LOSS IN CHEN JO-HSI'S FICTION By LILLIAN McCLANAGHAN B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1982 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of Asian Studies We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1988 © Lillian McClanaghan, 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of M /fr/vf 5>Ttit>ii^S The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date 0<^' i>ln DE-6 (2/88) Abstract Chen Jo-hsi's two anthologies, Yin Xianzhanq (Mayor Yin) and Lao ren (Old Man) and her novel, Gui (Repatriates) depicts social and political conditions in China during the Cultural Revolution. Chen shows the effect of Cultural Revolutionary turbulence on the individual by focusing on his experience of loss. This study examines Chen's use of irony, imagery and psychological profile to portray the various forms of emotional, spiritual and physical losses sustained by her protagonists. Chen's fiction also reflects her seven year sojourn In China during which she experienced disillusionment and a loss of faith in the Marxist dream. Based on Peter Marris' model on loss and grief as outlined in Loss and Change, Chen's work can be seen as a literary catharsis for the tension that arises from her experience of loss and her subsequent resolution of grief. Marris' theory posits that an individual successfully resolves his grief when he is able to abstract meaning from the lost relationship and reformulate it in terms of his changed circumstances. This grieving process helps to explain a change in Chen's fiction from social commentary to political polemic and a corresponding decline in literary quality. In Mayor Yin she is content to merely document the losses sustained by her protagonists stemming from the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution. Essentially, her,fiction at this i i stage shows her attempt to record and validate her China experience. Her restrained tone and skillful use of structural and situational irony, nature Imagery and psychological portraiture to portray her protagonist's response to loss distinguishes this anthology from Old Man and Repatriates. As Chen's purpose of serving China is reformulated, her didactic style undermines the artistic integrity of her fiction. In Old Man Chen's compulsion to protest leads to intrusive commentary and manipulation of plot and character. Repatr iates which is an autobiographical document of Chen's journey towards the resolution of her loss also shows the effects of her renewed purpose. She resorts to using her fiction as a platform to protest against political oppression of the individual and to support basic human rights for the Chinese. iii Contents Abstract Ii Introduction 1 Chapter One: Loss of Idealism 7 Biography 10 Chapter Two: Validation of the Past ........ 21 Chapter Three: Reformulation of Purpose 56 Chapter Four: Resolution 103 Conclusion 131 iv Introduction After Chen Jo-hsi left China in 1973, she produced two anthologies of short stories entitled Yin Xianzhang (Mayor Yin) and Lao ren (Old Man) as well as a novel called Gui (Repatriates) between 1974 and 1978. These stories are set during the Cultural Revolution, one of the most turbulent periods in modern Chinese history. The predominant theme throughout this period of Chen's work is that of loss stemming from political upheaval. Chen details the misfortune of her protagonists who are victims of the political process. Chen's fiction focuses on the losses sustained by her characters during the Cultural Revolution. Chen's protagonists suffer a range of spiritual and psychological losses in the areas of love and personal happiness, friendship, job fulfilment and social position, dignity of the individual and personal freedom. The protagonists also undergo an erosion of hope and faith, of ideals and sense of purpose; they lose their self-esteem and ultimately experience a loss of identity. In the extreme, Chen's characters also lose their lives because of political persecution. Essentially, Chen's fiction is a psychological document of loss . Much of the popular and critical attention that Chen's fiction has attracted is a result of its historical setting and its thematic content. Chen's literary technique is not particularly noteworthy, although there are several literary devices which she uses with proficiency. This thesis examines 1 these more interesting aspects of Chen's writing by analyzing her use of structural and situational irony, nature imagery to symbolize a protagonist's emotions and state of mind, and psychological portraiture to show the tragic effects of loss. Insofar as Chen's fiction and personal experience during the Cultural Revolution is dominated by the theme of loss, I have examined her material in light of sociological and psychological studies of loss and grieving. Peter Marris' theory on loss and change provides an interesting insight into the author and her preoccupation with the effects of the Cultural Revolution. Essentially, Chen's fiction functions as a literary catharsis for the tension that arises from her own working through of grief. For Chen, the pivotal development in this period of her life was her disillusionment with China's political system. Chen arrived as an enthusiastic repatriate in 1966 and left China as a disillusioned intellectual in 1973. She subsequently devoted the next five years to writing fiction about the Cultural Revolution. When she was asked why she left China, she stated: "Like a form.of religion, I lost my 1 faith in Marxism". This thesis shows that Chen's work reflects her personal grieving process by examining her treatment of loss in this body of fiction. Peter Marris discusses the psychological adjustment of loss which typically begins with validation of the past, often by dwelling on memories, to a gradual reintegration, whereby the bereaved comes to accept new 2 circumstances with renewed purpose. Chen's literature during this period reflects the process outlined by Marris. In the first group of stories, Chen strictly documents loss, without her characters ever overcoming their adversities. In a sense, she is re-telling her observations of the Cultural Revolution. Protagonists in Mayor Yin are cognizant of their loss to varying degrees but there is no resolution of their grief. In the second collection of stories, Old Man some of the characters respond to their predicament by resisting oppression. Their resistance, although limited, indicates partial resolution. Finally in Repatr iates the protagonists resolve their grief fully in the form of reformulated purpose and meaning in their lives. As Chen attains the objective of resolved grief which is renewal of purpose and meaning in life, this purpose becomes so overt that it undermines the artistic integrity of her work. Correspondingly, Chen's fiction which begins as social commentary ends up as polemic. Chapter I consists of biographical information that is relevant to Chen's fiction. Although Chen's work is not strict autobiography it contains clues which are helpful in understanding the reasons for her grief. This chapter will also explain briefly a theory of grief proposed by Peter Marr is. Chapter II is a sequential analysis of the portrayal of loss in Chen's short stories in Mayor Yin. These stories are characterized by their function as social commentary and their tone of restraint and understatement. This chapter also looks 3 at protagonists such as Liu Xiangdong and Geng Er whose feelings of disillusionment and loss are symbolic of the author's own experience. The fact that Chen is unable to satisfactorily resolve the problems of these intellectual protagonists posed within the Mayor Yin stories is in itself evidence of her inability to resolve her personal experience of grief at this stage. Chapter III is an analysis of Chen's technique in portraying loss in her short stories in Old Man. These stories are distinguished from Mayor Yin by Chen's increased criticism of China's political system. Evidence of authorial intrusion reflects Chen's new sense of mission. Her goal is no longer to document social conditions but more explicitly to criticize. Chapter IV analyzes Repatr iates in terms of Chen's portrayal of the intellectual's experience of loss, his moral dilemma and his subsequent resolution of grief. Resolution of grief is indicated not only by declarative statements made by Chen's protagonists about their purpose in life, but also by an interesting transition in Chen's use of Nature imagery to reflect her protagonists' resolved grief. Unlike the stories in Mayor Yin and Old Man where Chen concentrates mainly on the inimical forces of Nature to symbolize her character's psychological state, in Repatr iates she also portrays the benign and benificient aspect of natural elements to correspond to the protagonist's changed state of mind. Repatriates documents the journey of the intellectual from 4 initial loss to full resolution of grief as shown by his sense of renewed purpose and meaning in life. Based on many similarities between Chen's personal history and the biographical details of her protagonist Xin Mei, Repatriates is a psychological record of Chen's journey towards resolution of her loss. As Chen's grief is resolved, her purpose in life manifests itself in her fiction.