Zhou Yu’s Train by Sun Zhou is a story about a woman, Zhou Yu, who is torn between her mind and

Shen Fu was a Chinese writer and art dealer who lived during the Qing Dynasty. He had a very strong love for his wife Chen Yun and she is the inspiration for his book “Six Records of a Floating Life”, which vividly describes their life and love together. Shen Fu discusses the happiness that he found in marriage to his cousin Yun, in his first chapter, “Joys of the Wedding Chamber”. He then goes into detail, and is even reminiscent, about enjoying the little things and his experiences with them in the second part of his book, “Pleasure of Leisure”. Next Shen Fu talks about the adversities that he and Yun have to experience, in their sometimes-trying

The piece describes what she envisioned her time in China would be like; visions of small talk and drinking tea danced in her head (Schmitt 125). This is a bit admirable to a more reserved person because it shows how outgoing she is when diving into a new culture. However, the reality of a language barrier and day to day behavior settled in. A series of uncomfortable exchanges illustrate the challenge of being accepted into a new culture. Described in the essay are people standing around in bath robes and under garments and popping in and out of rooms like some sort of clown

The novel, “Mao’s Last Dancer”, was written by Li Cunxin. It tells his riveting tale of growing up in a poor family of six boys, living in a village in China under Mao’s reign. It goes on to share his eventual defection to the United States as an artistic dancer. His childhood was filled with both hardships and joys. But both helped him to grow as a resilient person to achieve once-thought impossible goals.

The book "Train Go Sorry" was authored by Leah Hager Cohen it is a story of an unknown culture; the book focuses on hearing loss, both as a disability and as a culture. The book was written in the first and third person narrative and it follows the daily lives of Ms. Leah Cohen and several other students and staff at Lexington School for the Deaf in New York. Ms. Cohen’s Grandfather Sam was deaf and attended Lexington when it was first founded. This was "seen" as the foundation for Cohen’s father Oscar and finally Leah as well as their family (who are both able to hear) to build their lives at Lexington. Her father Oscar became the superintendent of Lexington school and Leah spent her childhood within the school's walls. By her father becoming superintendent of the Lexington school this resulted in the whole family becoming fluent in ASL. Ms. Cohen’s father Oscar spent his career trying the best he could to listen to the needs of deaf/hard of hearing individual's needs and doing the best he could to advocate for them. The book also follows the lives of several individuals who attended Lexington, some of the individuals who were in attendance were Ms. Sofia and Ms. Irina Normatov and Mr.

Throughout the poem, May includes historical figures, like Huang Xiang, to show Jontae that he will not be alone throughout his journey of discovering his identity. May refers to Huang Xiang, a poet who was exiled during the Tiananmen Square incident, who he describes as; “the poet… who was exiled for these” (33-34), while “these” represents the words and the education of the poet. The incorporation of the allusions from a historical point of view, influences the idea that Jontae should stay true to himself, regardless of what the rest of society thinks. The fact that Huang Xiang was exiled for plastering his poems around the Square, goes to prove May’s point regarding society’s overall view on education. May goes on to write “there will always be those who would rather see you pull a pin from a grenade than pull a pen from your backpack” (37-40). Huang Xiang is a prime example of what the speaker longs for Jontae to be like. Roger Garside, a British diplomat who served in Beijing during the crisis explained Xiang’s efforts as “an equally bold initiative on the organizational front: after pasting up his poems on Tiananmen Square…” (Garside, 2005). Xiang exemplifies a deviant of society, with his nonviolent protests, and his education involving poetry. May is determined to convince Jontae that he is not bound to the option of

However, as their early relationship continued, Shen Fu found that Yün was able to analyze and debate literature and poetry with him. (Fu: 31) Shen Fu soon realized that Yün was as capable as he was, but held back by their society. He recounts a time

Love. Adventure. Lust. Individuality. Liberty. Influence. Freedom. These are the things that give people the will and desire to live, and most of us cannot imagine a world or life without them. But what if these aspirations were taken away overnight? In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie (戴思杰) illustrates these turn of events with a significant focus on three characters: Luo, the narrator, and the Little Chinese Seamstress. The story takes place during the Cultural Revolution in Maoist China when young intellectuals from the city were forced to be re-educated in the peasant environments. The narrator and Luo are among these people. They are relocated to the mountainous countryside and re-educated by the peasants there. Even though they are stripped away from all outside influences, they experience bits of freedom by reading forbidden foreign books in a suitcase. In addition, they share their findings among those in the countryside, especially with the Little Chinese Seamstress, an ordinary peasant girl as a result of her romance with Luo. Thus, their eyes are opened to new ideas, and their lives are changed with new understandings and perceptions. In his novel, Dai demonstrates the importance of intellectual liberty through the influence of outside cultures and the development of the characters.

The reason why the author might have chosen the case-study approach to writing this book is because of the numerous similarities between the living conditions and circumstances that Ye and Ma faced. Both Ye and Ma were born in Beijing in around same period, they had both lived through the revolution in 1958 in the city, they became Red Guards in their early youth, and they both were sent to the countryside, and allowed to return back order to study. Also, they both traveled to the United States for their higher studies. Ye and Ma are discussing each aspect their life trajectory paralleled to

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

“It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137). This line, echoed throughout Wang Anyi 's short piece “The Destination” is the glowing heartbeat of the story. A refrain filled with both longing and sadness, it hints at the many struggles faced by thousands upon thousands trying to get by in the city of Shanghai. One of these lost souls, the protagonist, Chen Xin, was one of the many youths taken from his family and sent to live the in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Ten years after the fact, Chen Xin views the repercussions of the Cultural Revolution internally and externally as he processes the changes that both he, and his hometown have over-gone in the past ten years. Devastatingly, he comes to the conclusion that there is no going back to the time of his childhood, and his fond memories of Shanghai exist solely in memory. This is in large part is due to the changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. These effects of the Cultural Revolution are a central theme to the story; with repercussions seen on a cultural level, as well as a personal one.

Relationships between people depend on the time period, the location, the social norms set at place in one’s society and one’s own personality. Throughout history and cultures the meaning of relationships have changed. In some ways they have become more relaxed and in others stricter in following these rules of society. In Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu, he describes his relationship with his wife and his culture during the eighteenth century in China. His story tells a relationship that was very unique between his wife, Yun and himself. For the time they were very progressive in their beliefs and actions. It helps the reader see the culture in China at this time and how relationship during a time with strict societal rules especially for women became to be a very surprising and reformist relationship.

The biographical connection that the author “Amy Tan” draws in her short story “Two Kinds” with her main character Jing-mei, crosses in more than one side. First of all, they both are Chinese American whose struggle in their identities with their Chinese immigrant mothers. “Due to a cultural conflict and lack of proper understanding of each other’s perceptions” (Priya 1), and as a big gap developed between the two daughters and their two mothers, in which resulted a complex relationship between them.

This movie depicted different life experience of four pairs of Chinese mother and daughter. Though distinct grievous life stories they had, these four Chinese mothers were all born and bred under the background of feudal Chinese regime, cultivated by Chinese traditional feudalism, and fatefully, their lives were poisoned and destroyed by malignant tumor of Chinese backward culture and ideology, for example, women are subordinated to men. More unfortunately, the four daughters who were born and educated in America, assumed to avoid from the influence of Chinese feudal culture, still inherited deformed character, like without self-value and spirit; extended last generation’s tragedy—misery marriage. The

A third narrative thread is created by stringing together the stories of young Chinese students, both men and women. Their optimistic visions of the future contrast poignantly with the stories of Chen Mengjia and Polat, who expose more of the dark side of China especially the Cultural Revolution. Chen Mengjia committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution. Hessler (2006) interviews an old man about the issue of personal responsibility and political activism and reveals the deeply conflicted nature

Peter Chan’s film, Comrades: Almost a Love Story, focuses on the relationship development between two Mainland Chinese immigrants to Hong Kong, Xiao Jun and Li Qiao. Xiao Jun is a naive Northerner of China who speaks Mandarin, while Li Qiao is from Guangzhou, a Cantonese speaking region of Southern China. Both foreigners of Hong Kong share the dream of making a better life, in which Xiao-Jun’s goal is to be able to make enough fortune to marry his fiance, Xiao Ting, while Li Qiao’s goal is to become a prosperous businesswoman. Originally, when Li Qiao met Xiao-Jun, she planned to deceive him for her individual financial acquisition, just like any other mainlanders she approaches who have a disadvantage of not being able to speak Cantonese. However, as the two spent more time together, Li Qiao became more honest to Xiao Jun when she discovered that he was willing to stay and accompany her as a friend despite him knowing of her deception. The fact that both shared the same feeling of being an outsider in the city of Hong Kong brought the two into a closer connection that soon lead to a romantic love relationship. Inevitably, the two lovers’ relationship was unable to carry on due to their individual’s goal in their mission in coming to Hong Kong. Thus, eventually the two separated to their own roads; Xiao Jun returned to China to marry Xiao Ting, while Li Qiao ended up marrying the gang boss, Ou Yang Bao, because he was able to fulfill her financial difficulty at