Kapiolani
Community College Horizons 2003
Kapiolani
Community College
Horizons 2003
The influence of war and conflict is evident in much of “modern” Chinese
literature. The devastating evils of war, down to the bloodied spearhead blade
of a poor individual soldier, add a certain flair to stories. Those who believe
that history and literature are not intertwined in some fashion truly have not
read deeply enough into these stones. A better understanding of how modern Chinese
literature has evolved the way it is has can be gained by knowing a little about
the history of China’s “modern” military.
Some may ask why it is that I have placed quotation marks around the word “modern” in
the previous sentence. Unlike the United States of America, China has had an
extremely long history. Its age can be counted in millennia, whereas America’s
can only be counted by centuries. The word “modern” for Chinese
literature and military history includes the years spanning from 850 C.E. to
the present.
According to David A. Graff’s “A Military History of China,” the
evolution of the Chinese military has been affected by several factors. One factor
includes the population booms that appear throughout China’s history.
This factor has led to what many consider one of the largest standing armies
in world
history. Another important factor is the fact that China was defeated by the
largest empire in world history: the Mongol Empire. The clash between these
armies has led to many of the plots and stories seen in modern Chinese literature.
Later
on, in the 20th century, the Communist takeover of China would have a radical
impact on Chinese literature, past and present.
A story can use the reader’s emotions and knowledge about war to create
a setting. Even the lack of a war can describe the character’s feelings,
as in this excerpt:
The world is at peace; no more of swords
and horses.
The harvest is rich; war and conquest ended.
I look to you to choose my palace maids.
I know your search will cost much weariness,
But see that you discover in your conquest,
A beauty worthy of an emperor. (Birch 424)
In some cases, the influence of war and conflict only comes after the initial
setting. It is then that its influence becomes a fundamental part of the story.
This excerpt, taken from the story titled “Autumn in the Palace of Han” by
Ma Chih-Yuan, is an excellent example of a story which also involves the historical
influence of the Mongol-Chinese conflict. This is a story of an emperor torn
between the love of a woman and his duty to the Chinese Empire. Later on in
this story, the conflict between these mighty empires will begin to heat up.
This
conflict creates the dilemma which cruel fate has created for the emperor.
His rival, the Khan of the Mongols, wants to take the woman for himself. He
even
goes as far as to mobilize his armies in order to get his wish. When the Emperor
chooses duty above all else, including the love of a woman, the damsel is forced
to go with the Mongols. Knowing the hopelessness of her situation, she takes
her own life.
In a sudden and surprising twist of fate, neither of the leaders gets to be
with her. Her suicide, ironically, is the only thing that ended these leaders’ conflict.
Now picture the story without the Mongols. You will then get a story with a
predictable and-they-lived-happily-ever-after ending. Without the conflict
and threat of
war looming between these two leaders, the story that Ma Chih-Yuan wrote would
be less entertaining. Love and war, two opposites, combine to create a story
that catches the eye of a broader audience.
War and conflict can act as catalysts to the climax of a story. They can also
assist in teaching a lesson which a story wants to convey. Authors of some
Chinese proverbs have a way of placing these two at the right places in order
to convey
the lesson, even if they appear near the end.
... The son of the old man was very fond of the horse he brought home, and
one day, when he was riding the horse, he fell down from the horse’s back and
was terribly hurt in his left leg. Since then he was never able to walk freely. “Nothing
serious,” the old man said, “perhaps it is going to be good.” A
year later, many of the youth there were recruited to fight in a war and most
of them died. The son of the old man was absolved from the obligation for his
disability, so he escaped death. The old story tells us that good and bad,
disaster and happiness can be converting objects to each other sometimes. (Shan
Website)
The lesson being taught in the story of an old man who finds good in everything
that happens is ultimately conveyed by the one aspect of war that brings humility
to the reader: death. The use of a war that would have killed his own son had
he gone is an example of the significant role it plays in the story, even if
the word only appears once.
Modern Chinese literature has also been shaped by the weaponry of military
warfare. The appearance of weapons in stories can indicate the period of time
in which
the stories are taking place. A reader who has a general chronological knowledge
of weaponry can almost automatically place the story within an acceptable period
of time. If you read about swords and spears, then it is highly unlikely that
you are reading a story about World War II. The following excerpt is an example
of how weaponry, one of the aspects of war, can be used to shed some light
on the setting:
...and I always have been prey to anxious care, my heart quaking with fear.
At night, I lie encircled by a thousand fold ring of swords and spears. In
the morning,
I have to make a meal off minced human livers. (CCL, 937)
A character’s feeling of anxiety about the uncertainty of life and the
events that shape it can be expressed through a description of the source of
anxiety:
… suddenly I beheld a cloud of red dust rising outside the gates, and men
appeared in the streets beating metal drums. The citizens rush out of the doors
half dazed
with terror, and the courtiers come flocking in, still suspecting a false rumor.
(CCL, 935)
Imagine that you are one of these citizens. You are doing your daily routine
when the above passage happens to you. The beating of those drums gives you
a sense of uneasiness. Even worse is the continuous beating of the war drums
as
you see the swords and spears of a massive army marching behind them. Questions
arise and your uncertainty grows.
Only a few of the “spearheads have enough silver on them to reflect sunlight.
The rest of the spearheads display an eerie dark-red color. It is obvious where
those spearheads have been... “ (CCL, 935).
Settings like these help the reader to understand how the character in the
story might be feeling.
Using certain aspects of war is a device that has been used throughout much
of modern Chinese literature. This type of method helps to intensify a story
as
well as the emotions that the characters within it are experiencing. The use
of words instead of pictures makes the reader draw upon his imagination for
greater impact.
War and conflict can also stand side-by-side with political revolution. In
the case of modern China, the best example can be found in the power struggle
between
Mao Ze Dong and Chiang Kaishek. Modern Chinese literature became a tool for
political use on both sides. The leaders made sure that certain writers who
seemed “favorable” towards
their political views were promoted. The attempts at censorship to control the
population’s political views had an unexpected effect. Literature that
was deemed “infuriating” to Mao enticed many to read it.
Ironically, many writers who were censored by Mao’s policies claim that
in the end, he was their best publicist. (HCL,737) These political views weren’t
always expressed directly. Not all of the books told the reader “This form
of government is better than that one.” Instead, these leaders used indirect
methods of teaching the values of their respective ideologies. Literature that
supported these values was saved from censorship on both sides. Because of these
practices, literature has shaped the political world that the citizens of the
People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China now live in. The effects
of this practice have also spread through other parts of the world through today’s
globalized interactions.
War has always been a part of human nature, just as conflict exists in many
forms. There are conflicts between persons, cultures, ideologies, and within
us. Literature
is one of the ways that we can express these conflicts. China’s long
history has given the world many literary works to enjoy. Reading stories of
war helps
us to better understand a side of humanity that many of us wish to never see
in real life. But people cannot forget that within each person is also a type
of, for lack of a better word, morbid curiosity. We can satisfy this curiosity
by reading literature that openly expresses the many aspects of war and conflict.
When you pick up a modern Chinese literature book that has some kind of war
and conflict, don’t
worry be afraid to immerse yourself in it. Place yourself in the shoes of the
victims of that of the soldier performing his literal duty in the story. What
you are reading is literature. Enjoy it. War and conflict are just as significant
in moden Chinese literature as love and romance are, whether the reader likes
it or not.
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