Chinese Writers

Fiction derives from the world in which the writer of that fiction lives. The writer reflects his or her society whether reflecting it, criticizing it, or deliberately distorting it. Much of fiction is concerned indeed with the relationship between the individual and his or her society, and necessarily this means presenting characters in that society to illuminate this point. An examination of three Chinese writers will show how they have illuminated both this theme and the nature and values of their society.

Lu Hs�n in "Medicine" creates a sense of the world of Old Shuan and his family, remnants of an ancient China where superstition reigned. These people look for magic in the world and find none, yet they never lose their faith that such a things is possible. The illness of the boy leads the father to take his savings to purchase medicine--not medicine in scientific terms, but medicine in magic terms, medicine supposed to be a powerful cure. The truth is there is no curative power in the medicine, and though the old woman realizes this and tells her son in his grave that he has been murdered, she believes the real medicine was only withheld from her, not that it does not exist. Even the fact that the crow does not land on the grave will probably not sway her from hope that there are supernatural answers

The same writer in "Soap" again presents a family group--family is clearly an important unit in China and motivates much social behavior--and shows how poverty and

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Category: Literature - C