A Tale of Two Cultures: Genre in Chinese Literature

Our former editorial intern Wendy Lu wrote this series on the reading culture in China.

A Tale of Two Cultures II: Genre in Chinese Literature by Wendy Lu:

The Chinese love lisi, or history.* More often than not, you will see that the books people hold in their hands while ambling down the street or wandering between shelves at the library are biographies of late rulers and other important figures, chronicles written about this dynasty or that era, or perhaps a photo journal of old relics and precious antiques that once belonged to families of lost names. Even children’s popular books are filled with stories about mighty emperors and their royal families living in the Forbidden Palace. In a country whose past dates back to over centuries ago, history is what grounds people and fuses that connection to their ancestry as well as to China herself.

That isn’t to say Chinese people don’t enjoy fiction as well. But while many television shows and novels are fictitious, they rely heavily on the setting and historical background of the era that the characters have been placed in. The back story of the characters and of the setting is a chief determinant of what goes on—the conflict—in those 28 episodes or 489 pages. Even as people are enjoying beautiful tales of family betrayal and war and incestuous romance and magic and rogue princesses in imaginative worlds, those imaginative worlds are based on the real world, either as it is or what it used to be.

Magic. In America today, we associate the word magic with glittering vampires, witches named Glinda, thin wands that shoot out colorful spells, dragons and other mythical creatures, green and gooey potions whose properties are either deadly or unknown, and Albus Dumbledore with his half-moon spectacles. While in China people definitely acknowledge those representations of magic, what first comes to mind is almost always wu da pian, another genre all its own that essentially means “kung fu” and is a major characteristic of Chinese culture.

Stories based on wu da pian are popular amongst all age groups, including youth. While numerous stories include martial arts and only martial arts, the kung fu that dominates the majority of wu da pian sagas incorporates elements of magic—that is, spells and enchantments activated through a link between the mind and body that are compelled by li, or energy. Flying, weaponry, and kung fu moves supplement this magic to create the genre wu da pian.

I remember babysitting two elementary school kids a couple weeks ago and taking part as the wounded victim in their wu da pian roleplay. They laid me, supposedly unconscious with fatal lacerations, on the ground and began yelling out a series of hypnotizing incantations and waving their hands—flat and positioned accordingly—in fixed patterns around my head. During one of the few moments in which I wasn’t fearing for my life in the hands of two kids who’d gone Kung Fu Panda on me, I realized they must be replicating a certain wu da pian series they’d read in a book or seen on television. Oh dear, I thought, I hope the victim in the actual series lives in the end.

In addition to wu da pian—and perhaps within the very genre itself, talking animals with human-like features, tall-tale legends, and fighting faeries that fly and travel via giant chess pieces (makes the magic carpet sound so obsolete, so ‘90’s, doesn’t it?) are also relatively popular in literature, especially children’s books. Stories that take place within the Forbidden Palace and feature princes and princesses and other members related to the Emperor are classic. And, of course, internationally acclaimed books such as Twilight and Harry Potter have also earned accolade and a capacious readership in China, and have played a large role in western globalization in China. However, Chinese literature is and always has been delineated by lisi and wu da pian and everything that ultimately defines China.


*Note: Getting to know the many locals here and learning what sort of literature attracts and resonates with them has been an enlightening journey and joy. When I say “the Chinese,” I am referring to many of the native citizens who live here, especially those I have come to know and befriend, but it is not to be assumed that my comments on “the Chinese” may not relate to “all Chinese.”

Back-to-School Blues

 Getting back into the “back-to-school” routine can be a difficult transition for kids and bring out a host worries from the anxiety closet along with the new school outfit.

Not only do bedtimes and mornings come earlier, but the transition to a new classroom, a new teacher, a new unit, or even a new school can bring up certain anxieties or regressions in children. 

Here are 12 ways you can ease those back to school stressors and help make your child’s transition to the classroom easier; (note: if anxieties become especially intense, please consult a doctor or therapist).

1.     TURN OFF THE NEWS:  Turn off the news – keep the paper out of view, turn off the internet, the radio and tv news. Try not to talk about world events around your children for the next month or so, until they have settled in to their school year.

2.     ROUTINES: Make your home inviting, safe, and comforting. Keep – or reinstate – your routines. Be at school pick up right on time. Keep bedtimes steadfast and a regular dinner hour. Be predictable; keep your word. Kids need to know they can rely on you right now.

3.     CREATE A COZY HOME: Days are getting shorter and colder. Make your home warm and inviting by turning off the overhead lights and use ambient lighting. Light a candle at dinner time; add a flower in a vase. Set out throws and pillows. A stuffed animal. Keep it simple.

4.      MAKE DINNER: Before the sports schedules get crazy, start having dinner as a family again. Don't talk about school or homework. Tell them something funny about your day. Keep it light. Laughter is good. Have a warm cooked meal. Put on some music. Family warmth is important now.

5.     SIT AND STUDY: Sit with you student. Perhaps not at the table, but nearby. Maybe you have something to read, or sew  -- pick up that old knitting, or grab a magazine. Try to stay off of your computer –  that tends to zone us out. Be a light and nearby presence for your child. Be nearby and available, while also giving them space.

6.   UNPLUG: Have a cut-off time when the Internet goes off for the evening and collect their computers  at night and put them in YOUR closet.  This will prevent kids from staying up too late texting friends or getting onto websites that are inappropriate for their age. In THE BIG DISCONNECT by Catherine Steiner-Adair, she advises that computers be used out in common areas and not be taken into bedrooms so that parents can oversee their use.

7.     FEED YOUR CHILD WELL: Eggs or oatmeal or pancakes in the morning are a good sendoff; send a heartier meal for lunch, and then a sit down dinner; a warm, well-made meal can help soothe back-to-school jitters.

8.     ENGAGE ALL THE SENSES: Go outside for a walk in nature; spend some time after school outside. Bring nature indoors; pick a flower or some branches, leaves, pine cones and put them in the kitchen or on the dining room table.  Sometimes pleasant scents (such as baking cookies, peppermints, or citrus scents) can uplift mood.

9.     CALL ME: Tell your child that they can call or text you any time during the day if they are worried or have a question. Let your kid know the schedule or plan for the day the night before and write it down on an index card. Write an encouraging note and include it in their lunch.

10. BELIEVE IN THEM: Tell them you believe in them and that you are there for them no matter what. Sometimes kids like hearing stories about when you were afraid or were starting something new as a kid, how you felt, and how your got through it, and how it worked out. Share those stories with them. 

11. READ TO THEM AT BEDTIME: Now is also a good time to (re)start reading to your child at night. Pick out a story you have enjoyed together in the past.

12.  REST: Take time for yourself. As a caregiver or parent, you are also going through this transition. Cut back on your workload if you can; say no to extracurricular activities for a time.

Good luck! New beginnings are exciting and challenging times. Face them with courage and compassion, for yourself and your child, and this too shall pass.

Passion

When I was a kid, I had a passion for ice skating.

During our earliest years in Brooklyn, my sister Susie and I would soap up the empty bathtub with Ivory and skate until we'd fall and clunk our heads. This happened so many times that the management took away our soap and closed our rink permanently.

I solved this issue by rising early one Sunday morning and cracking a dozen eggs on the kitchen floor.

Susie and I were having a grand time skating until crash landings summoned a sleepy father.  He started yelling about our breakfast, which was now broken yolk and eggshells on the floor.

My son was two when developed a passion for hockey. Wearing his duck bicycle helmet strapped about his chin, Nick would skate in socks across the kitchen linoleum and smack the orange plastic puck into the oven. His slap shot was so good that my husband would yell, “Put the biscuit in the basket!” from the dining room. Whenever we would set foot on the black-and-white linoleum, Nick would squeak, “Get off the ice!!”

The vacuum cleaner was the zamboni. This went on for years.

When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I had a dream.

In the dream, I was visiting a young friend who had made his home in a junkyard. There were all sorts of cars rusted and piled, one on top of another, in a huge field. I was lamenting that "my friend" could not see the treasure that was under this pile of rubbish. The junkyard was built on top of an ice skating rink. “You love skating!” I exclaimed. "Can’t you see it? It is right beneath your feet! All you have to do is clear out all these cars!” What I was saying to my dream self was:  You must clear out the detritus of your life -- the debris, the clutter, the rusted hunks of junk -- and uncover what is already here waiting for you; your dreams lie just beneath your feet.

There are many times in a person’s life when, at a tender age, they have the opportunity to share who they are with the world. That courage can sometimes lead to broken dreams smashed on the kitchen floor.

"I want to be a writer," I told my Dad, when I was 12. "Writers are weird," he replied. (I was discouraged; now, I consider myself well qualified...in the weird department!)

“I want to be a Buddhist monk,” my husband told the nuns at his school. Future horse trainer is what they put under his yearbook photo.

My son declared that he wanted to be a t-shirt designer when he grew up. “You can do better than that,” he was told. Crush. (Hey, Ralph Lauren started out designing ties.)

In our house, we now have a phrase. When someone criticizes someone else's ideas without listening to them, we yell, "Stop squashing my dreams!"

Growing up, I never told anyone my deep, dark secret: I wanted to be an entertainer -- a 1930s showgirl, in black and white, on Broadway. So what if couldn't sing on key and I was born in the wrong decade? Putting on a show – helping people through hard times using art, music, beauty, dance, and teamwork --  still speaks to me. The Show now equals books. The 1930s/Depression = preadolescence.

While clearing out what not longer serves us, we must identify and toss the mental chatter and old, out-dated messages about who we are and what is meaningful and valuable.

 

Junk the rusted Mustang, sell the Sunfish, donate your old shoes. Dump the broken records of other peoples’ expectations. Then, the ice will be clear for happy.

 

-- Amy C. Spaulding, Publisher, sleepyhollowbooks.com

Purpose may point you in the right direction but it’s passion that propels you.”
– Travis McAshan, Entrepreneur and Web Strategist

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.”
– Benjamin Franklin, American Statesman

Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right

5 baby birds were born in the little nest on my porch. They are growing by leaps and bounds and are now crowding the nest. Soon they will take their first flight. Who will be first? The next generation of songbirds is about to take wing.

Here is a new blog post by author Maureen Wartski called "Wings" -- in celebration of the season: http://maureenwartski.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/wings/.

Ms. Wartski's middle grade novel Yuri's Brush with Magic (ages 9-12) is available from The Regulator Bookstore and on Amazon.com.

Holding Up the Sky

We know Aesop’s fabled tortoise won the race, but what if hare and turtle were to take to the sea? The sea turtle would be my odds-on favorite. Sea turtles can cross oceans and swim in bursts of up to 30 mph when evading predators. Sea turtles are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.

Sea turtles have survived for 150 million years. Now we are stewards of the Earth. Sea turtles have become endangered due to climate change, poaching, development, and pollution. If they go extinct, who will hold up the Sky?

My wish is that parents, librarians, and teachers use the novel Yuri’s Brush with Magic by Maureen Wartski in book clubs and middle-school classrooms to open discussion about these ancient sea creatures and how kids can help protect our environment.

Would you like to...

"Adopt" a sea turtle and track its progress on the computer? Click here: http://www.seaturtle.org/adopt/

Visit a sea turtle in person? Start here:
North Carolina Aquariums http://www.ncaquariums.com/
Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehab. Center http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/

Spend summer at a Sea Turtle Camp?
Check this out: http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/

Find a great holiday gift for your tween? Order a copy of Yuri’s Brush with Magic here: http://www.amazon.com/Yuris-Brush-Magic-Maureen-Wartski/dp/0982454252. For bulk orders, please contact amy@sleepyhollowbooks.com; (919) 724-0250

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“Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.” -- Alex Haley

(Photo credit: Joe Tansey)

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます

I hope the new year finds you and your family well and happy!

To celebrate the end of 2010, I attended the year-end Mochi-Tsuki (rice cake pounding) event hosted by the Nippon Club of the Triangle.





Boiled sticky rice (餅米 mochigome) is put into a shallow stone bowl and patted with water and then pounded with a large wooden mallet. Mashing the rice, it forms a sticky white dumpling -- and can be eaten with all sorts of delicious toppings.

Mochi is also made into a New Year's decoration called kagami mochi (鏡餅), formed from two round cakes of mochi with a bitter orange (橙 daidai) placed on top. The name daidai is supposed to be auspicious since it means "several generations."

To write "Happy New Year" in Japanese: あけましておめでとうございます

To say "Happy New Year" in Japanese: Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu