A Nation of Sadness? Reading history, culture, and gender in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness Christine Yu-Ting Hung A thesis submitted to the University of New South Wales in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Chinese Studies School of Modern Language Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Science The University of New South Wales Australia 2006 Originality Statement ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed………………………………………………………………….…………… Date…………………………………………………………………….…………… ii COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hearby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as article or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.’ Signed…………………………………………………………………………………... Date……………………………………………………………………………………... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed…………………………………………………………………………………... Date……………………………………………………………………………………... iii Abstract This thesis engages with Taiwanese history by offering a reading of Hou Hsiao- hsien’s A City of Sadness (1989), making reference to the film’s historical dimensions, cultural representations and gender issues in the period 1945 to 1949. In addition, Hou’s cinematography is detailed with comparison to Yasujiro Ozu and the influences of Japanese colonisation. Hou’s immense contribution to Taiwanese film consists principally in a Taiwanese trilogy that traces Taiwan’s history in the 20th century. In The Puppet Master (1993) Hou details the era of Japanese colonisation from 1895 to the restoration of Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1945. Later, A City of Sadness focuses on the fate of the Lin family from 1945 to 1949, which epitomises people’s life in Taiwan during the initial stages of Kuomintang domination. Finally, Good Men, Good Women (1995) highlights two different eras in Taiwan: the political movement in the 1950s and the pop culture in the 1990s. The thesis uses illustrations from all three films to explore Hou’s historical, cultural and gender representations. In order to understand Hou’s ideology and beliefs in greater depth, I also review his autobiographical film, A Time to Live, and A Time to Die (1985). This thesis examines Taiwan’s indigenous culture and the impact of Japanese and Chinese cultural practices in A City of Sadness through the post-colonial theories of Perry Anderson, Homi Bhabha, and Chris Berry. I draw on their theories of cultural hegemony and my empiricism to investigate Hou’s representation of the political situation in Taiwan. Finally, the thesis evaluates gender issues in A City of Sadness, with reference to Julia Kristeva’s notion of “feminine time” and the debate between Emilie Yeh and Mizou concerning “whether women can really enter history”. In evaluating A City of Sadness I argue that Hou Hsiao-hsien’s use of a family’s micro- history to parallel the national macro-history of the February 28th Incident opens an important historical window through which the audience may re-encounter and reflect on Taiwan’s past, and think positively about its future. iv Acknowledgements Three years ago, I came to Australia because of my thirst of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, and the search for myself. In the past three years, I have had to overcome the language barrier, deal with culture shocks, accumsted to the different style of living, and learn to interact with people from different countries around the world. Luckily, I am not alone on “the road not taken” because love is in my heart. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to the following people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis. First and foremost, my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Larissa Heinrich and Dr. Jon Eugene Kowallis, for their invaluable life philosophy, advice, encouragement, support, tolerance, and patience. This thesis would not have been possible without their supportive and critical readings of various drafts of the thesis and numerous discussions in afternoon teas, especially Dr. Heinrich’s helpful input and Dr. Kowallis’ insightful suggestions, which assisted me in refining the focus of my thesis. I am also indebted to Associate Professor Emilie Yeh for her unselfish guidance in nurturing my intellectual curiosity during the early stage of the thesis. I also owe special thanks to my previous teachers in the School of Theatre, Film, and Dance, namely Dr. Darrell Davis, Dr. Olivia Khoo, Mr. John McCallum, Dr. John Golder, Associate Professor Jim Davis, and Ms. Clare Grant. Were it not for their intellectual and inspiring courses three years ago, I could not have obtained a stable basis in drama and film aspects in the School of Modern Languages. Thanks are also due to the research facilities that are provided by the School of Modern Language Studies, UNSW. Heartfelt thanks are also due to the following people: to Mario, Rosie, and David for their faithful friendship; to wise Dr. Giahan for the stimulating discussions, sincere advice, and valuable thoughts provided for my thesis; to Dr. Betty Pun, for her prompt help whenever I need it and her sympathy as a fellow traveller in the same boat; to Ida in Malaysia for her encouragement and sisterhood; to Michelle and Sandy in Taiwan, v for their spiritual support and trustworthy friendship; to Uncle Su-huan, for keeping me motivated with humour; to Aunt Winnie, for her inspirational support in every aspect; especially to my cousin Francis and Angela who made me feel there is always hope in the distance; to my dearest grandparents, for their consideration, understanding, and love that allowed me to fly far away from home and their patient waiting for me to come back. Special thanks to Aunt Emily’s family for giving me their hospitality and their complete spiritual and financial support over the past few years. Were it not for them, my journey would have been dull and bitter and my dream would have withered long ago. To my dearest Aunt Emily, many thanks for her sumptuous meals and endless concern about me; to my charming cousin, Vivian, for her attentive listening, philosophical thoughts, endurance, and generosity in sharing everything with me. Finally, my sincere and deepest gratitude to my lovely, kindly, and generous parents in Taiwan, as this thesis would not have been possible without the support and freedom they have given me in every aspect to pursue my interest and film dreams. To my father, for the principles, confidence, faith, and never-give-up theory he has instilled in me, and also for his unfailing patience and generosity in helping to prepare the film clips and reference texts; to my beautiful mother, for the encouragement and belief she has in me, as well as her wisdom which stems from her life experience – without which I would not have got through the tremendous task of the thesis in relative tranquillity. vi Table of Contents List of Figures............................................................................................................ viii Chapter One Introduction ..........................................................................................1 Chapter Two A retrospective on Taiwan’s history: the February 28th Incident through A City of Sadness............................................................................................5 2.1 An overview of the political events surrounding the now-infamous “February 28th Incident”.........................................................................................................7 2.1.1 The origins of the February 28th Incident ....................................................7 2.1.2 The outcome of the February 28th Incident..................................................9 2.2 A brief summary of the film’s plot and main characters ...................................10 2.3 The national and international reception of A City of Sadness