Family by Pa Chin

In the beginning of the novel, two conflicts are immediately described. There is a split in society between education and the military (Chin 15) and there is a sign that females are beginning to win new rights, as symbolized by the fact that girl students are soon to be accepted in what was previously an all-male school.

The dispute over funding of the school system and the military is meant to show the fissures that occur in a changing society, one in which conflicts reverberate down from the government to affect all citizens directly or indirectly. How is the China of this era going to pursue both foreign goals as well as develop its domestic strengths through education?

The issue of girl students in a previously all-male school is another sign of the change at hand in Chinese society, and of the challenge to the old traditions which such a change brings. When Chin, a cousin of the Kao brothers, is told of this change to come soon, she is excited but doubtful. Chueh-hui, the youngest of the brothers, assures her such a change has indeed been planned, but adds,

. . .
an effective blend of old and new, but a collapse of the old, an ineffective installation of the new, and inevitable chaos. The society is thrown into chaos, and the family disintegrates. The age of great change affects even Ming-feng, and although she is a tragic character who does not realize her dreams, she at least has such dreams, fed by the growing freedom of the young females of the gentried class. One dream involves an imaginary young man who "came and took her away to his home, and there they lived happily ever after" (Chin 28). The elders, however, cannot imagine the changes which are happening right under their noses. In other words, the slave-girl has dreams whereas the elders are stuck in the rut of tradition. Mrs. Chang, for example, confronted by the introduction of females to all-male schools, is bewildered: "What are you saying? Girl students in a boys' school? . . . What is the world coming to?" (Chin 32). Although the males in this patriarchal society certainly have greater powers and privileges than females, they, too, are trapped in their roles: "Chueh-hsin . . . was the eldest son of an eldest son, and for that reason his destiny was fixed from the moment he came into the world" (Chin 35). In other wo
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Liang Ch'i-Ch'ao, Chueh-hsin Chin, Ming-feng Chin, Pa Chin's, Confucian Morals, Chueh-hsin Ming-feng, Importantly Schirokauer, Ming-feng Whereas, Chueh-hui Despite, family society, chinese society, Cheng Tsui, girl students, change society, all-male schools, traditional confucian life, patriarchal society, respect chueh-hui, eldest male, chin 65, previously all-male school, chin 22,
Approximate Word count = 2452
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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