Transition to Modernity: Chinese Literature - Research Paper Example

?Insert Transition to Modernity: Chinese Literature China made significant leaps to modernity during the mid-twentieth century. This transformation is well depicted in various Chinese literary pieces that were written at the time. Aileen Chang’s “Love in a fallen city” is one of the modern literatures that effectively capture the socio-economic and political developments that came about following the spread of Communism and the entry of Western Capitalism in China. The literary piece focuses on the social developments in Shanghai and Hong Kong as the two societies struggled to cope with the modern civilization fronted by the influence of the West. Chang narrates how modernity encountered mixed responses from the natives. Although, the forces for modernity eventually made significant gains in the society, Chang depicts their resolve as being faced with serious challenges from the status quo. This paper examines China’s transition to modernity and the challenges that came about in the process as depicted in “Love in a fallen city.” Darkness and Sadness Kong argues that Chang’s "Love in a Fallen City" narrates how the quest for modernity yields resistance from agents of the status quo, and eventually leads to war (280). Then war strains the social fabric in society, and salvages love among allies. These developments show Chang’s pessimism about human existence and civilization in the contemporary global sphere. To her, human successes, letdowns, achievements, and shame, will eventually culminate into insignificance. As such, the only realities in the world are death and insignificance. Liu suggests that the cultural conflict between traditional values and modernity on issues such as lifestyle, language, beliefs, cuisine, and dressing among others practically pits the deeply rooted remoteness of the society against the distant, unpredictable Western-oriented future (86). This confusion and resentment among the locals created a feeling sadness within the society. Im says Chang’s “Love in fallen city” is punctuated with a feeling of melancholy which is ingeniously embedded in her cynical perception of human civilization and life (256). According to Kong, Chang’s pessimism can be traced to the sad paradox that revolves around humankind: that people invent or are persuaded to adopt a new civilization so as to relieve themselves from the wilderness, but the new cultural practices only transfer humankind to another “wilderness” with new but equally challenging negative forces (280). In light of the constant challenges in life, human beings endeavor to obtain freedom, but the struggle never ends. With its basis on the social concern, “Love in a Fallen City” generally censures the injustices meted out on members of the society, and creates awareness on the need for a better human existence anchored on justice. Character support The conflict between the two civilizations is captured in Chang’s choice of characters as well. Liu argues that the life of the characters tells all about their individual struggles and their painful experiences in life (87). For instance, Ch’i-ch’iao is a woman who gets a ‘wrong’ partner for a husband, hoping that all her material needs will be met, but eventually she is saddened when she realizes that her husband’s people do not want her. Her choice boomerangs on her children, forcing them to lead a life full of sadness. While the woman is representative of the mid-twentieth century woman who fights for recognition, security, and a happier marriage life as evident in modernity, feminists are depicted as facing heavy resistance from the predominantly male China’s society. Chang then wonders why women were relegated in the society despite the fact that they play an important role in raising and maintaining men. In light of this, Cregan points out that it is in this confusion that Chang raises the importance of mothers through Zhenbao (37). The character harbors modern ideology, and as a result, he dreams of securing the support of mothers. Noting the historical ‘weakness’ of the female fraternity and the seemingly ‘unpredictable’ nature of their roles in the modern society, the work captures Chang’s ingenuous description of the cold and dark setting in which the work was anchored. Conversely, the starkly trendy scenes of a better future, provides a sense of hope to the agents of change and helps to transition the story from total darkness to glamour. Im notes that the setting of “Love in a Fallen City” is reminiscent of the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese forces, in which case the original Chinese control and the subsequent Japanese domination of region are stark with different challenges (265). Chang uses the occupying forces and the upper-class life to symbolize modernity, which a majority of the lower-class population would want to enjoy but whose enjoyment comes at a cost of losing individual morality and dignity. The first literary piece in the book, “Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier”, for instance, revolves around a young lady, Weilong, who stays with her seemingly modern aunt, Madame Liang, to pursue her education. Unfortunately, the girl’s ambition of securing a better, formal training is ironically thwarted by her aunt’s modern lifestyle. Liang’s lifestyle revolves around using men for material gains, dressing sumptuously, and partying a lot. Cregan indicates that these new values of modernity practically deviate from the traditional moral life in Shanghai (37). Nonetheless, even though Liang’s lifestyle contradicts formal education, professionalism and formal employment, it can be argued that the modern life helps to lighten the traditionally dark nature of the ancient China. It also emphasizes how family politics played out to the disadvantage of women during the mid-20th century. Chang’s use of imagery injects life in the story and favors modernity. For instance, when Weilong and her aunt are dating the same man, Chang depicts both women as facing a bleak and unfortunate future of losing the man (40). Imagery also helps to create more curiosity around the otherwise dull settings like Shanghai and Hong Kong for easier reading and understanding. On the contrary, despite the fact that virtually all activities in the society were coupled with unpredictability and confusion, Chang seems to have overly used darkness and sadness in the story, qualities which should be used sparingly in fictional stories. Conclusion Generally, “Love in a Fallen City” depicts Chang’s misgivings about the value of life in an environment where forces of modernity lock horns with those for the status quo. The author raises the importance of human life, which practically brings out her philosophical ingenuity. Chang’s tone in the book is pessimistic about human existence and the society in the wake of seemingly extreme forces of traditionalism and modernity. She manages to solve this dilemma by cutting a middle-ground stance between both extremes, arguing that both ends of civilization contain obscured wilderness. She argues that key players in society usually advance only their individual interests, a reality that has resulted in the loss of love within the society. Therefore, unless those who control the world embrace genuine love, no civilization will provide lasting solutions to social, economic and political problems facing the modern society. Works Cited Chang, Eileen. Love in a Fallen City. New York: New York Review of Books, 2007. Print. Cregan, Mary. Love in a Fallen City. Financial Times, (15 Sep 2007): 37. Im, WooKyung. Literary History and the Boundary of the Nation: Focusing on Aileen-Chang and Constructing Taiwanese New Literary History. A Journal of Cultural Studies, (2012): 253-279. Kong, Belinda. Shanghai biopolitans: wartime colonial Cosmopolis in Eileen Chang's Love in a Fallen City and J. G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun. Journal of Narrative Theory, 39.3 (2009): 280. Liu, Ke. Color Imago of Aileen Chang's Fiction. Journal of Anhui Agricultural University, 4 (2009): 85-88. Read More