Category: Chinese

The agenda that used to reign over the citizens of the People’s Republic of China was characterized by the images that were implemented by Propaganda. The Chinese political system has used different types of artistic expressions for many generations to not only entertain but also enlighten the Chinese people and provide an example of appropriate behavior and thought. When the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 by the new Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, Propaganda art was used to express the goals and values of the new Chinese Communist Party in the most advantageous way possible. The new government used the propaganda, especially posters because they were inexpensive, to penetrate into every social class in Chinese society. These posters could be found not only in different workplaces around the country but also in many people’s homes. Most of the people of China enjoyed these different works of art for the vivid colors and visual content and did not pay much attention to the slogans imprinted on them. These different political slogans were passed along in an almost subconscious way and the posters were admired and embraced by many because at the time there were not many delicacies available to the people, especially to the ones those in the lower class (peasants). The government employed talented artists to create different works that would portray metaphorical and theatrical images using bright colors with different political slogans to push Mao’s political agenda. The Chinese propaganda poster above was used by Mao’s regime to illustrate that Chinese citizens should trust and have faith in Mao, for everything he is doing is right and will help China advance through the cultural revolution and into the modern era. Some of the visual elements that are emphasizing this message and reflecting the goals of Mao’s China are the use of bright colors, the sun, Mao’s head, and different symbols and messages in the poster.

At first glance of this poster, you immediately notice the golden, luminous color coming off the rays of the sun drawing your attention to the middle of the poster where Mao’s head is placed. In this image, the sun’s rays are pointing in at Mao and out towards the people, forming a connection between the two while showing the people’s trust and faith in their leader. The artist also paints his face in red and warm tones, illuminating the faces of the people in the crowd. Another important aspect to notice is the placement and size of the Mao’s head in the center of the poster signifying the importance of his role during his leadership of the country, especially during the cultural revolution. A crucial aspect of the poster is the lack of anything above Mao’s head, almost comparing him as God-like figure to the Chinese people. “Everyone felt so proud, anticipating the most exciting moment to come” (Yiwu 201). In this part of the image, the artist does an outstanding job of accurately portraying how the Chinese people idolized Mao and his ideas.

Throughout Chinese history, artists have always used specific colors and shades to help portray different messages. Two prominent colors that were used in most Chinese propaganda during Mao’s era were red and yellow, the only colors on the flag of the People’s Republic of China. The use of the two bright and vivid colors in this poster can be tied to the cultural revolution in China and Mao’s promotion of the Red Guards. The Red Guards were, “students who answered Mao’s call for continuing revolution, Red Guards formed large groups that targeted political enemies for abuse and public humiliation”(Ramzy). The artist used the color red in this image to accurately portray the power and strength that the Red Guards had during the cultural revolution.

The artist of this poster also uses the little red book to further illustrate the message of the poster. The little red book is a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, which during the cultural revolution was practically mandatory to know and carry at all times. The presence of the little red book was fundamental to communism and the strength of the party. “We waved red flags and the little red book, crying and chanting, ‘Long live Chairman Mao’”(Yiwu 201). This book was used to spread Mao’s idea’s all around the country and further brainwash the citizens of China into believing that Mao was their only and best hope for a new China.

This poster depicts many different classes of people and different slogans but they all bear similar meanings. Many different operas line the bottom of the poster holding political slogans and showing their faith towards Mao by advancing the arts. During the cultural revolution, Mao’s wife believed that it was her duty to start a crusade to dominate the art world and this poster is an example of exactly that. The main slogan at the bottom of the poster states, “Advance victoriously while following Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line in literature and the arts”(poster). Many of the other slogans in the poster state similar statements for example, “Literature of Mao is supporting the peasants, soldiers, and workers” (poster bottom left Erik). These slogans accurately relate to history because during the cultural revolution Mao “Tried to reassert control by setting radical youths against the Communist Party hierarchy”(Ramzy) to help the lower class in China. The little yellow signs that the opera members are holding up say, “faithful/respect/loyalty” (Erik) and are all praise toward their leader and clearly support the message of faith and trust towards Mao. All of these political slogans were used to effectively brainwash the Chinese people to the point where quotes similar to this one, “Proletariat culture and arts are regulated by the government” (poster Erik), were considered by the people to be something beneficial their lives.

The Chinese government used this poster and many other posters as propaganda to brainwash and manipulate the Chinese people during the cultural revolution. The message of this poster does fit in with the reality of life in China during the cultural revolution to a certain extent. In this way, most of the people that were loyal and faithful to Mao were already brainwashed by the propaganda so they did not know any different. As we can see in this poster, most of the aspects portrayed Mao as a God-like figure; the slogans were used to push Mao’s political agenda forward with the peoples backing. Mao’s regime used posters to express their goals and values of his political agenda while also providing examples of how Chinese citizens should be living their lives.

Melbourne is the second biggest city in Australia, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. It has been voted as the most liveable in the world, that could be the reason why there is a huge number of international travelers visit Melbourne every year. According to Budget Direct (2019), in 2018 there are 3 million international visitors to Victoria who spend more than $8.5 billion for the State. While there are 2.9 million international tourists visited Melbourne. It’s clear that most of the income from international tourists in Victoria is from Melbourne. The majority of Vic’s tourists come from Singapore, Japan, the UK, the US, New Zealand and China. Among that China is the highest of all international markets. In this report, I will overview the factor of Chinese tourists visiting Melbourne.

The Reason for Choosing Chinese Tourists as the Objective of the Research

The rapid development of the economy in China and globalize in recent years has caused rapid growth in Chinese outbound tourism. Chinese people now would like to travel around the world rather than only visit domestic attractions. According to Global Victoria (2017), Victoria is a popular destination choice for Chinese travelers, in one years since March 2016 they estimated more than 570,000 Chinese visitors come and bring in an income of 2,6 million dollars for Australia. It can say China is an important and growing market for Melbourne as well as the Australian tourism industry.

The Motivation of Chinese Tourists Visiting Melbourne

The motivation of Chinese tourists visiting Melbourne created from push and pull factor. Push factors are those that make people want to travel and pull factors are those effect where we travel. The factors push Chinese people to go for a trip is they want to visit different destinations, because they value experiences and knowledge. Due to its safety and security, world-class nature, good food and wine, aquatic and coastal, value of money those main factors pull Chinese tourists visiting Melbourne (Travel Australia, 2017). According to Victoria State Government (2018), there are 3 factors influence the decision of Chinese tourist travel to Melbourne. They are holiday, study, and visit friends and relatives.

Holiday

Budget Direct (2019) reports that in 2018, 772,752 visitors came to Australia for holiday purposes and 51% of them have come to Melbourne. Chinese leisure visitors want to see famous Melbourne attractions, natural landscapes, cities, beaches and iconic culture. They are interested in taking photographs, walking on the beach, shopping, eating Australian cuisine, meeting locals, and learning about the Australian lifestyle.

Education

According to Victoria State Government (2018), almost forty percent of education visitors to Victoria come from China. Besides that, 84,9% of international student travel while studying in Australia. This highlights the importance of this market, as well as potential visitors to those studying in the State. Students are mostly going for a short trip. They are interested in sightseeing and shopping for pleasure.

Visit Friend and Relative (VFR)

• Visitors visiting Chinese born living in Australia, in 2016, approximately 160,700 residents living in Victoria were from China, they are also the thirst largest market oversea residents living in Victoria. Victoria State Government (2018) estimated 122,200 Chinese VFR overnight visitors in Victoria in 2017, representing 20% of all Chinese overnight visitors to the state.
• Chinese friends and relatives visiting Chinese studying in Victoria. Along with the numbers of Chinese student studies in Melbourne, every year the city received a vast number of visitors came to Melbourne for visiting their friends or children. 57,5% of students indicated that they have had friends and family from their home country visit. Most VFR stayed 1 – 2 weeks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the main factors influence the decision of Chinese tourists to travel to Melbourne are leisure holiday, education and visiting family, and friends. Those visitors who travel to Melbourne play a major role in contributing to the Australia economy. Therefore, it is very important to understanding the market’s motive, needs, preferences, and perception.

Chinese Cinderella is a compelling autobiography written by Adeline Yen Mah. Chinese Cinderella is an extraordinary book that shows the reader how cruel we live in. Many wise lessons are woven into each sentence. While reading, the reader connects the book to the world, making the audience realize how cruel society and the world we live in can be.

This novel is based on a child yearning for acceptance and love in a flawed and deliberated family. In the Novel ‘Chinese Cinderella’, Adeline demonstrates one of the most prominent themes in Chinese Cinderella; perseverance. Despite her difficult life throughout the book, Adeline is placed in numerous arduous situations where she is compelled to fend for herself at such a young age. Adeline perseveres through her academics, as discussed in the text

Adeline’s perseverance towards her academics is inextricably demonstrated and discussed throughout the text. Adeline immerses herself in striving for academic achievement in the hope of winning her parents acceptance and love, as the book moves on to Adeline’s later years, the readers get a clearer perspective on how Adeline finds great pleasure in words and does not necessarily need to make herself seen and accepted to her father, but instead, she strives to a better place- university. Adeline perseveres in her academics to prove her worth to her parents, her perseverance is driven for the need of self-worth and acceptance. Although Adeline suffers from constant rejection from her stepmother it may be the indifference from her father that crushes Adeline much more harshly and brutally, she is still able to pursue a life that the reader feels is worth living for. By Adeline indulging herself in academic life and pursuing her own kind of success, Adeline is able to see her single dream amongst a thousand negative horrors.

Her life has been scarred by her merciless treatment from her cruel siblings and inadequate parents.’ They had tossed me aside like a piece of garbage’[p.143] and ‘Everything is ugly. I loathe myself[p.215] are just two examples of how she felt after her parents and had numerous things that emotionally and deeply affected Adeline.

Family is supposed to offer us acceptance and a place to belong, affirmation and guidance –Things that that Adeline lacks with her parents and family. Adeline shows a high level of perseverance from such a young child who has faced such hard difficulties in her life, this perseverance has rooted in her need of acceptance and love. Also, another reason why she perseveres in her academics is that she wants to bring honour to her family name ‘Continue to study hard and bring honour to the Yen family, so we can be proud of you’(p11), this quote relates to the theme of perseverance as well as, pride]. It illustrates the theme of perseverance because Adeline feels the only attention she can receive is when her father feels a sense of pride towards Adeline. Throughout the book Adeline’s academics is discussed predominantly but, there is another aspect to the theme of perseverance that Adeline portrays, the readers also witness Adeline to trying to stay strong against the chaos and war in China at the time.

Adeline, a child that was abused and mistreated for her whole life was abruptly sent away to boarding school in Tianjin, during a time of war and chaos. Her family of course, had left and moved to a new area where the yen family was protected. Adeline was left by herself in a new environment alone, with old clothes and yes, her sadness was evident, but her courage and perseverance to overcome it were definitely unmistakable. Adeline coped surprisingly well for a child of her age and was able to handle the feelings of rejection and unloved like no other child. The key to her strength, courage, and perseverance was her desire and commitment towards her studies caused her to persevere even though at the time her life was a struggle. Academic dreams and goals helped her get through tough times. During her time at a Tianjin boarding school, the readers witness her perseverance at unimaginable levels. During this time at the boarding school, the readers view Adeline becoming self-accepted, near to the end of the book.

Adeline has poor self–esteem throughout the text. Adeline is constantly mad to feel unloved and unwanted. Although the readers witness many feelings of self-doubt from Adeline over her childhood the audience can see a change in the way she views herself by the end of the book . This is exceptionally special because Adeline finally realizes that she so much more than a worthless and unwanted child like her family had set her out to be .but instead we see that Adeline can see herself as an amazing person, a brilliant student and is worth peoples time and love. As a reader, this was very important to see Adeline come into her own skin and view the world out of her own eyes, not the way her parents view things. The readers were able to see this when ye ye and Adeline were having a conversation . ”go out there and compete in the most difficult examinations. Create your own destiny”(p181). This quote strengthens her self-esteem in many ways because ye ye is proking deep thought and telling Adeline that she is worth it . Adeline’s view of herself had changed quite drastically when her grandfather had told her this . Although this quote does relate to the self -esteem her perseverance comes from her lack of self-esteem this has driven her forward as she tries to go out in the world and make her own mark.

The true story of an unwanted daughter Chinese Cinderella is the personal novel of Adeline Yen Mah. Adeline Yen Mah’s life was full of family rejection, poor relationships, abandonment, loneliness, low self-esteem, no identity, sorrow, disappointment, and resilience. The hopeless diary of Adeline Yen Mah’s childhood encountering youth and entering her fight for affirmation from the time she was bound to the age of fourteen during the 1940s and 1950s, a battle of acknowledgment. All through this discouraging novel the subjects of family and connections abandonment depression and self-regard are investigated inside this content. Family and connections a noteworthy topics in the distributed novel Chinese Cinderella. Adeline was accused of her mum’s demise. Hence her kin dislikes her and has consistently felt like she doesn’t have a place in the Yen Mah family.

In 1941, being born as a female in a Chinese family was seen as unfavorable. “Chinese parents still prefer sons”. Adeline was born as an atrocious curse as her mother passed soon after she was born. “If you had not been born Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.” Adeline since her youthful age has been scarcely recognized and once in a while refreshing by her family.

She takes a stab at school to win her dad’s consideration. For example, “I was winning the medal every week and wearing it constantly … It was the only way to make Father take notice of me.”, this statement demonstrates that Adeline frantically needs a better-than-average connection between her dad and herself. Adeline discovers that trying sincerely and accomplishing objectives will improve her odds for her dad seeing her for once, Aunt Baba and her school peers have a great connection with Adeline. Furthermore, her big sister was jealous of Adeline and the medal. Her big sister cried and slapped her “You are stupid! And you don’t deserve to wear this!”. While Adeline makes the most of her talent she is treated with contempt and disadvantage.

As Adeline was growing up she was expected to understand the importance of being truthful and loyal, doing the best, being happy with simple things in life, and trying hard enough to prove your worth. Nonetheless, she was still neglected, unloved, abused, and bullied. “Continue studying hard and bringing honor to the Yen family name so we can be proud of you.”, also, “As soon as I heard Aunt Baba’s footsteps, I started feeling better immediately.”, these two sentences indicate that Adeline feels that Aunt Baba and herself are close and has a solid relationship that urges Adeline to feel better and acknowledges her. The first quote shows that Adeline’s family always expects more from her than what she can do. In that capacity, while Adeline has a positive bond with Aunt Baba her family associations with her dad and kin are poor. Adeline was always so joyful when Aunt Baba was around, Adeline has a real connection with Aunt Baba, on the other hand, there is her father.

Adeline’s father is happy for her, but only when he can be. Father is a loving parent to Adeline when they are alone but when Niang is near his mood changes to a tough adult, Father is intimidated by Niang and her orders. “She treats me like a leaper, and I know she doesn’t like me…I’m nothing. Less than nothing. A piece of garbage to be thrown out”. Adeline’s struggle as a stepdaughter is shown as depressing. She feels worthless and ugly, responsible for misfortune, and resentful for simply being around. Anxiety increased every day and she wished she could disappear. Subsequently, Adeline will find it hard to fall asleep and also wet the bed.

Deserting and dejection are shown in Adeline’s young excursion. Adeline regularly gets a handle on the left of things with her family and rather than accomplishing their endorsement for her school exertion she gets their disdain. Her fellowship with her pet duck PLT best shows Adeline’s sentiments of disconnection and depression. “I took the duckling to my heart … it comforted me to know I was needed.”, this statement mirrors her sentiments of being cherished and alright for once in her initial life and it is acceptable to realize that somebody will recall her and hear her out faculties and thoughts.

Consequently, Father was generally significant in Adeline’s adolescence yet he generally would discover some way without knowing to cause Adeline to feel dishonourable. As a result, she felt unwanted and unloved. Her father didn’t remember her name “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your Chinese name”. She felt small and not good enough.

“One by one they were greeted and led away by anxious mothers. Nobody came for me.” Hence the merciless record of when father neglected to get helpless eight-year-old Adeline on her first day at her new school. To aggravate it even he overlooked his own little girl’s name straight after this unpleasant and frightening circumstance. The creator utilizes these occasions to introduce the surrender and dejection she felt inside her family. Adeline was abandoned and forgotten at school, she was never included in family outings. She felt guilty though she’s done nothing wrong, but to exist.

Although Adeline felt a special closeness to her friends, she was never able to openly confide in them anything about her family. “You are not allowed to enter any of the rooms on our floor without permission”. She was ordered what to do and where to not go. One time, Adeline spoke her thoughts “Don’t beat her anymore. She is only a baby!”. The outcome was rough. She hated herself as no one cared. Adeline had to keep her hair short, straight, and out-fashioned. She was given no pocket money, not even the tram fare to go to school, yet Niang’s children could do whatever they wanted. Due to this, her life was completely disadvantaged and full of struggles.

All through this disheartening novel the subjects of family and associations surrender and gloom and self-respect are researched inside this substance. Family and associations an essential themes in the circulated novel Chinese Cinderella. This tragic story is of a young Chinese young lady who is disliked and undesirable during her childhood life by her own family. She lived in a big house, full of people but felt lonely and she couldn’t wait to grow up and get away. As a result, Adeline’s struggles in life are expressed with extreme sadness.

Summary

In this autobiography, we meet Jade Snow and her Chinese American family, the Wongs. This book starts with Jade in her earliest years as the narrative simply walks us through the Wong family’s whirling world around her. Throughout this book, little Jade grows, and with her grows a more complex and complicated narrative as Jade grows more complex and complicated herself.

Jade was born into a traditional Chinese family that continued to follow homeland traditions despite being born in Chinatown in San Francisco, California in 1922. She says, “For the first five years, everything was Chinese.” Chinese is the first language she hears, and the first type of food she eats, it’s essentially the only culture Jade gets introduced to. We could assume that if Jade Snow never aged and stayed a young child forever, she may never have left that environment. She must obey her strict grandmother, respect her elders, listen to her older sister, and take care of her younger siblings. Things are very cut and dry for the first few chapters while Jade is still quite young, and her life slowly opens to the reader in a plain, almost educational way.

Jade’s father is a strict and traditional man, and while he pushes all of his children towards a “good” education, he only agrees to pay for college tuition for his one son while his other children, his four daughters, are expected to be married off and become good housewives. It is very prevalent in this part of the book that Jade Snow begins to struggle to find peace with her identity family, her culture, and herself.

Jade, now beginning to feel American, begins working as a housekeeper until she manages to find herself a scholarship and goes to college. This book was first published in 1950, which to say simply was a very different culture for women and Asians in America than it is today. Coming right out of World War Two, there were very different sentiments towards Asians in this country, and it was not a particularly easy time for women. The fact that Jade was an immigrant, female, Chinese, and unsupported by her family makes her struggle to succeed in her American dream even more remarkable.

Review

Fifth Chinese Daughter is not a detailed account of the character, nor does it put you into the head of the author. Instead, this book is much more focused on the linear passing of time, the struggles of culture and feminism, and the details of well-observed Chinese traditions. In this book we learn about many Asian traditions, from a baby’s first month with red eggs, pickled pigs’ feet, a typical Chinese funeral, and of course the timeless sexism towards women only an ancient culture can provide.

At the start of the book, it seems like our author Jade is very impacted by the rigors and strictness of her family. Before she ever describes the color of her mother’s eyes, the sound of her baby brother laughing, or the wrinkles on her grandmother’s face while she cared for the entire household, Jade introduces you to the rules. In the Wong household, a girl mustn’t question too frequently, she mustn’t use the wrong title to address her elders or even desire to get a higher education. Every time Jade was told something was inappropriate for her, it must have reinforced the idea to self-express, to be unique, and to participate in America as an individual. This is consistent with the experience of many Asian American immigrants of this time. Many of the patriarchs of the family during this time, have worked very hard to get their families to live successfully in the United States, and their expectations to uphold this feat follow suit.

When Jade moves from her first elementary school to a new local neighborhood school when her parents move homes, Jade thinks, “Everybody knows the Chinese have a superior culture.” While Fifth Chinese Daughter doesn’t overtly mention it, it’s understood that the Wong family does not hold American values or behaviors in high regard. This idea is probably reinforced after a white boy spits on her. When Jade was 11 years old it was 1933, and the great depression was in full swing. Attitudes towards Asians in America were in very low regard.

Jade gives a lot of detail and time describing the conflicts between her two cultural environments. While not written with much emotion on how it feels to be torn between two very different cultures, she demonstrates with subtlety how intelligent, hardworking, and resilient she was as a young Asian woman in America. The author’s Chinese culture causes her autobiography to be written in the third person, so we can only peek at the individual as viewed by her entire family, rather than hear her speak in her voice. This might be indicative of the collectivist culture within Asian countries. It should also be noted that struggling with identity is very common among Asian immigrants. As Jade grows up, she starts to see herself as more American. According to Goodwin’s article from our readings, there were many shifts in identity and self-image, as his case study participants grew up.

As the pages turn Jade’s interesting life story progresses fluidly, and as our protagonist begins to break away from her family’s traditionalist values, her individualistic decision-making allows the reader to start caring for Jade, and we become emotionally invested in Jade’s struggle with cultural defiance as she tries to find herself.

In the novel Balzac and the Little Seamstress, Dai Sijie vividly presents the theme of the power of story-telling by exploiting the development of relationships between friends or lovers and the development of individual characters throughout the book.

To begin, Dai Sijie conveys the power of storytelling by showing the development of Mai’s storytelling abilities. The two main characters Luo and Ma travel from city to city in the countryside telling well-renowned stories or shows to the people for their re-education. Between the two boys, Luo is the superior one at telling and describing tales and this pushes Ma to develop on his own to become better with the help and motivation of his childhood friend by his side. For instance when Ma was telling a story on his own, “ I got along on my own as best I could… the magic was not the same as when Luo took the lead. I was not a born storyteller.” He knows he is not the best and shows his insecurity about his skills and how he struggled without Luo beside him but when he mentions that he was not a born storyteller. This gives the hint that he is trying his best and that he won’t give up on this passion of his. This carries throughout the book with his confidence developing along and at the end Luo says, “‘Right now,’ Luo whispered to me, ‘You’re doing better than me. You should have been a writer.’” In this, Luo admits that Ma has grown in confidence and his work. With the huge amount of stories he had stored in his knowledge, towards the end Ma started referring to himself as another one of those characters in his books to try to imagine another, better world. He fell in love with all of the characters that he had created for himself. “My look was steely and my pace brisk, as befitting a secret agent with a mission.” This character of his is nothing that has been heard of all through the story and where the ‘Balzac and the Little Seamstress’ was set.

Secondly, the story of Balzac was extremely involved and based on the books and how they impacted the boys. Luo and Ma were both very emotionally attached to the books and they shared these thoughts, devotion, and teamwork towards obtaining these books because of what the books had to offer. The books for the boys were a way to sort of escape their lives in the mines and imagine a different life somewhere else in the world. As the boys grew older, the books helped teach them how to act and the boys stayed educated by these books. The stories of France and other beautiful sites introduced an imaginative setting in the story for Ma and Luo. “There was nowhere for them to go, for there was no conceivable place where a Romeo and his pregnant Juliet might elude the long arm of the law, nor indeed where they might live the life of Robinson Crusoe attended by a secret agent turned Man Friday.” The high romantic style of this passage shows how the narrator’s aesthetic has changed through his exposure to reading. At the beginning of the novel, he describes events concisely and rarely launches into flights of fancy. Here, he allows his imagination to take over and pictures himself, Luo, and the Seamstress in a variety of situations inspired by literature. The stories read spread the boy’s range of imagination which helped the boys feel more confident in nerve-racking situations.

Thirdly, “(Balzac) touched the head of the mountain girl with an invisible finger, and she was transformed, carried away in a dream.” This quote describes how the seamstress changed within the novel and how she transformed into her person. The seamstress had an amazing companion (Luo) who went through the struggle to educate her day by day and this expanded from a little Fraggle seamstress, into an intelligently, independent woman. Just like Ma, the Seamstress used the stories as a connection and developed her knowledge of the outer world by listening to the stories. “…having Balzac’s words next to her skin made her feel good, and also more intelligent.” With the more novels and adventures she is informed from the books, the little seamstress pretends she is someone else, someone who she believes she is. In the beginning, the Little Seamstress is “not civilized enough” but throughout the novel and under the influence of Luo’s storytelling with the books we see a sudden change which then results in a completely changed person. “Before, (Seamstress) had no idea that you could take the role of a completely different person…” Her imaginative moments of being in a completely different life develop her confidence and independence until the end of the book when she leaves for the city for a new life.

Throughout the book, Dai Sijie supports the power of storytelling by showing the development of Luo and the Seamstress. Luo visits the seamstress and reads her a new story every day. These stories slowly have an impact on the seamstress helping develop the seamstress into a young woman but also progressively developing their relationship. Time passes and more stories are implanted into the seamstress’s head, making her fall in love with not only Luo but also the books. Luo was very special to her and he had done things nobody had ever done to show their affection to her. This uniquely attracts the two closer to one another because they are so different. She is an uneducated seamstress who lives mainly on her own whilst her father works, and Luo is an educated young man who was sent off to be re-educated he escapes this life to help educate the seamstress which doesn’t entirely develop the seamstress its own but also continuously adds a piece to a map to each other’s hearts.

In conclusion, the stories within the story have not only developed the characters and the relationships between the characters but also helped readers relate to the story by creating an alter-universe to allow them to leave their lives and imagine themselves as one of these non-stereotypical characters.

In this essay I am going to talk about foreign influence in China, in the early 19 centuries, during the World War II; foreign influence in Adeline Yen Mah’s childhood by living in that period; and what are the foreign influence on myself as well.

During the Second World War, many foreign countries have ruled over some cities in China. In 1842, China lost the Opium War, and Britain took over Hong Kong and Kowloon. In 1895 Japan conquered Taiwan and Manchuria from China and in 1973, Japan declared the war on China and conquered Beijing and Tianjin. Most of the port cities on China’s coast such as Tianjin and Shanghai fell under foreign control (such as Britain and European counties). The areas called foreign concessions, were within the areas there are only citizen rules and national law acts on. Outside the concession, Japan was ruling over the Tianjin. On the other hand, Hong Kong was controlled by Britain.

During this time, the Chinese’s traditional values were disappearing from the areas which were a consequence of foreign countries. Most of the are areas, the native Chinese people don’t allow to go expect they are their children’s maid, they started the discrimination against Chinese people. How sad for native Chinese people have to experience a harsh life in their land (sounds like Australia history). Most students whom parents can afford to send them to a better school, they send them to Catholic School, where they learned English and other foreign languages. Is it some sense also beneficial for Niang, so no stepchildren can speak or write Chinese. So, she could understand everything. Foreign influence especially American influence was high on Tianjin, including Hollywood, solders food and foreign restaurants and entertainment and development in the young generation.

Adeline lived in Tianjin, in the French concession. On the French concession, only French law will act. Even in her house, her stepmother was half-French and holding on to French culture and that’s the reason his father likes her and always introduced her as French. These two reasons indicate that form the childhood Adeline have lived in China but under French law and have adopted a foreign culture from childhood. In kindergarten, she went to a French missionary school, she is learning French and English by Catholic nuns. This will have an immense impact on Adeline lives because schools have an immense influence on someone’s lives. In school, she is learning a foreign language, in a foreign environment. These foreign influences can cause her to forget her own culture, which she did slightly.

Adeline also received foreign influence from her friend Wu Chun-me, and she was born in the United States and got a great American accent and amazing athletics.

When they go back Tianjin in Catholic boarding schools and then when she comes. She was very influenced by Britain and French that she also forgets her Chinese language.

Foreign influence on myself, I came to Australia which represents the most significant foreign influence, I have on my entire life. I have learned a new language. I adopt a new culture, I got a new lifestyle. In a new lifestyle, I have forgotten my language. I have forgotten reading and writing in it but I still have the values and traditions. I feel like right now I am in the feet of Adeline when she returns from Tinging and she told her grandfather she only wanted to learn English to become success full and I am forgetting my traditional language. In the Adeline childhood era, it was firm for them to hold on to their culture because of all the wars influences. If I had a life like Adelin, I genuinely won’t have that much strength to fight with all these internal family issues. I will typically do as Adelin did, I will study intensely and construct a better life for myself.

References

1. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=5933759aebb54282a9bff0fcae225f8b
2. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-world-war-ii-affect-china-504342
3. http://mcnarychinesecinderella.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/4/7/21471922/chinesecinderella_full_text.pdf

‘A Chinese Life’ is an autobiographic graphic novel written by Li Kunwu and Philippe Ôtié. The book presents a personal journey through China’s modern history, from the creation of the republic of China in 1949 till the present. The book covers two of the most important events in the development of modern Chinese state that are: The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Artist Li Kunwu was born in China’s poor southwest in 1955, he went hungry in the Great Leap Forward. He used to draw cartoons for his province’s paper, eventually ended up hobnobbing with mineral water magnates in the southwestern city of Kunming and French artists at Angoulême’s famous comic festival. Li was a son of a party official and a peasant woman from the hills, he grew up in an age of reform. ‘A Chinese Life’ gives and immediate sense of how a man is shaped by modern China and the struggles that took place around him through its graphic display by the author.

Li’s family and school environment affected the way he thought of the Cultural Revolution. The aim of the Chinese people of this time was to beat the Brits and catch up with the Americans. The common mentality of the, world being divided in two, good guys and bad boys, “the good guys were our elder brothers, the Russians. The bad guys were the English and the American imperialist who exploited people, […]” (Li Kunwa, pg. 50). Li’s father told this to him making him understand the motive of the cultural revolution. All his childhood Xiao Li was taught to put Mao above his mother and father and so were other children. It greatly influenced their understanding of Mao as a great father figure, planting seeds of inspiration from him.

The Cultural Revolution had four broad goals, first one was fighting ‘bureaucratism’ as Mao thought that routine is an enemy of executive power and that will infer in his ability to lead the country. Secondly, teach the younger generation revolution, he thought the new generation does not know what revolution is about. This goal of Mao had a large effect on the younger generation. Xiao Li’s school is a significant example. When ‘The Little Red Book’ also called ‘Yu Lu: Quotations for Chairman Mao’ was introduced in Li’s school, his classmates and himself were inspired to change their names to more revolutionary names. Later as an effect it encouraged student groups to take revolutionary actions. For example, when his friend talks about what is the bourgeoisie: “The bourgeoisie is a decadent and declining class that exploits us” (Li Kunwa, pg.100). Next was getting rid of level class differences as official class became elite class and it was not going to help Mao’s vision of a modern China. Here again, Li’s classmates and he was influenced by ‘The Little Red Book’. We could see Li’s understanding of cultural revolution getting even stronger as they took more actions against reactionaries. Li was asked to give contribution to the revolution and this is where his art played a role in his young age. An incidence with the Barber shows how Li was appealed by the idea of helping in his way. Li illustrates the haircuts with drawings and calls it his “revolutionary success” (Li Kunwa, pg. 114). The last one was changing succession that we give opportunities to everyone.

Li presents a bold vibrant images in this book. As he starts working away from home his relationship with his parents and even his marriage is ignored. He is drawn in by art, art that supports the vision of modern China. Li’s focus on drawing for the contribution affected his personal relationships. Li’s traditional landscape painting catches attention to the kind of China he used to live in. although initially, Li’s paintings limited to Mao the book shows great interest in showing the struggles around him by showing these details sometimes used ironically, as when showing deforestation during the great leap forward. Earlier when he meets his grandma, when she unwraps her bound feet or when eating precious piece of meat focusing on the greater issue of famine during the time as well. Moreover, the display of increasing darkness, jagged lines, dark-thread background emphasizes metaphorically on the situation of China at the time.

There are different features that are used to show the struggle in Li’s life in the book. There is distance created through time and suspense as when Xiao Li asks to join the army. “And that was that. I was going to be a soldier, like Lei Feng. A hero in the service of the people” (Li Kunwu, pg.204, image effect). One significant use of landscapes to show the sense of time passing is stressed on page 256-257 of the book, when waiting in the army truck, looking at various scenes to convey a mood without words; sometimes the passing of time is conveyed by several panels in which one moves father away from the object of its focus. The devices used for scene to scene transitions are effective in showing the thread of relationships. For example, Xiao Li’s mother writes, a letter to her daughter and we follow the letter as it travels to the daughter in a distant village (Li Kunwa, pg. 251-252). In addition, there is silent action to action panel transitions in which there is the same scene but each panel shows different actions in the same sequence intended to convey something emotional or the fluidity of series of actions such as in the scene where Xiao Li’s father and mother, after he comes back home from the reeducation camp, try to urge one another to take precious piece of meat (Li Kunwa, pg. 275). This again shows use the effect of famine China was facing. Li’s way of drawing symbolizes the situation of china during the cultural revolution. It gives the readers an anecdote rather than a statistical report of events through its graphic.

Furthermore, as we move in the novel we see the use of art as different, when we see art produced by Xiao Li, it is lighter, not as heavily blacked in by ink as his ‘reality’ sections. This creates a different feel that tells us that we are looking at his art now (Li Kunwa, pg.366, 655). The use of woodcut style is for the same effect, but it reminds us of the communist us of woodcuts in the 1937-45 period (Li. Kunwa, pg. 393). One of the important scene that struck me was when Xiao Li is secretly observing his love being forced to make love to her husband (pg.373) that shows a hierarchical mentality present in china at the time. Later we are shown a page with multiple images in it. Where a disrespectful man waves his hand and Xiao Li is reminded of his father after he dies. This can boldly show the class difference and emphasize on Xiao Li’s relationship with his father (pg.430). Repeating of images give a sense that some things remain the same as ever even in midst of the tremendous changes China has experienced. We can see in the image of Xiao Li’s mother looking at the tofu which its hawker says is soft and white as a young girl’s skin, this occurs in the beginning and the end of the story.

Palaces like the Forbidden City are no exception to this: they show power by their size but the same idea of a courtyard exists in the enclosed walled area called the Imperial City. It may show power with the visibility of the different halls and gates, but the private space inside stays away from people outside. The residential area of the palace is itself separated from the rest of the Imperial City by the Gate of Heavenly Purity. This modesty is a strongly present social culture in the Chinese culture. In his study, Bond shows that in a public setting, whether someone is with her mother or her best friend, the levels of self-effacement will be similar for both relationships (20). However, in a private setting, the person will have a lower level of self-effacement with both her mother or best friend, but she will act more freely with her mother. This shows how family links people to the courtyard house, and so to the idea of being inside, away from the outside world. It also shows the respect of the daughter toward her mother and reminds us of the strong hierarchy in the Chinese family culture (Bond, 15). This culture is different from the Western culture where people are not as modest, and let themselves show more emotions than Chinese people in public. Chinese people are avoiding attention, as well as effacing oneself (Bond, 14). The traditional courtyard house, from the outside, looks plain and does not show much power and wealth. At home, modesty goes away and private conversations and acts are not hidden. Another study shows that Chinese modesty is strongly anchored into the educational culture in China. Indeed, as seen in Wu’s study, compared to American mothers, Chinese mothers are more inclined to discourage their children from strongly showing their point of view, proudly acknowledging compliments, and showing their skills (485). They tend to make their children feel guilt if they do not reach the expectations that their parents had for them, and tell more than American mothers that they should feel ashamed when they are misbehaving (Wu, 485). The idea of modesty is even strongly represented by the results of the study showing that Chinese mothers, compared to American ones, tend to less express their love by helping to succeed in school, and tend to less take care of their children (485). They also do not think as strongly as American mothers that the mothers should do everything for their children’s education. Chinese mothers have less democratic participation and do not show as much sympathy in public as American mothers. Chinese mothers are more protective than American ones: it shows the modesty that Chinese children have been taught. In the US, this modest behavior, almost shy, is regarded as “immature and maladaptive”, and seems to come from parents being too overprotecting (Wu, 489). Nowadays, Chinese society pushes children to be “sensitive, modest and cooperative or well behaved” (qtd. Chen, 489). Chinese mothers have modest encouragement and support toward their children: it is a continued influence of Confucian ideals (qtd. Lau & Yeung, 489). Furthermore, in Lee’s study, we can see that Chinese children’s education has an emphasis on self-effacement and modesty. Indeed, in the study, the children rated negatively a child saying to his teacher that he has done something good, because they considered that the child was “begging for the teacher’s praise” (Lee, 930). This behavior is highly discouraged by Chinese teachers (qtd. Zhu, 930). A third of the Chinese children in this study said that they “should not leave their name if they have done a good deed” (Lee, 930).

To conclude, the traditional courtyard Chinese house comes from the idea of protection from the outside world. It protects the entire family which is the most important social category in China. The strong hierarchical idea within the family in China has been anchored in the culture for many centuries and is still strong as of now. Chinese people do not let themselves show their weaknesses outside of the courtyard house, they act modestly in public, with modesty that they have been taught since they were children.

Works Cited

1. Bond, Michael H., et al. “Enacting modesty in Chinese culture: The joint contribution of personal characteristics and contextual features”, Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Vol 15, 2012, pp.14-25.
2. Hu, Xiao. “Boundaries and openings: spatial strategies in the Chinese dwelling”, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol 23 Issue 4, Dec 2008, pp.353-367.
3. Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. Original Drawings by Richard Tobias. Oxford University Press, 1985, pp.231-233.
4. Lee, Kang, et al. “Chinese and Canadian Children’s Evaluation of Lying and Truth Telling: Similarities and Differences in the Context of Pro and Antisocial Behaviors”, Child Development, Vol. 68, No. 5, Oct. 1997, pp.924-934.
5. Wu, Peixia, et al. “Similarities and Differences in Mothers’ Parenting of Preschoolers in China and the United States.”, International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 26, No. 6, 2002, pp.481-491

Abstract

In this paper we will discuss the relationship of Chinese astronomy in ancient china, Chinese astronomy is fascinating because it has developed largely from the Indo-European atmosphere and has developed its specific methods and nuances. The Chinese were so good in keeping astronomical records, allowing modern historians to determine that Chinese astronomy remained largely unchanged from 1800 BCE. Astronomy was a real reserve, and the emperors hired astronomers directly to follow the sky and record the phenomena, with the main purpose of accurately recording time, something that they began to do with great accuracy. Chronologists consider the Chinese excellent spectators and recorders of celestial events throughout the world. The Chinese have followed these events for the Arabs. The celestial bodies were then grouped into twenty-eight palaces that had been established on oracle bones exposed in Anyang. The nucleus of the classification of dwellings (xiù) seems to become clear during the reign of the sovereign Wu Ding (1339-1281 BC). This is placed on biblical chronology with the history of the world from 1500 BC. Chinese astronomy and the Tang era The most important step in the development of Chinese astronomy is between the third and the sixth century, when Chinese scholars and polymaths gave many wonderful contributions to mathematics and astronomy and produced instruments of accurate measurement It was.

Introduction

In China, as in many other cultures, there is evidence of interest and observation of the sky many years earlier than the written documentation suggests. Examples of ceramics now preserved in the Ancient Beijing Observatory and dating back to the Neolithic period (more than 5,000 years ago) show images of the sun and shells and bones of intricately carved animals images of stars as well as astronomical events such as bursts stars it can date from 1400 BC. A grave dating from around 4000 BC contained bones and shells inscribed with the Plow and symbols for the blue dragon and the white tiger, two of the four areas, the black turtle and the vermilion-like bird like the others. A lacquered box, dating from before 433 BC, had the names of the 28 villas engraved on the cover, which shows that this system had been in use for a long time. The peoples believe that the rulers of China, the first kings and later emperors, and they would receive their faith from heaven, astronomy will soon became a dominant science in China. The core duty of political concerned was to keep the earth in total harmony with the sky. This obligation was called ‘mandate of heaven,’ and the emperor himself was called Tian Zi, the Son of heaven. The stars themselves were given the astrological significance, which both made possible the predictions that influenced daily life and the main political strategies, and astronomy soon became a powerful political tool.

The Chinese were diligent in recognizing other astronomical phenomena, such as comets, sunspots, nova’s, and sun flares long before any other culture made such observations. They tried to catalog each star and defined their constellations of a main star, called the king, and surrounded them with principles. The one known astronomer Shi-Shen (4th BC) is believe to be classify 809 stars in 122 batch. He also made the first known observation of sunspots. Together with his contemporary, Kan-Te, he is one of the most remarkable Chinese astronomers. To make accurate measurements of the position in the sky, the Chinese used an armillary sphere, a metal sphere consisting of intersecting scaled circles, allowing the observer to coordinate each star. The first human record of an eclipse was made in 2136 BC and in hundreds of years of advanced air monitoring; the Chinese became highly skilled at predicting lunar eclipses. The first job of Chinese astronomers was to record the time; they announced what was the first day of the month and predicted lunar eclipses. Astronomers were often beheaded when their prediction was wrong. During the period of Emperor Huang Ti, Chinese astronomers divided the air into 10 stems and 12 branches along the horizon, offering a 60-year cycle. The first Chinese mainly used the constellation of the Big Dipper, which is related to the polar star in the early evening.

One of the famous observations of Chinese astronomers was that of a supernova of 1054. They called this phenomenon in the registers as a ‘guest star’ and mentioned that it remained brilliant for about a year before it became invisible again. This supernova has created what we see today as the Crab Nebula. The explosion itself in 1054 was also recorded by the Anasazi Indians in the southwestern US, but for some reason there is no news of this happening in Europe or any other culture.

Chinese Astronomy and the Tang Dynasty

For the development of Chinese astronomy 3rd and 6th centuries were most important. When Chinese scientists and technologists made many amazing contributions to mathematics and astronomy, and created accurate measuring instruments. One of the most important astronomers of this specific period was Zu Chongzhi (429-500), a well-known polimath. Using self-designed tools, he suggested that the year would be 365.24281481 days long, a measure that differed by less than a minute from modern measurements.

He used this to design the Daming calendar, the most accurate lunisolar calendar available at the time. Other measurements include measuring the number of times the sun and moon overlap, representing 27,21223 times, which is very close to 27,21222 as we know it today; using this number, he successfully predicted an eclipse four times during 23 years (436 to 459). Yi Xing (683-727) was a monk who studied many of the methods and beliefs of Indian astronomy and mathematics, under the auspices of the Tang Dynasty. He was the first known astronomer to attempt to trace the length of a meridian line, explaining that it was 123.7km, not far from the modern size of 111km. Yi Xing was the main engine behind the construction of an armillary sphere that moved in combination with the air.

The Chinese Astronomers of the Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty, 960-1279, saw the Chinese build a number of huge observatories based on a series of accurate star maps, one of which was used to build a planetarium with 1434 stars and 28 constellations. At the end of this period, one of the greatest Chinese astronomers, Guo Shoujing (1231-1316), responsible for the creation of a large sundial, with which he could calculate the duration of a year in less than 30 seconds, a monumental result. He also improved the armillary sphere, making it less complex but also more accurate.

Chinese astronomy: Heritage

Chinese astronomers have often been consulted for Greek, Indian and Islamic contributions in the field, mainly because they use methods that are so different from the Eurocentric world. Their work was usually more focused on perfecting their observations and making more and more accurate measurements regarding the development of theories, but in this respect they were one of the most important ancient cultures. Chinese astronomers have generated extremely accurate time measurements and identified unusual cosmological phenomena such as nova, comets and meteor showers. This makes their work important for the development of the history of astronomy and filtered their ideas along the Silk Road to the Middle East and Europe.

References

1. http://idp.bl.uk/4DCGI/education/astronomy/history.html
2. https://explorable.com/chinese-astronomy