Pa Chin's novel Family describes the conflicts in China and the Chinese family in the 1920s, after the first communist movement of May 4th, 1919, when the old traditional, feudal ways began to be not only questioned but threatened by young intellectuals seeking reform throughout society, beginning with the educational system, as is the case with many revolutionary youth. The novel portrays the political and social awakening of that group and the effects of resultant upheavals on the nation, the family, and on individuals who either sought or fought against those changes. The old struggled with the young, the establishment struggled with reformers, and females sought liberation in a society which was changing but which was still thoroughly patriarchal.
The novel first focuses the social division created between the educational system and the military system, then explores the impact of females' beginning to win new rights and freedoms, bringing much turbulence to both male-female relationships and to the society which depended on the stability and tradition of those relationships. Specifically, female students in the novel will become accepted in what had previously been an all-male educational institution. In these examples, we see the connection between what affects the individual and the family and what affects society as a whole.
Chin portrays the conflict between educational and military authorities over the finances of the school system in order to show both the great changes and uncertainties in a rapidly changing society, as well as the vitality and energy of such a society. Conflicts reverberate up to the government from what begins as a small student protest, and down from the government to eventually affect all citizens directly or indirectly. One related question in the 1920s was how the nation would pursue both foreign policy goals as well as develop its domestic strengths through funding and reforming of educatio...