genre to accurately portray the legal system used during the Tang Dynasty. Tang society heavily ritualized standards for female behavior under Confucian social norms, and …show more content…
However, the popular beliefs of the Tang Dynasty that shaped the people’s social expectations and behavior as depicted in The Willow Pattern is arguably the most effective at making the novel a viable representation of the time period. This factor is not only prevalent in the characters’ actions, but it also has a prominent effect on the development of the novel’s plot. Mrs. Mei, the murderer of her husband Mr. Mei and the cause of the central conflict of the novel, reveals to have committed this crime out of selfish desires during her trial under Judge Dee – she explains that her lust for power and an escape from the constraints of the patriarchal system, actions that go against the ideal Confucian woman’s expectation of obedience and reverence for her husband, was her motive for her crime. Mrs. Mei, although sentenced by the court to death, dies of illness, representing how her defiance from her social expectations results in her own downfall. On the other hand, Bluewhite and Coral, although they also commit murder, are spared of punishment by Judge Dee due to their endeavor of honoring their parents and protecting their family. The twins exhibit the traits of ideal Confucian daughters, and in turn, are “rewarded” for upholding their social duties.
The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence is an educational historical novel of northeastern China during the seventeenth century. The author's focus was to enlighten a reader on the Chinese people, culture, and traditions. Spence's use of the provoking stories of the Chinese county T'an-ch'eng, in the province of Shantung, brings the reader directly into the course of Chinese history. The use of the sources available to Spence, such as the Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the scholar-official Huang Liu-hung's handbook and stories of the writer P'u Sung-Ling convey the reader directly into the lives of poor farmers, their workers and wives. The intriguing structure of The Death of Woman Wang consists on observing these people working on
Once the novel comes to an end, we notice clearly the way Wang Lung changed. In the beginning of the novel we learned many ancient Chinese traditions by observing Wang Lung as a simple peasant, but as he becomes a wealthy landowner his life collapses. This rapid change of social class makes it difficult for anyone who intends to keep their traditional values until their death. This fantastic novel by Pearl S. Buck reminds us that we can never forget our traditional values, because if that happens your life will collapse just the way Wang Lung unfortunately
The Cultural Revolution was a time of much confusion in china. The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang illustrates the chaos of that time. Ji-li’s experiences during this time period led to her point of view changing. Ji-li starts the Cultural Revolution full of progressive thoughts, but this quickly turns to confusion, and leads to an important choice, something that impacts the rest of her life.
The novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is set in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). In Chang-Ping, the town located in the Province of Shantung, Judge Dee is a magistrate and the "father and mother" of the people. A Magistrate is a judge, detective, and a peacekeeper who captures criminals and is responsible for reprimanding them. The novel goes through three cases in which Judge Dee solves murders and punishes those responsible. As a Magistrate, you need to have knowledge of Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism in order to excel. A magistrate has a lot of power which comes with a lot of responsibility and consequences. If a magistrate were to wrongfully execute someone, said magistrate would then be executed which is why the prestigious position requires a certain type. Judge Dee is that type, he is an excellent Magistrate because he has good judgment, knowledge of Confucian, Dao and legalist beliefs and is not afraid to take risks in finding the truth of a mystery.
Can you imagine that everyone rejects you just because you are a girl? That actually happened universally in the last century, specifically in the old China. The gender discrimination was deeply rooted in people’s minds and became a traditional Chinese thinking. Wayson Choy illustrates this kind of discrimination really well in his novel The Jade Peony. In the novel, Grandmother continually reminds Jook-Liang that girl-child is useless, it affect Jook-Liang thinks about people, and change the views of various people. Also, it makes her struggle to assimilate to Chinese and Canadian society. Though, she tries her best to revolt
The interdependency between Wu and Buddhism blooms as early as her overtaking of the imperial rule of China. As resourceful and violent as Wu is in securing her title, demonstrated by the empress’s exploitation of the “secret police force to monitor dissident factions,” she is also cunning in gathering support from the ordinary masses, such as the Buddhists and their followers (Bentley 290). She “generously patronize[s] Buddhists, who return the favor by composing
Hsu, of course, was the young man who committed adultery and was an accessory to the murder of Bee Hsun, the husband of Mrs. Djou. Instead of a severe punishment for Dr. Tang, Judge Dee orders otherwise, saying “But in deference to your great achievements in the field of scholarly researches, I shall free with this public reprimand, enjoining you henceforth to devote all your time to your own literary studies. You are strictly forbidden ever again to engage in the teaching of young students.” (Van Gulik, pg. 208). Judge Dee respected Dr. Tang’s higher learning status, whereas if it were a normal person the punishment would have been far more severe and painful. Respect for the actions of a person’s elders is evident as well. In the same scene, Judge Dee convicts the student Hsu Deh-tai, who is to be executed by strangulation – however, Judge Dee recognizes the “meritorious services rendered to the State by the said Hsu Deh-tai’s father and grandfather” (pg. 214). This is a subtle example of filial piety, albeit indirect filial piety. A social hierarchy is near-impossible to miss in this novel as well– from the very beginning the reader is notified of the position of Judge Dee and his consequent assistants under him, along with the fact that all of his subjects refer to themselves as “this insignificant person” (pg. 10). They all respect Judge Dee, which shows the Confucian idea of social order. Because of these facts,
Near the end of the book Judge Dee has finished getting the confessions out of three suspects, the crime they committed recommends death as the punishment. So he gathered all the evidence and submitted it to the Imperial Court. A couple weeks later in the book it says, “the prefect forwarded the Imperial ratification of the capital punishments proposed for Shao Lee-huai, Hsu Deh-tai and Mrs. Djou with only a few changes made by the Board of Punishments, on the recommendation of the Metropolitan Court.” (Judge Dee, p. 213). This shows that Judge Dee can not punish his suspects however he wants. He has to prove the case and submit it to the Metropolitan Court if the punishment is to be death. The higher courts have to approve the punishment and tell the judge how the death penalty should be carried out. The police that works for the Judge have the ability to not obey the Judge because they know that if they torture an innocent person that they will be punished also. So the Judge also have to prove to the people that works for him that follow out his orders that he is correct because they also risk the possibility of death and punishment if he is wrong. The person that is accused also have the power to not be punished unjustly because Judge Dee can not prove that someone is guilty unless the suspect confess to the
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
In the novel A Daughter of Han by Ida Pruitt, the readers are taken through a journey of one woman through her life’s highs and lows. Through the eyes of Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai, readers can truly understand the life of a working woman during this time period. Although life may not have been easy at times, Ning Lao shows the determination and passion she had for her family and for their lives to be better. The life of a working woman is never an easy life but adding in the social rules and opium addiction that effected each part of Ning Lao’s life made it much more difficult.
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 Sun of the Revolution by Liang Heng, is intriguing and vivid, and gives us a complex and compelling perspective on Chines culture during a confusing time period. We get the opportunity to learn the story of a young man with a promising future, but an unpleasant childhood. Liang Heng was exposed to every aspect of the Cultural Revolution in China, and shares his experiences with us, since the book is written from Liang perspective, we do not have a biased opinion from an elite member in the Chinese society nor the poor we get an honest opinion from the People’s Republic of China. Liang only had the fortunate opportunity of expressing these events due his relationship with his wife, An American woman whom helps him write the book. When
In his murder novel, The Willow Pattern, Robert Van Gulik chronicles the work of the semi-fictional historical figure Judge Dee: a statesman and detective of the Tang court. In the midst of a mysterious plague that had overtaken the capital city of Chang’an Judge Dee seeks answers to the murder of two wealthy aristocrats. Over the course of his endeavors, he encounters many attributes and acts characteristic to the Tang Dynasty. DESPITE THE FICTIONAL NATURE OF HIS NOVEL, GULIK PAINTS A HISTORICALLY PLAUSIBLE PICTURE OF THE TANG DYNASTY THROUGH DEPICTIONS OF THE COSMOPOLITAN CULTURE, THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND ADHERENCE TO CONFUCIAN, LEGALIST, AND BUDDHIST BELIEFS.
Wu Zhao belonged to the Tang Empire, which according to the author which “…was a true empire, encompassing many lands, many peoples, and many ideologies. Multi ethnic and cosmopolitan, Tang China was perfectly suited for the ascent of a historical anomaly like Wu Zhao…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 11) In a sense, there was a conflict of traditional Confucian values which promoted a patriarchal society and the liberal Steppe culture which gave women more freedom and rights. China at that time was a cocktail of these cultures which led to a significant impact on the lifestyle and values of peoples in that era. Women were bold and tough, and unlike earlier societies, were no longer confined socially and sexually (Rothschild, 2008, p. 12). While did not exist a perfect equality between men and women, women of that era were allowed to live without hiding under the dominance of the male Yang. As the author talks of the Silk Road, it is mentioned that,”…In this free-wheeling milieu, women donned men’s attire and rode horses…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 15) .This “cosmopolitan” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 16) society was the foundation for the Tang Empire. Another important factor was the prevalence of Buddhism as a religion of the masses. Buddhism, in itself, helped united much of Asia, and was a common platform for men and women, unlike in Confucianism where
The True Story of Ah Q, as written in 1921 by Lu Xun, is widely seen as a magnum opus of contemporary Chinese literature. Xun wanted to alter the way of thinking as well as enlighten his fellow Chinese following the 1911 Revolution that overturned the final Chinese dynasty. Xun uses the protagonist of the story, Ah Q, as a representative of China as a whole as he saw the nation to be, giving the reader an insight into social classes and attitudes that permeated Chinese society in the early 20th century. Xun does not paint a great picture of Ah Q and unfortunately, this is his opinion of Chinese society as a whole at the time. This portrayal of Chinese society is harsh and eye-opening but to Xun, very accurate and necessary to transform the thinking of Chinese people at that time.