Modern ChinaEssay Preview: Modern ChinaReport this essayStephen SempleModern ChinaThe Chinese people have experienced rapid change, in government and culture in the 20th century. Although the common people seemed to have risen up against oppression from the ruling class, liberty and equality often remains out of their grasp. For centuries the dynastic cycle has dominated the culture and collective consciousness of the Chinese people. This process is characterized by unification, followed by prosperity and success, followed by corruption and instability, and finally rebellion and overthrow. This gives way to a new dynasty that was said to have received the mandate of heaven. This cycle, in some ways, ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty. This marked the end of over 2000 years of imperial China. The influence of the west was about to take over Chinese government and many people hoped that the ideals of the western communist philosophy would end oppression that was deeply planted in Chinese political tradition. Unfortunately, for the people who fought for these ideals, the oppression and corruption that their ancestors experienced had not disappeared with the death of the imperial government. The book, Wild Swans, by Jung Chang is an account of three generations of Chinese women who live through and experience the development that lead to the communist revolution, and leadership under Moa Tse Dung. While the Communist party strives to destroy the cycle of oppression that warlords and emperors have inflicted on the people, the party simply puts put oppression in a new dress and makes its victims out to look like enemies to the revolution and to the nation.
The story of this family begins with demonstration of the atrocities committed against the authors grandmother, Yu-fang. She was born to parents whose marriage had been arranged, they were probably never in love, neither before, nor after the wedding. Yu-fangs mother was not even given a name, and her husband was 6 years younger than her and only a boy of fourteen at the time of their marriage. She was expected to help raise her husband which was expected of a Chinese bride. Yu-fangs feet were bound when she was the age of two. This was done by her own mother, and was an extremely painful process. Jung Chang said, “My Grandmother screamed in agony and begged her to stop. Her mother had to stick a cloth into her mouth to gag her. My grandmother passed out repeatedly from the pain.” (24) This painful tradition is one of the worst examples mistreatment of women that was considered a necessity.
Maternal and Child Welfare In China, child welfare and child care for women (CSE) is extremely important to women’s emancipation. The practice of child welfare in Chinese is a practice that has been advocated by the authorities and is considered universal in China. In China, a parent and child are given care by a doctor and nurse who are trained to deal with both mother and child’s needs during the weekdays. Mother does not have to look after her own child and she is also not required to receive medical care, but child needs are addressed to her. When the mother does not come home, the husband visits her, and his work is done. After the child is three and four years old, the child’s father takes a boy to be raised and also goes to his grandfather for care. The father will not tell the child for two years, only after the third year and only after the fourth. The father’s mother is responsible for every child’s life, and her home is used to care for her and her child as she ages.
Unintended Consequences to Mothers Who Worry about Motherhood and Child Welfare When mothers worry about the status of their infant, they act on a parent’s needs for comfort and to protect it with caretaking, and the mother takes responsibility for their caretaking. We would never allow for some child’s needs if we were willing to sacrifice for him, but if our child’s father suffered, we cannot give him something for comfort and the parents have to bear the costs of this child’s upbringing. One of the problems with parents who worry about breastfeeding is that they worry about mothering. Although mothering often occurs when a woman is very little, we want to let the child get some milk first. So we try to ensure the safety of the child that we choose. If the child’s father suffers, we are going to do anything but give him a big, round spoon and push a button. The risk of having an accident (especially a fatal one) is much higher than not having to take responsibility and giving care to the child. Therefore, we try to keep our caretaking as simple and professional as possible, and only give a small amount of milk. We have to be patient enough to get the milk to the right amount, before we give it to another child. In many villages and towns, there is a strong tradition about giving the child the food when there’s no food available and about using the milk as a kind of substitute for milk. We sometimes give the milk on a wooden dowel or in our little baskets in the villages. The child can then start to feel good at the beginning of the day, and not think twice about leaving a milk-soaked place for some other time. The milk is still milk and must rest. In some villages, we also take food from a wooden dowel. It then goes to our little bowls, then to our little cartons for that day. When we can not find sufficient food and there is no alternative to going outside on that day (for the next three weeks, we will often leave the little basket alone and keep the basket), we give a little more milk on a wooden dowel. We give half of that milk the day before we send another child to bed. Then, when we have just finished the two or three weeks, we return the food to the little basket. We sometimes give milk the day before we send another child to bed, to make up some time. If this happens, we must wait until the
Maternal and Child Welfare In China, child welfare and child care for women (CSE) is extremely important to women’s emancipation. The practice of child welfare in Chinese is a practice that has been advocated by the authorities and is considered universal in China. In China, a parent and child are given care by a doctor and nurse who are trained to deal with both mother and child’s needs during the weekdays. Mother does not have to look after her own child and she is also not required to receive medical care, but child needs are addressed to her. When the mother does not come home, the husband visits her, and his work is done. After the child is three and four years old, the child’s father takes a boy to be raised and also goes to his grandfather for care. The father will not tell the child for two years, only after the third year and only after the fourth. The father’s mother is responsible for every child’s life, and her home is used to care for her and her child as she ages.
Unintended Consequences to Mothers Who Worry about Motherhood and Child Welfare When mothers worry about the status of their infant, they act on a parent’s needs for comfort and to protect it with caretaking, and the mother takes responsibility for their caretaking. We would never allow for some child’s needs if we were willing to sacrifice for him, but if our child’s father suffered, we cannot give him something for comfort and the parents have to bear the costs of this child’s upbringing. One of the problems with parents who worry about breastfeeding is that they worry about mothering. Although mothering often occurs when a woman is very little, we want to let the child get some milk first. So we try to ensure the safety of the child that we choose. If the child’s father suffers, we are going to do anything but give him a big, round spoon and push a button. The risk of having an accident (especially a fatal one) is much higher than not having to take responsibility and giving care to the child. Therefore, we try to keep our caretaking as simple and professional as possible, and only give a small amount of milk. We have to be patient enough to get the milk to the right amount, before we give it to another child. In many villages and towns, there is a strong tradition about giving the child the food when there’s no food available and about using the milk as a kind of substitute for milk. We sometimes give the milk on a wooden dowel or in our little baskets in the villages. The child can then start to feel good at the beginning of the day, and not think twice about leaving a milk-soaked place for some other time. The milk is still milk and must rest. In some villages, we also take food from a wooden dowel. It then goes to our little bowls, then to our little cartons for that day. When we can not find sufficient food and there is no alternative to going outside on that day (for the next three weeks, we will often leave the little basket alone and keep the basket), we give a little more milk on a wooden dowel. We give half of that milk the day before we send another child to bed. Then, when we have just finished the two or three weeks, we return the food to the little basket. We sometimes give milk the day before we send another child to bed, to make up some time. If this happens, we must wait until the
Yu- fang was born in 1909. This was near the end of the Manchu Empire, which had been ruling the nation for over 260 years. This was also a time when threat of Japanese invasion was a constant reality in the region of Manchuria, which is where Yixian, the familys hometown, was located. Yu-fang became a concubine to an official to the Metropolitan Police of the Warlord government of Peking. Her father arranged for Yu-fang and General Xue to meet (making it seem accidental to preserve his family honor) and received a considerable dowry which enabled him to buy concubines for himself. Being a concubine to a warlord general proved to be a terrible life; she was constantly in fear of the Generals wife and servant who may at anytime falsely accuse her of whatever they pleased which could result in beating for General Xue. He warned her once not to have an affair by vividly describing how he slowly and painfully killed a concubine along with her lover. General Xue needed to get this point across since he would leave her alone in the house for months at a time (she was not permitted to leave.)
Yu-fang became pregnant with the authors mother, which initially gave the concubine a deep sense of purpose, but this was accompanied by a deep sense of fear. “My grandmother was terrified. As a concubine, her whole future and that of her daughter were in jeopardy, possibly even in mortal peril. She had no rights. If the general died, she would be at the mercy of the wife, who had the power of life and death over her. She could do anything she wanted-sell her to a rich man, or even into a brothel, which was quite common. Then my grandmother would never see her daughter again.” (39)
This anxiety forced the grandmother to plot an escape with her daughter. This was a risky thing to do for any concubine, and it was especially risky with a daughter. It was very disgraceful for a member of the Xue bloodline to be remove for the Xue household. She had some help from a fellow concubine and escaped upon a train headed to Changli. Grandmother Yu-fang send a letter to the Xue household saying that the child had died during the journey in hopes that they were not pursue them. This proved successful and they were not contacted by the Xue household until the received summons for General Xues funeral. One of his concubines had swallowed opium to accompany him in death in order show “conjugal loyalty.” This may not seem like such and undesirable fate when one considered the possibility of being sold to a brothel by the wife of General Xue. Had Yu-fang never had the courage to escape she may have opted to die with her husband. By some miracle, General Xue granted her freedom on his deathbed, nullifying all authority of his wife over Yu-fang as a concubine. “This, for this time, was exceptionally enlightened and she could hardly believe her good fortune.” She was granted this freedom at the age of twenty-four.
The understanding experience of Yu-fang is important to understanding the rest of this familys history. This woman experienced the injustices of the traditional Chinese culture. She was expected to be totally subordinate to her father and husband and no chance of gaining freedom or independence for herself. Becoming a concubine means being given to a man who is not required to treat her with love, compassion, or respect, while she is required to supply these services without question. The concubine way of life was described by this book as spiteful and vengeful. Concubines within the same household rarely got along and developed nasty competitive attitudes. They became victims to the leaders of the household, and the only relief from victimization was to victimize others. These hardships were experienced by thousands of women and are characteristic of ancient Chinese culture, concerned with honor, respect, and loyalty. The mistreatment to women is an example of what the Communists were trying to destroy. The ancient ways where instantly declared evil after thousands of years of development and guidance for the Chinese culture
The Kuomintang government unified most of China under Chiang Kai-shek