Based in China, during the time when Mao’s power was terribly great, these literary works about life during Cultural Revolution are similar, yet very different in the way that the government is perceived. Jennifer Lin’s article, Dancing for Mao is comparative to Chen Rong’s Regarding the Problem of Newborn Piglets in Winter, in that they both are set in China during the Cultural Revolution. More different than alike, Lin’s article focuses more on the Chinese people unknowingly integrating and assimilating with the Mao’s ideology. Rong aims for the opposite; having her characters fully aware of the changes around them and it is not until the very end that her characters finally give into the unknowing integration. Lin’s portraying of the unknowing integration is much like acceptance. When asked about the dance she performed as a child, Kang Wenjie “hadn’t even known that the dance she performed that day had a name.” (12) This means that as a child, Kang’s parents, relatives, or friends had never told her what the dance meant or mentioned anything negative about Mao. Thus, they too must have become accustomed to this way of life and governing. In contrast, Rong’s novel exposes the hesitation to assimilate with this new ideology. When watching television at her grandparent’s house, Babe expresses curiosity and agitation when her grandpa, Zhang Dingfan tells her that she cannot watch what she wants to watch. “Why not this? The melody of youth. Very nice” (183), Dingfan tells her when recommending a different show, a show from before Mao’s time. He is trying to keep his granddaughter from being exposed to Mao’s new ideas. Despite trying to shelter Babe from the media of that time, Dingfan himself finally gives in to the new ideology at the end of the story. “When the time comes, I’ll make up words to suit whatever tune the authority picks” (194) says Dingfan. By expressing this, Dingfan surrenders his support against integrating with Mao and his followers.
Nice job, Lauren.
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