Ah-Q in Modern China

Ah Q in Modern China

Chinese national character has long been tied up with the issue of face ' and how best to save ' it . The idea that what is important in any situation is not so much the actual outcome , but the way the situation looks to outsiders . This concept has been an enduring one from the feudalist imperial system that ruled China for two thousand years throughout its turbulent 20th century history of civil war and communism . It is a contributing factor to most of the major political and historical events

that have taken place there , such as the Cultural Revolution , the annexations of Tibet and Xinjiang , the attitude towards Taiwan , the Tian 'anmen Square Protests , and even the economy that grows at an average of 10 per year for over fifteen years . It is also well represented in China 's literature and cultural life . Many authors from the late Qing Dynasty onward have tried to define a Chinese national character through their works . One of the most successful of these was Lu Xun

Born in Zhejiang province and educated in Japan , Lu Xun dedicated his works , both fiction and non-fiction , to the goal of defining Chinese qualities and healing the spiritual and moral needs of the Chinese people . His most famous story was The True Story of Ah Q , published in a news beginning in late 1921 . It features a village loser who does nothing notable and is looked down upon by all who encounter him This story , however , has become ingrained in the Chinese culture and scholars such as Lee Ou-fan maintain that it holds influence even today

One of the major ways the story portrays saving face is in the way Ah Q relates to his defeats . When he does something wrong , such as insulting someone for no good reason by not holding his tongue , he gets beaten up but he then justifies it by claiming it to be an outrage that people like his sons ' could beat him up . His psychological victory is enough for him to justify anything , no matter how pathetic it seems to the other villagers . When he loses his gambling money in a mob , he justifies it by slapping himself so that he 'll have something to feel victorious over (Lu

This relates to Chinese mentality in general , from government actions to individuals . The way China deals with any situation is to put a good face on it or to cover it up . Passing an anti-secession law , such as the one the Party Congress enacted in 2005 for the show effect it would have on Taiwan , is only one in a long line of examples . Refusing to re-evaluate their currency in relation to the dollar , the lack of acknowledgement about SARS and AIDS , the blocking or censoring of websites such as google , wikipedia , and the BBC , the banning and rehabilitation of filmmakers such as Zhang Yimou and now Jia Zhangke-each contributes to the argument that Chinese character has not changed since...