Everyone has
dreamt of a better life, some more than others. Grown up in a broken family,
maybe even twisted, has made Chuanqing dream of another life. This has led to
loneliness, family conflicts, social difficulties along with thoughts of
jealousy and revenge. These are some of the central themes presented in the
Chinese novel Jasmine, written by Zhang Ailing[1]
in 1943 and translated from Mandarin to English by Karen S. Kingsbury.
In the
exordium of the text we are introduced to the story as a cup of jasmine tea.
Jasmine tea seems innocent at first, but be careful, for it can be hot. An
interpretation of the tea could be that it represents Chuanqing. He is
equivalent to naught for almost everyone that he knows. He is innocuous and
unoffending, although if you scratch too much off of the facade, a quite
different personality emerges.
Chuanqing is a young man of about twenty years old. His mother was stabbed with a knife when he was four. He still yearns for his mother: “A knife will rust after twenty years, but it’s still a knife. The knife in his mother’s heart now twisted in his.”[2] Because of his mother’s death, his whole life has changed and he has lost a bit of himself. He now lives with his father, Nie Jiechen, and stepmother in a big mansion. His father and stepmother resent him. They think of him as lazy and immature, and they dread for the time when Chuanqing will inherit all their wealth. Through his move from Shanghai to Hong Kong he lost everything he held dear: “He lived in a big mansion. Within a few years of their moving here from Shanghai, all the flowers and trees that had once filled the yard had wilted, died, or been cut down, and now the sun beat down on a desolate scene.”[3] The flowers and the trees represent all the things in his life that made him happy, but all of which are now gone.
He is very withdrawn and he has no friends. A very popular girl, named Danzhu, tries to befriend Chuanqing. He does not understand why. Years back, Danzhu’s father, Yan Ziye, who is also the professor in the History of Chinese Literature class that Chuanqing is attending, was about to become engaged to Chuanqing’s mother, Feng Bilou. However, due to conflicts between the families the engagement never became reality. Chuanqing develops ideas about the life he could have had if their engagement had happened. He slowly becomes obsessed with these thoughts of another and better life and they start to consume him. He does not care about school anymore and becomes more and more detached from his actual life. He is particularly mentally absent in his History of Chinese Literature classes. He sees Yan Ziye as the perfect father he could have had, and when Yan Ziye one day becomes mad at him he starts to cry.
He has an old photograph of his mother and he compares himself to her: “She was waiting for someone, waiting for news. She knew that the news wouldn't come. In her heart the sky was slowly darkening—Chuanqing flinched in pain. He couldn't tell whether it really was his mother, or himself.” His mother was in love with Yan Ziye, but she wasted her chance of becoming happy when she refused to come with Yan Ziye to the States. Chuanqing is dreaming about a better life, but it will never happen, because he cannot settle with the mediocre life. He wants the perfect life or nothing at all.
The friendship between Danzhu and Chuanqing is not reciprocated. Danzhu is very juvenile and cannot hold anything back. She has a need for friendships with everyone. However, all of them end up being nothing more than artificial. The reason why she really wants to make friends with Chuanqing is because friendship is happiness for her. Chuanqing does not have any friends and she does not understand him. Chuanqing has no understanding for her need for friendship. After the death of his mother he has not been loved by anyone, not even by his own dad. Twenty years of longing for love has made him fanatical. Simple friendship just is not enough, he wants more than that. If he had been in her stead, loved by his parents, loved by everyone, he would have made the fullest of his life. He is truly frustrated about this. At the end of the semester after a dance when Chuanqing and Danzhu are walking alone in the night, Chuanqing’s rage takes over when she denies him the chance of getting a link to the Yan family, where he could be loved and live a happy life. “He didn't want revenge, he just wanted love especially from someone in the Yan family. Since he and the Yan family weren't, in fact, blood relations, a relation by marriage would be good enough. He simply had to have a link to the Yan family.”[4] Chuanqing brutally murders her as a last resort; for he cannot bear the thought that he could have lived her perfect life. Danzhu still lives on, however. She has been immortalized through love from her friends and family. Therefore Chuanqing will never be able to escape, he will never be happy.
“Hong Kong is a splendid city, but a sad
one too.”[5] In
general the text is about one person’s difficulties in life. The dream of
something better; a better family, a better social life - a dream of being
loved, is all something that is presented in the text. Chuanqing shows the sad
part of the city, whereas Danzhu possesses all the opposite. However, this
could have been all different - it is a matter of luck. People’s social
heritages are a big part of their lives. You can choose to make the best out of
your given situation, but as Chuanqing did, you can also become enchanted by
the life that you cannot get and be driven mad.
Chuanqing is a young man of about twenty years old. His mother was stabbed with a knife when he was four. He still yearns for his mother: “A knife will rust after twenty years, but it’s still a knife. The knife in his mother’s heart now twisted in his.”[2] Because of his mother’s death, his whole life has changed and he has lost a bit of himself. He now lives with his father, Nie Jiechen, and stepmother in a big mansion. His father and stepmother resent him. They think of him as lazy and immature, and they dread for the time when Chuanqing will inherit all their wealth. Through his move from Shanghai to Hong Kong he lost everything he held dear: “He lived in a big mansion. Within a few years of their moving here from Shanghai, all the flowers and trees that had once filled the yard had wilted, died, or been cut down, and now the sun beat down on a desolate scene.”[3] The flowers and the trees represent all the things in his life that made him happy, but all of which are now gone.
He is very withdrawn and he has no friends. A very popular girl, named Danzhu, tries to befriend Chuanqing. He does not understand why. Years back, Danzhu’s father, Yan Ziye, who is also the professor in the History of Chinese Literature class that Chuanqing is attending, was about to become engaged to Chuanqing’s mother, Feng Bilou. However, due to conflicts between the families the engagement never became reality. Chuanqing develops ideas about the life he could have had if their engagement had happened. He slowly becomes obsessed with these thoughts of another and better life and they start to consume him. He does not care about school anymore and becomes more and more detached from his actual life. He is particularly mentally absent in his History of Chinese Literature classes. He sees Yan Ziye as the perfect father he could have had, and when Yan Ziye one day becomes mad at him he starts to cry.
He has an old photograph of his mother and he compares himself to her: “She was waiting for someone, waiting for news. She knew that the news wouldn't come. In her heart the sky was slowly darkening—Chuanqing flinched in pain. He couldn't tell whether it really was his mother, or himself.” His mother was in love with Yan Ziye, but she wasted her chance of becoming happy when she refused to come with Yan Ziye to the States. Chuanqing is dreaming about a better life, but it will never happen, because he cannot settle with the mediocre life. He wants the perfect life or nothing at all.
The friendship between Danzhu and Chuanqing is not reciprocated. Danzhu is very juvenile and cannot hold anything back. She has a need for friendships with everyone. However, all of them end up being nothing more than artificial. The reason why she really wants to make friends with Chuanqing is because friendship is happiness for her. Chuanqing does not have any friends and she does not understand him. Chuanqing has no understanding for her need for friendship. After the death of his mother he has not been loved by anyone, not even by his own dad. Twenty years of longing for love has made him fanatical. Simple friendship just is not enough, he wants more than that. If he had been in her stead, loved by his parents, loved by everyone, he would have made the fullest of his life. He is truly frustrated about this. At the end of the semester after a dance when Chuanqing and Danzhu are walking alone in the night, Chuanqing’s rage takes over when she denies him the chance of getting a link to the Yan family, where he could be loved and live a happy life. “He didn't want revenge, he just wanted love especially from someone in the Yan family. Since he and the Yan family weren't, in fact, blood relations, a relation by marriage would be good enough. He simply had to have a link to the Yan family.”[4] Chuanqing brutally murders her as a last resort; for he cannot bear the thought that he could have lived her perfect life. Danzhu still lives on, however. She has been immortalized through love from her friends and family. Therefore Chuanqing will never be able to escape, he will never be happy.
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