Lu Xun "Homecoming"
The first-person narrator travels 600 miles from a modern city back to his rural village to sell his ancestral home. This journey is both spatial and temporal, taking him twenty years into his past. How does the text differentiate the descriptions of the present from those of the past? (Hint: consider the use of temperature and color imagery.)
In Lu Xun’s “Hometown,” the narrator’s present and past are distinguished through contrasting temperatures and colors: the present is portrayed with cold, gray, and muted imagery that reflects his disillusionment and the village’s decline, while his childhood memories are filled with warm, bright, and lively descriptions that convey nostalgia and idealized hope. These shifts in sensory detail highlight the emotional distance between the narrator’s disappointing return home and the vibrant, comforting world he remembers from twenty years earlier.
What does love mean to Chuan-sheng, the “I” narrator?
In “Regret for the Past,” love for Chuan-sheng (“I”) means freedom, idealism, and escape from traditional family expectations. He believes love should be pure, self-chosen, and powerful enough to justify breaking away from arranged marriages and parental control. To him, love is something that can overcome social pressure and create a new, modern kind of life. However, his idealistic view also shows his immaturity he treats love as a perfect solution rather than an emotional responsibility, which is why he struggles when the real challenges of daily life and poverty begin to strain the relationship.
One Evening in the Rainy Season” is written as an interior monologue (the first-person narrator
is relating his every thought and sensation to us). This is a radical experiment in trying to
depict someone’s stream of consciousness. Do you trust the narrator’s descriptions of
everything he is seeing and doing? Why or why not? Why does he lie to his wife at the end of
the story?
No, the narrator’s descriptions in “One Evening in the Rainy Season” are not fully trustworthy because the story is written in a stream-of-consciousness style, which shows his confused, emotional, and sometimes irrational inner thoughts. Since we only see events through his shifting, anxious mind, his perceptions are distorted by desire, guilt, and denial—especially when he convinces himself that the woman he sees might be his former lover. His thoughts jump between fantasy and reality, so we cannot rely on his version of what actually happened. He lies to his wife at the end because he feels ashamed of his wandering thoughts and the emotional betrayal he has just committed in his mind. Admitting the truth would expose his guilt and his inability to let go of the past, so he hides it to protect himself and to avoid damaging their marriage.
The story begins focalized through Old Tong Bao’s eyes. What does he see? Why does it make him uneasy? What does he see and not fully comprehend?
In “Spring Silkworms,” Old Tong Bao sees that the silkworm eggs are expensive, the merchants seem untrustworthy, and the villagers are falling deeper into debt. This makes him uneasy because he senses that something is wrong, but he can’t explain it. What he sees but doesn’t fully understand is the larger economic system that is taking advantage of small farmers like him. He notices the symptoms, but not the real cause behind their worsening situation.
What linguistic markers does the author use to signal that Xia Village is allied with the revolutionary cause?
In When I Was in Xia Village (1941), Ding Ling shows revolutionary support through the comrades, who are described as brave, selfless, and loyal, using words like “comrade” and “resistance” to signal their political commitment. In contrast, most villagers are traditional and judgmental, gossiping about Zhenzhen and her family. The female revolutionary narrator highlights that true revolutionary values are carried by the comrades, not the ordinary villagers.
How does the first-person protagonist remember his childhood friend Runtu? How has Runtu changed now that he is an adult? Has village life changed after the Revolution?
In “Hometown,” the narrator remembers Runtu as a bright, energetic boy who seemed almost heroic in the way he hunted, worked, and moved freely through nature. But when they meet again as adults, Runtu has become tired, poor, and overly respectful, showing how hard life has been for him. His change also reflects how little the village has improved after the Revolution, despite new politics, ordinary people like Runtu are still struggling with the same poverty and social barriers.
Why does their relationship fail?
Their relationship fails because their romantic ideals cannot survive the pressures of real life. Chuan-sheng and Zi-jun believe that love alone will sustain them after breaking away from tradition, but once they live together, they face poverty, social isolation, and emotional exhaustion. Chuan-sheng expects love to stay perfect without putting in practical effort, while Zi-jun becomes increasingly lonely and unsupported. Neither of them knows how to communicate honestly or handle everyday responsibilities, so their idealistic dream of love collapses under financial stress, mismatched expectations, and emotional distance.
Zhenzhen served as a military spy for the CCP by going behind enemy lines and working as a prostitute, and then marrying a Japanese soldier. Why can’t the people in her village see her sacrifice as heroic? N.B. Zhenzhen’s name (chastity)
-When I was in Xia Village
The villagers cannot see Zhenzhen’s sacrifice as heroic because they judge her by traditional moral standards, especially her chastity, which her name literally represents. They focus on the fact that she worked as a prostitute and married a Japanese soldier, seeing these actions as shameful rather than understanding the danger and courage involved in her role as a spy. Their narrow moral view blinds them to the larger political and personal sacrifices she made for the revolutionary cause, showing how tradition can obscure true heroism.
What does the narrator think of the villagers’ superstitious belief?
The narrator views the villagers’ superstitious beliefs with a mix of sympathy and criticism. He understands that these beliefs give the villagers comfort and a sense of control, but he also shows that superstition keeps them trapped in old ways of thinking. The narrator sees these beliefs as part of the reason the villagers cannot adapt to changing economic conditions, making their situation even worse.
How “revolutionary” are the people in the village?
Most villagers in When I Was in Xia Village are traditional and judgmental, showing little sympathy for Zhenzhen and her family. True revolutionary values are shown only by the comrades, who are brave, selfless, and loyal.
Is the first-person narrator any better off than Runtu?
In some ways, the narrator is better off than Runtu, but not by much. He has had more education, moved to the city, and escaped the hardest physical labor, so his life is less harsh than Runtu’s. However, he still struggles with disappointment, financial pressure, and a sense of hopelessness. While Runtu is worn down by poverty, the narrator is worn down by disillusionment. So although their hardships are different, neither man is truly “better off”; both are trapped by the social and economic conditions of their time, just in different ways.
What do the chicks and the dog Ahsui represent?
In “Regret for the Past,” the chicks and the dog Ahsui symbolize the heavy, everyday responsibilities that Chuan-sheng and Zi-jun are unprepared to handle. The chicks represent fragile, practical duties small but constant needs that require care, attention, and cooperation. They show how even simple tasks become burdens in a strained relationship. The dog Ahsui, who behaves wildly and is difficult to control, represents the chaos, frustrations, and unpredictability of real life that interrupt their romantic idealism. Together, these animals highlight how ordinary pressures chores, messes, noise, and stress, slowly break apart the couple’s unrealistic belief that love alone can sustain them.
What political message is this story promoting?
-Yan'an's Seed
In Hua Tong’s “Yan’an Seed,” the story promotes the political message of loyalty to the revolutionary cause and the importance of collective struggle over individual desires. It emphasizes that personal hardships and sacrifices are necessary for the greater good of building a new society. The story encourages readers to value dedication to the Communist Party and the revolution, highlighting themes of perseverance, moral discipline, and the subordination of self-interest to political and social goals.
Mao Dun presents two chronologies in this story: the cyclical change of seasons and historical time. Which type of time shapes Old Tong Bao’s sense of what matters? Would he be any better off if he were more aware of historical time?
Old Tong Bao is guided by cyclical time, the yearly rhythm of raising silkworms, which makes him believe tradition and hard work are all that matter. Because he doesn’t notice the bigger historical changes around him, like new economic pressures and exploitation, he can’t understand why things keep getting worse. If he were more aware of historical time, he might recognize these changes, but it’s uncertain whether that awareness alone would actually improve his situation.
Are their attitudes toward women different from the traditional views that equate chastity with morality?
In When I Was in Xia Village, the villagers judge Zhenzhen based on traditional ideas that link a woman’s morality to her chastity. In contrast, the revolutionary comrades support and respect her, valuing her courage and loyalty over sexual propriety. This contrast critiques outdated moral standards and highlights a more egalitarian, revolutionary perspective.
What is the first-person protagonist’s emotional state? How do the descriptions reflect his emotional state?
The first-person narrator in “Hometown” is emotionally weary, disappointed, and filled with a sense of loss. As he returns to his village, he feels sadness about how much has changed and how little has improved. His emotional state is reflected through the bleak descriptions of the environment: the cold wind, gray skies, and dull colors all mirror his sense of heaviness and disillusionment. These gloomy details show that he no longer sees his hometown with the warmth and joy of childhood but instead views it through the lens of adulthood, hardship, and fading hope.
What kinds of details do we not learn about the first-person narrator?
-Yan'an's Seed
In “Yan’an Seed,” we learn very little about the first-person narrator’s personal life, background, or inner emotions. The narrator remains largely anonymous and neutral, serving mainly as an observer of events, revolutionary activities, and the lives of peasants. We don’t know their family, personal struggles, or motivations, which keeps the focus on the collective experience and the political message rather than on individual character development.
Where is this story set?
-Yan'an's Seed
Hua Tong’s Yan’an Seed (1971) is set in Yan’an, a remote region in northern China that served as the base of the Chinese Communist Party during the 1930s and 1940s. The setting reflects the revolutionary environment, with harsh rural conditions and a community organized around collective labor, political education, and dedication to the Communist cause.
Why do you think the author repeatedly uses military metaphors to describe the “mobilization order for the silkworm campaign”?
Mao Dun uses military metaphors to show how seriously the villagers take the silkworm season and how intense and demanding the work is. By calling it a “mobilization order,” he makes the silkworm-raising process feel like going into battle full of urgency, discipline, and pressure. This language also highlights how the villagers throw themselves into the work with total commitment, even though they are ultimately fighting a losing battle against a larger economic system they don’t understand.
What is Zhenzhen’s goal for herself?
In When I Was in Xia Village, Zhenzhen’s goal is to reclaim her dignity and live a meaningful life despite her past capture. She wants to reintegrate into her village and contribute to the revolutionary cause, showing courage, loyalty, and resilience. Her aim is not only personal survival but also to demonstrate that her worth is defined by her actions and commitment, not by traditional judgments about women’s chastity.
How does his emotional state “color” what he sees? What color is “hope,” and are the colors of “hope” different from the colors associated with his memories of Runtu?
The narrator’s gloomy emotional state makes everything he sees appear gray, cold, and lifeless, so the landscape reflects his disappointment and sense of loss. In contrast, “hope” in the story is linked to brighter, warmer colors that suggest the possibility of a better future. These hopeful colors differ from the natural, lively colors in his childhood memories of Runtu, which were filled with sunlight, nature, and excitement. While his memories glow with warmth from the past, hope points to a brighter future that stands out against the dull world he sees now.
This is a story written in first-person. How much of “I’s” interior emotional world is depicted? What kinds of emotions does he record?
-Yan'an's Seed
In “Yan’an Seed,” the first-person narrator’s interior emotional world is minimally depicted. The story focuses more on observing events and the lives of others than on the narrator’s personal feelings. When emotions are recorded, they are mostly respect, admiration, or approval for the peasants’ dedication, courage, and sacrifices for the revolutionary cause. The narrator rarely expresses personal doubts, fears, or desires, keeping the emphasis on collective ideals rather than individual emotional experience.
How is the view of peasant life in this story different from that in DING Ling’s “When I was in Xia Village”?
-Yan'an's Seed
In Yan’an Seed, peasant life revolves around collective revolutionary work, with personal hardships seen as contributions to the Communist cause. In contrast, Ding Ling’s When I Was in Xia Village shows peasants constrained by traditional norms, where loyalty, superstition, and moral judgment especially toward women shape daily life. While Hua Tong emphasises political purpose and heroic sacrifice, Ding Ling highlights the tension between individual desires, social expectations, and revolutionary ideals.
Focalization, what a character sees and pays attention to, tells us a lot about what matters to a character. What kinds of things matter to the first-person narrator “I”?
-Yan'an's Seed
In Yan’an Seed, the first-person narrator focuses on the peasants’ dedication, hard work, and sacrifices for the revolutionary cause. The narrator values revolutionary commitment, collective success, and social progress over personal concerns or individual emotions.
Is this different from the narrator’s idea of what should make Zhenzhen happy? Who is the better revolutionary?
Zhenzhen wants to reclaim her dignity and prove her worth through courage and loyalty, balancing personal survival with revolutionary contribution. The narrator, however, sees her happiness as tied to revolutionary duty and collective success. Both are revolutionary, but the narrator emphasizes ideology, while Zhenzhen shows courage and resilience in action.