Honor in Chinese Society as Demonstrated Through Film

This paper will analyze the concepts of honor in Chinese society as demonstrated in the movies The Emperor and the Assassin (2000), Farewell My Concubine (2005), and The Great ConquerorÆs Concubine (1998), as well as in readings from the texts, Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (1993) and The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (1996), both by Patricia Buckley Ebrey. The paper will first address the definition of a true hero as compared to what makes a successful ruler. It will then discuss how honor is defined and demonstrated in the movie, Farewell My Concubine. Finally, it will further examine the role of women in Chinese society and how honor is defined for them within those roles.

Heroes are normally defined as people who are endowed with great courage, strength, and nobility of purpose, and who are celebrated for their bold exploits and for risking or sacrificing their lives for a great cause (American Heritage Dictionary www.yourdictionary.com). Add the term ôhonorableö to this definition and it covers most of the characteristics of a heroic character as defined in Chinese thought as well. To rule or govern, however, requires a different set of skills that includes administration, management, supervising, and otherwise running a kingdom (American Heritage Dictionary www.yourdictionary.com). While there can be honor in the just governing of a kingdo

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and the Japanese, to the Communist Party and the Red Guard of the Cultural Revolution. Through it all, compromising their outer selves so that they can safely exist within society is a constant. As apprentices, this is where Dieyi and Xiaolou learn honor, having to memorize the kingÆs speech from the opera and being forced to become the characters they are learning about. They do not just learn the parts, they become the parts. It is also because their experience with the opera that Xiaolou and Dieyi make some of the choices they make. They play heroic and honorable characters on a daily basis, so it is natural that when faced with conflicts in the real world that they would reach for the heroic tendencies of their characters. Xiaolou often behaves like a brave, noble and sometimes overbearing king, while Dieyi has truly become the concubine, Lady Yu. When Xiaolou marries Juxian, rescuing his ôconcubineö from an otherwise sordid existence, he is in fact playing out his part in real life. This time, however, at first, the concubine does not die. In addition, Dieyi is willing to compromise all that he is to ensure that Xiaolou is happy û first by allowing himself to be seduced by Master Yuan so that he can get the kingÆs sw
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Xiang Yu, Honor Woman, Ying Zheng, ConquerorÆs Concubine, Emperor Assassin, Lady Yu, Jing Ke, Liu Bang, Heritage Dictionary, Lady Lu, lady yu, xiang yu, conquerorÆs concubine, farewell concubine, emperor assassin, jing ke, ebrey 1, ebrey 2, honor defined, lady zhao, illustrated history china, chinese civilization sourcebook, cambridge illustrated history, movies emperor assassin, american heritage dictionary,
Approximate Word count = 2659
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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