The Movement Towards Cultural Revolution

The Movement Towards Cultural Revolution

Yiwen Chen

The beginning of China’s movement toward the Cultural Revolution could not have been successful without the influences of many reformers and of the prominent writers in the late 1800s and in the early 1900s. Most famous of the reformers were Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei. Both of them had studied aboard and had adapted to the Western style of thinking. These two activists would catalyst the Cultural Revolution that will soon begin to take place around this time period. Other influential writers include Tian Han, Wu Jianren, and Shi Pingmei. The works of these writers all shared the idea that the Chinese society had been significantly left behind compared to the Western culture.  The protagonists in theirs works often end in tragedy as he/she fights for the freedom of choice and life.

Liang Qichao, a student of Kang Youwei, obtained his Western style education in Japan. His writings often dealt with political, social, and cultural issues in China that needed reform. When addressing about the Chinese society, Liang quotes, “Therefore, if we wish the body to live for a long time, we must understand the methods of hygiene. If we wish the nation to be secure, rich, and honored, we must discuss the way for ‘renewing the people’(pg. 289 Liang).” From this quote, we can tell that Liang believes the way to reform the society is to educate the population. Like keeping a good hygiene, renewing the people’s minds is necessary for China to survive long term. Liang opposed the traditional Confucian way of thinking, believing that it will ruin the country. He joined Kang Youwei in the Hundred Days of Reform to promote the idea that isolation will not only make China fall behind other countries but could also lead to the destruction of China.

 In ‘Renewing the People’, Liang quotes, “All people have responsibilities toward others that they ought to fulfill, and all people have responsibilities to themselves that they ought to fulfill. Not fulfilling one’s responsibility to others is indirectly to harm the group, while not fulfilling one’s responsibilities to oneself is directly to harm to group (Liang pg.293).” Liang believed that the society should work together as a whole to fill the responsibilities of their positions. He felt that it was his job to bring the people together to educate them on the new better Western ideas. However, this quote seems quite contradictory. If a woman was to marry a man by arranged marriage, should she fulfill her position as a daughter and listens to her parents or should she fulfill her own responsibility to marry the man the she loves? According to Liang, whichever choice would directly or indirectly hurt the society. In Tian Han’s ‘The Night a Tiger was Captured”, Liangu refused to listen to her parents to marry Chen. She quotes, “Father, you can beat me till I die, but I will not let him go (Tian Han pg.27).” Liangu has chosen to abandon her Confucian virtues of filial piety. The floating Western ideas around that time period and her rich family background might have contributed to this decision. This story not only had a heart shattering ending but also an important point. Tian Han is introducing the audience to the choice of freedom. Though constrained by her family and society, Liangu chose to be with her lover. The fact that she opposed her parents and made the decision on her own was very shocking to the society at that time. Another important point in this novella is wealth and money.  Liangu’s parents arranged her marriage with a wealthy family’s son. They opposed Liangu’s lover because his family was too poor. Tian Han is trying to tell the audience how superficial Liangu’s parents are. The combination of the parent’s traditional thinking and Liangu’s Western influenced thoughts ended in a tragedy.

Another important writer during this time period is Wu Jianren. In his, ‘Sea of Regret’, Dihua’s life was being tormented by her passion and loyalty to her family. It is ironic how passion, a positive thing to have, could cause some much pain in one’s life. The chapter opens with the quote, “In a discourse on passion an evil practice in condemned; as her mother departs this life, a young girl is left alone (Hanan pg.171).” This quote foreshadows that Dihua’s mother was going to die. Tian Han emphasized on the idea of passion through the character of Dihua. Dihua’s passion for the responsibilities of a daughter/fiancé’s touched the hearts of many readers. Dihua did not have to take care of her dying mother nor did she have to enter the nunnery after the death of her fiancé. Tian Han is emphasizing the traditional ideas in this story. Though the Boxer rebellion was taken place, Dihua was not affected by the Western ideas. This story would have convinced many readers at the time period in China to think about the Western influences and how it can transform the way of life for many young people like Dihua.

Similar to Tian Han’s piece, the memoir written by Shi Pingmei narrates her struggle with her family, and how she has adopted the Western ideas to free herself from her family. She states in her memoir, “I am a superfluous member of family and society. My only burden in life, aside from my anguish at my weakness in the face of the trampling, bullying, mockery and jeers of the world (Ng pg. 67).”  At a young age, Shi Pingmei was denied the right to food and education from her family. Instead of taking what society and family is giving her, Shi fought back. This idea of rebellion contradicted the old habit of society and well matched the Cultural Revolution that was going on. This memoir is especially important because it singles out the life and struggles of a woman fighting back with the old society. Others works had women figures such as Dihua, but they did not totally break free from the old Chinese tradition. Dihua followed her tradition virtues and lived the Confucian way of life. On the other hand, Shi Pingmei challenged the old tradition. She was ready to completely leave the past behind and move on to the more Western style of living. Her writings became an inspiration for other women reformers at the time period.

China’s movement toward the Cultural Revolution was slowed paced and did not happen in a day. The works of these significant reformers and writers gradually reached the mass public. The ideas behind their works are in unison. China’s movement toward revolution would have been much slower paced without the hard work and bold moves of these activists and writers.

Works Cited

Hanan, Patrick, Lin Fu, and Jianren Wu. The Sea of Regret: Two Turn-of-the-Century Chinese Romantic Novels. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1995. 1-205. Print.

Liang, QiChao. Bay de Theodore. Lufrano Richard. “Sources of Chinese Tradition.” Vol. 2. 1999. 285-303. Print.

Ng, Janet. Wickeri, Janice. “May Fourth Women Writers: Memoirs” Shi PingMei 1996. The Research Centre for Translation. 7-121. Print.

Tian Han & Randy Barbara Kaplan “The Night a Tiger Was Captured” Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 11, No.1. (Spring, 1994), 1-34. Print.