ipl-logo

Wang Ping Book War Summary

637 Words3 Pages

All over the world, the old age tradition of storytelling remains an integral part of today’s society. During the Cultural Revolution, a socio-political movement that took place in China from 1966 to 1976, Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China initiated the movement. He aimed to eliminate capitalist and traditional Chinese culture elements from society. Throughout this time, books that were deemed to contain Capitalist Party ideologies were heavily censored and banned in China. If the government caught individuals reading banned literature, it could result in imprisonment or death for the person and their family. In Wang Ping’s essay, “Book War”, she recalled an instance during the Cultural Revolution. Ping explained that …show more content…

Initially, Ping only believed in stories through books. Through her story, Ping recalled her secret book exchange process. Ping and her neighbor desired banned books to read, so Ping “evacuated a box of books [her] mother had buried beneath the chicken coop” (2). Ping craved a sense of imagination, entertainment, and storytelling ability. She assumed these were only achievable through reading books, which is why she was so intrigued to dig up and read the banned stories. Instead of turning to her own imagination when these desires occurred, Ping decided to risk her and her family's safety as she read banned books, which demonstrated that Ping did not believe in stories existing outside of a physical format. After Ping’s mother discovered that she was reading banned books, she ordered Ping to burn the pages of the books for their safety. Ping sorrowfully explained that her and her mother’s “hearts, turned to ashes” (3). Ping’s emotional reaction to the books being burned revealed her worry that she would not be able to experience creativity without

Show More
Related

Summary: Response To Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution

288 Words | 2 Pages

In response to Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, all texts focus on young women as they attempt to maneuver throughout the changing state. Mao’s attempted to preserve communist ideals after the failure of the Great Leap Forward by targeting the female youth. Red Azalea, Anchee Min endures tough labour on the farm while conforming to the Communist ideals of the female gender. Similarly, Rae Yang’s Spider Eaters focuses on the personal changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. However, Wang Zheng’s Call me ‘Qingnian’ but not ‘funü’ was not written during the historical period.

Read More

Gene Luen Yang's Boxers Chapter Summary

600 Words | 3 Pages

Gene Luen Yang offers a humanistic perspective on western imperialism in China during the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century in his graphic novel Boxers, a tragic narrative about Chinese grassroots resistance against foreign occupation in which an armed revolution ultimately fails. The novel focuses on religious identity, and cultural connections in the face of invasion. Boxers highlights the negative effects of imperialism through clashes between different religions, ideologies and power structures. Therefore, the criticism of western imperialism presented in Boxers could support a world systems theory approach to international relations because it shows to exploitation through westernization and the squandering of cultural

Read More

Essay On Ji-Li Jiang's 'Red Scarf Girl'

1081 Words | 5 Pages

“Her actions remind me that, even under unbearable circumstances, one can still believe in justice,” in David Henry Hwang’s foreword, in Ji-Li Jiang’s memoir Red Scarf Girl, commemorated even during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution anyone can overcome adversity (9). Ji-Li Jiang was a young teenager at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, and living through a very political time in China’s history made Ji-Li into the person she is today. Ji-Li’s intelligence, her choices, and family devotion made her into the headstrong and successful person she is today. Even when Ji-li thought she was unintelligent, others saw she was wise. There were many moments when Ji-Li was reminded she was very smart.

Read More

The Giver In Lois Lowry's Red Scarf Girl

821 Words | 4 Pages

Until reading Red Scarf Girl, I believed in that the ideal society could, no, would someday exist. But now I have been convinced otherwise. The youth of China believed that Mao’s purpose of the cultural revolution was to unify and strengthen their country. While this was later discovered to be untrue, they tried to accomplish that by bringing

Read More

Boxer And Saints Quotes

516 Words | 3 Pages

Gene Luen Yang uses Bao’s justification of killing masses of innocent people and burning down a library full of Chinese history to question the extent that one is willing to put

Read More

Heavenly Khan Book Report

1247 Words | 5 Pages

Xiong uses battles, executions, assassinations, and scandals to appeal to readers of any genre. Once a reader gets into the book they are hooked in the epic events of the book and the deep look into the ruling class. Unfortunately, Xiong’s novel might somewhat difficult to get into for many readers with no experience in Chinese history. Xiong also attempts to utilize dialogue that often comes off as underdeveloped or simplistic.

Read More

How Does The Crucible By Arthur Miller's Influence On Society

807 Words | 4 Pages

Often times, it is seen that certain themes in literature throughout the years is influenced by the society and current events of the era that would make the author inspired to write about such events. In the 1950’s during McCarthyism, also known as “The Second Red Scare,” hundreds of Americans, especially those that practiced the arts such as acting, singing and writing would be in danger of being accused without any evidence to be able to restrict any political complaints or any way of speaking out towards the government. These times were hard for authors such as Arthur Miller, in which they would have to face the risk of creating mediocre literature in exchange for peace or face the consequences of being blacklisted and being banned from

Read More

Mao Zedong Jonathan Spence Summary

1090 Words | 5 Pages

Youth and many Chinese read many literary works that they were not intended for them. He talked about the narrative atrocity of the Cultural Revolution. It was not just a retelling of the past experiences, but also a speech act of political identity. He seemed to portray that the youth were suffering back then. From the perspective of the rural residents, the educated youth had a decent life.

Read More

An Analysis Of Min-Zhan Lu's From Silence To Words

1001 Words | 5 Pages

Her greatest fear in this struggles was the ability to lose control over the influences school versus home played in writing. She would always go back and second guess herself in making sure that her views were not conflicting with the other so much that it stood out, which would confuse her. She grew up learning that these conflicts of interest in political views should not happen. Min-Zhan Lu says “Despite my parents ' and teachers ' attempts to keep home and school discrete, the internal conflict between the two discourses continued whenever I read or wrote. Although I tried to suppress the voice of one discourse in the name of the other, having to speak aloud in the voice I had just silenced each time I crossed the boundary kept both voices active in my mind.

Read More

Elizabeth Economy Chapter 2 Summary

1395 Words | 6 Pages

Any outspoken person of Mao was attacked. The Cultural revolution worked. After Mao Zedong’s death and Hua Guofeng, essentially a Mao fanboy, failed as his successor, Deng Xiaoping took over control of China and basically saved the country. Deng Xiaoping started to undo some of Mao’s policies and began to open up the country. Xiaoping wanted to shift away from Maoism and began to institute 4 modernization to help China grow.

Read More

The Role Of Censorship In Tairang 451, By Ray Bradbury

655 Words | 3 Pages

The State Department's accusations against China regarding its manipulation of the global information environment reflect Bradbury's depiction of censorship as a tool of control. China's coercive methods to shape narratives and silence dissenting voices parallel the tactics employed by the government in Bradbury's dystopian society, highlighting the universal dangers of censorship in stifling intellectual freedom. However, beyond its immediate suppression of dissent, ideological conformity has profound societal consequences. Bradbury illustrates how the homogenization of thought leads to a loss of individuality and emotional depth within society. Mildred's dismissal of literature as inconsequential reflects the numbing effect of censorship on the human spirit, equating intellectual pursuits with negativity (Bradbury 97).

Read More

Mao Zedong Dbq

1168 Words | 5 Pages

The Little Red Book became so regular in the young people's lives that it became all that they would believe, they were brainwashed to have an obsession with pleasing Chairman Mao and doing what they believed would help China (Doc 1). In 1966 at the very beginning of the cultural revolution the communist government created a policy that criticized the education system. Because, they believed that intellectuals had no place in communist society and that the proletariat is what fully supports a nation. The government demanded that there be less classes, that the material should be simplified and that the students should learn about industry work, farming, and military affairs. Eventually every student left their classes entirely and would even rise up against their teachers, beat and humiliate them.

Read More

Summary Of A Passion Of Fact By Tong Lam

1067 Words | 5 Pages

(42) Even though the seeking truth from facts is different in the Ming dynasty compare to the modern version we have right now, it was still an improvement from just having “facts” from history. Lam’s argue that the fall of Ming was the reason China stopped modernizing until the Europeans and the Americans came to criticize. Furthermore, he asserts that the innovative approach Ming had could be the basis of China modernization just like the Europeans did. (43)

Read More

Examples Of Satire In The Handmaid's Tale

1472 Words | 6 Pages

Atwood parallels the Cultural Revolution in China to the how the Gilead government gains power and control over the United States. The Chinese communist leader, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to assert his control over the Chinese government. Zedong ordered the nation to cleanse themselves of “impure” aspects of Chinese society. This was done by shutting down schools and a massive youth mobilization. The students formed groups called the Red Guards, they attacked and harassed members of China’s elderly and

Read More

Mao Zedong Impact

1319 Words | 6 Pages

Secondly, the Cultural Revolution and the chaos and disaster this had on the Chinese population, especially through the “Down to the Countryside movement” and finally, the Cult of Mao and what the idolisation and glorification of Mao meant for the future of China. Mao’s introduction of the Great Leap Forward policy and the impacts and effects this had on the Chinese population as well as its role in the introduction of the Cultural Revolution played a key role in shaping China into what it is today. The plan’s failure lead to Mao’s loss of power, which resulted in Mao introducing the Cultural Revolution in China. Unfortunately, Mao’s five-year plan was a disaster, and caused the death of an estimated twenty to forty

Read More

More about Wang Ping Book War Summary

Open Document