Title Author(s) Citation Issued Date URL Rights History and memory in Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite Chan, Shuen-yan.; 陳旋茵. Chan, S. [陳旋茵]. (1999). History and memory in Hou Hsiaohsien's A City of Sadness and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5353/th_b3195184. 1999 http://hdl.handle.net/10722/40461 The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works. History and Memory in Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite CHAN Shuen-yan for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies at the University of the Bong Kong in June 1999 *( Declaration I hereby declare that this dissertation represents my own work and it has not been previously submitted to this University or to any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification. L) ; 'j CHAN Shuen-yan 111 Acknowledgements To make this dissertation a completion, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Esther M.K. Cheung, my supervisor, for her guidance, inspiration and valuable suggestions in the course of writing the manuscript. Also, I want to extend particular thanks to my friends, Miss Mabel Cheng and Miss Ann Leung, for sharing their opinions with me in regard to the New Chinese Cinema movements. Lastly, I would like to thank my classmates for their encouragement and my family for their support. IV ThE UNIVERSITY OF I-lONG KONG LIBRARIES Thesis Collection Deposited by the Author Abstract of dissertation entitled History and Memory in Hou Hsiao-bsien's A City ofSadness and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite submitted by CRAN Shuen-yan for the degree ofMaster ofArts in Asian Studies at the University of the Hong Kong in June 1999 This dissertation is a comparison between A City ofSadness and The Blue Kites directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tian Zhuangzhuang respectively, with specific focus on how private memory of the past enters negotiations with public accounts of the official history. These two films are chosen for comparison because they share a similar narrative form of telling the story of a nation through the story of a family. More importantly. they are cinematic productions from Taiwan and Mainland China, the two Chinese communities which have their own wounded history in the post-World War H period. Hence, it is ofworth to compare how the two films are portrayed as the story of a nation and what messages the two directors have incorporated into the films. To facilitate the interpretation ofthe films telling the story of a nation via the Interplay of memory and history, Walter Benjamin's discourse on histoiiography, Fredric Jameson's national allegoly and Gbñel Teshome's proposition of third cinema as the vehicle for national liberation will form the basic theoretical framework for the following discussion. Upon this framework we shall proceed to discuss how the two films are structured as the national allegories. telling the story of a nation through family I dissolution. Apart from talking their common features, we shall also examine differences between the two films. While A Ciy ofSadness, as an allegory, operates to challenge the public historical events (official history) though the private memory whereas the private memory in The Blue Kite serves as the witness ofthe public events. As the analysis on the two films proceeds, one will note, by looking back and representing the past, Hou Hsiao-hsien attempts to examine the national ìdentity of a Taiwanese whereas Tian Zhuangzhuang contemplates how politics repeatedly rule over lives. Through the comparison of these two films. it is aimed to trace the soclo-political development and progress in textual and extra-textual contexts. Interwoven with a number of factors, A liberation than The Cuy ofSadness is Blue Kite. seemingly a more successftil vehicle for national In fact, this may indicate, whìle Taiwan today is on the road of political liberalization, Mainland China is still in struggle for political liberalization. 11 Note on Romanization Chinese names, places and terms mentioned in relation to the Republic of China (i.e. Taiwan) are in Wade-OEles system whereas those in relation to People's Republic of China are in Pinyin system. V Contents Abstract i Declaration ¡il Acknowledgments iv Note on Romanization V Table of ContenLs Vi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Bistory and the New Chinese Cinemas Chapter3 12 History and Memory ofthe New Chinese Cinemas in theoretical framework Chapter 4 Family, Nation and the State 23 (4.1) Family dissolution forming the strueture of the national allegory (4.2) Relating Present to the Past - People, Nation and Identity 23 41 Chapter 5 Conclusion: Vehicle for National Liberation 58 Appendix I: About the Directors Appendix fi : Filmography Bibliography 64 65 66 vi Chapter 1 Introduction In the last four decades, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have experienced a very different course of socìo-polìtical development. While Taiwan underwent a rapid modernization and industrialization between I 950s and I 970s, people of the mainland were thrown into endless political movements during this period. In spite of the prominent differences in their historical experiences, people in both places have their own wounded histoiy in the post-World War II period. By the I 980s, political and economic liberalization (at varied degrees) gaIned momentum in both pIacs. Alongside the trend of liberalization. cinema became a more genuine cultural manifestation of a society, rather than functioning as a state apparatus disseminating the state ideology. Meanwhile, in the hope of liberating their fellow countrymen from the oppressed past, filmmakers of Taiwan and Mainland China (those from the New Chinese Cinemas in particular) embarked on various cinematic projects to negotiate with the official accounts ofthe past via the personal I private memories of the populace. The filmmakers were enthusiastic about these projects because they felt, the official history of a nation was solely written for the interests of the ruling class, it bad never been a ful picture of the past. Hence, prIvate memory from the populace (in fragments and ruptures) was needed to amend and to reconstruct the history of a nation. It was against such a background that the films A City ofSadness ( (11) ) and The Blue Kl/e ( ()t) ), telling the story ofa nation through the story of a family, i were produced by Hou Hsiao-hsìen and Tian Zhuangzhuang (±iJ±) respectively in the early I 990s. To acquire a better understanding about the relationship between history and memory as constructed in A City of Sadness and The Blue Kite, Walter Benjamin's discourse on historical wrìting will be borrowed as the framework to examine how the individual memory can contribute to the re-writing and the reconstruction of a nation's histoty. Also, the personal memory depicted in the films is shaped by the public events in history. it should have its counterparts in the nation forming the popular memory. Since the split between the private sphere and the public sphere becomes trivial through the formation of popular memory, the two films will then be read at collective level in context of Fredric Jamesons national allegory. Yet, one should flote that Jameson's approach is not totally explainable of the cultural productions in Taiwan and Mainland China, bis approach has its own insufficiencies. Therefore, Gabriel Teshome' s discourse on third cinema will be used to improve the applicability of Jameson's national allegory in these two Chinese communities. Finally, the extent that these two films can serve as, what Teshome calls, the vehicle for national liberation will be evaluated in the last section of the dissertation, so as to grasp a better understanding about the socio-political development and progress in these two Chinese communities. Chapter 2 History and the New Chinese Cinemas A City of Sadness ( (T1) )and The Blue Kite ( <EJ) ) are films produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tian Zhuangzhuang respectively who are the prominent directors ìn Taiwan and the People's Republic ofChina (PRC). As the two directors are among the representative figures of the New Chinese Cinemas in the I 980s, links with these movements are noted in these two films. In this regard, a brief description of the historical background leading to the emergence of the New Chinese Cinemas will be provided. Mier depicting the historical background ofthe New Cinemas, an explanation of why the two New Cinemas have features worthwhile for comparison will be attempted. The New Cinema and the changing Taiwanese society In 1945, the Nationalist (i.e. the Kuomintang or KMT) government's takeover of Taiwan ended the fifty years of the Japanese occupation and a new era in the history of Taiwan commenced. Yet, this "new" era was only marked by the traumatic experiences of the K.MT's misrule, the outbreak of the February 28 Incident and subsequently the White Terror Movement.' After its retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the new government exerted strict control over the film industty to eradicate the Japanese influence and to strengthen the KMT's regime; films about communism, anti-government and pornography were 11n face of the coimpt tepressive and exploitative nile, Taiwanese were disappointed with the Nationalist govenhinent which took back Taiwan ßm Japan in 1945. Tensions between the government and the people as weli as between the mainlaixers ami the local Taiwanesc intensified. In 1947, the Febniaiy 28 Ijicident bmlce out as a result of a trivial dispute between the OffiCiaIs and a Taiwanese woman. Yei it triggered off demonstrations and protcts expressing Taiwanese discontent and anger towards the KMT, which led to the imposition ofmartial law (until 1987) and the White Terror later. 3 banned in the 1950s. In view of the moral decadence alongside modernization in the 1960s, the govemment-patroned Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC L4J) promoted "Health Realism" melodrama, which featured positive attitudes towards traditional moral values. Duiìng these two decades, only a few genres like romance and martial arts from the private production houses were allowed. By the late 1970s and the early 1980s, in face ofpeople's declining interests towards the domestic production, the government loosened its control and took the lead to sponsor a ) (1982) directed by four new directors, film called in Our Time ( thereby starting the New Cinema movement. Between 1983 and 1989, a group of welleducated filmmakers2, such as Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang () and Wu Nien- jen (), became very active in this New Cinema movement. All these filmmakers were born in the post-World War II era, during which Taiwan underwent a drastic socio- economic restructuring from an agricultural to an industrialized capitalist society. Hence, many of them were keen on examining issues I problems that Taiwanese people faced in the increasingly modernized and complicated society of Taiwan. To a large extent, the emergence ofthe New Cinema movement indicated the Taiwanese society in political and socio-economic transition and transformation. Between the 1970s and the 1980s, growing affluence among Taiwanese led to the rise of the middle () ' most the 1mmakers like Edrd Yang Wu & According to Li & Then and Wan Rn (t) parlicipatitig in the New Cinema movement are very wellNien-jen education. They have either received higher education or even post-graduate education ut Taiwan or from 1996 ' p. abrnad See 2 48-49 4 class and the growing number of educated Taiwanese at home or from abroad, demanding for more political power. Meanwhile, during this period, various events changing Taiwan' s international relations and domestic conditions occurred. They included the PRC's takeover of Taiwan's seat in the United Nations, the American recognition of "One China (PRC)" policy, the release of political prisoners, the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP promoting the Independence of Taiwan, the lifting of martial law and the end of the Chiang (Kai-shek and his sons) dynasty. In face of Taìwan's marginalized status on the diplomatic front and growing political agitation against the KMT at home, many intellectuais (including the filmmakers of the New Cinema) were inspIred to examine the identity issue of being a Taiwanese, thereby embarking on various projects of re-considering the history of Taiwan and roots alongside the move towards liberalization and democratization. their cultural During this period, these filmmakers, as the cinematic spokesmen of Taiwan in transition, developed new forms and styles of flimmaking to interpret and to re-write the history, society and culture of Taiwan. Unlike the previous films, films of the New Cinema primarily cast non-/semi-professional actors and were shot on-location so as to establish a more realistic relationship with history and memory. Most of these films are presented in thematic binary pairs3: rural vs. urban peasant/working class vs. middle class; as well as past vs. present. Amidst the above presentations in the films, many films are the return Nornes, Abc Mark & Yeti, Yueh-yn. "City of Sadness" USA, University of California, Berkeley, Availthle froni Engine [AccesSed 28 1994. //cnee.bekeIey.eduIPapCTS/CitOfS&1fleSS/ViOIeflCe.htm1> Yahoo Sesrch Apiil 1999] 5 to native culture (±1-h) and are against the "true Chinese culture (i.e. the "mid- land" culture L1)I{1) promoted by the KMT ever since its retreat to Taiwan in 1949. In fact, the directors were posing challenge towards officialdom and initiating discussions on political taboo. Among the notable examples Illustrating the aforementioned is Hou Hsiao-hsìen's A City ofSadness, which is the first film about the former taboo, the February 28 Incident, after the lifting of martial law in 1987. The film has only covered a short period between 1945 and 1949 though, that period was crucial in determining the later development ofthe Taiwanese history. When the film was screened in 1990, its indirect portrayal ofthe former taboo events did not only bring in huge impact on the Taiwanese, but also stirred up people's memory about the June Fourth Incident happened one year before. The February 28 Incident and the June Fourth Incident were so much alike in many aspects that the February 28 Incident was even coined as the Talwanese version of the June Fourth Incìdent. The New Onema and the reform era in Mainland China In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party's victory over the KMT was heralded by the establishment ofthe People's Republic ofChina. Thereafter, the socialist rule under the leadership of Chairman Mao (Zedong) in China started, during which various major historical events occurred. They included the Hundred Flowers Movement, the Anti- Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. At the very onset of their rule, policy makers had realized cinema as an ri important state apparatus for mass communication and education. Hence, filins that were based on the Soviet model revealing "socialist realism" were encouraged whereas imported films (e,ccept those from the Soviet bloc) were totally banned4. During the Cultural Revolution ( I 966-76), the notion of promoting the nationalist-socialist cinema was further strengthened. Hence, revolutionary opera, such as by Sfraíegy ( LLJ> ) Taking Mountain Tiger became the dominant film genre in China. In i 976, the arrest of the Gang of Four marked the end of the disastrous Cultural Revolution in China. With the resumption of power by Deng Xiao-ping in the late I 970s, China entered the reform era. During the reform era, Deng partially liberalized the economy and started the open-door policy. The new atmosphere injected energy to the film industry. The traumatic experiences associated with the CultUral Revolution, the increasing exposure to Western cinema, the contributions of the Beijing Film Academy and the liberalizing socio-political atmosphere altogether gave rise to the New Chinese Cinema ìn 1984 wIth the release of Chen Kaige's (L) Yellow Earth ( (±) ). Other prominent filnunakers of the New Cinema include Zhang Yímou and Tian Zhuangzhuang (Wf±±). As most of them were the fifth class to graduate from the Directing Department of the Beijing Filin Academy in the early 1 980s, they were labelled as the "Fifth Generation" filmmakers. Filmmakers of this generation were all zhiqing (educated young people some of them were once the ardent Red Guards in the early stages of the Cultural Revolution 4 Dissanayake Wimal. & Tain, Kowk-kan New Chinese Cinema. Hong Kong Oxford Univeisìty Press However, during the period (around the late I 960s) that they (as .zhiqing) were sent to the remote rural areas of the countryside to 1eam from the people" by working with the peasants. they were disillusioned by the party and the state ideology. Nevertheless, according to Rayns5, their experiences in and memories about China's most backward regions later became the basis of their thoughts and their work. This may explain why most of their films are set in the barren land of China (with motifs like rural area, the peasantry, the ancient ritual and religious practices) and are highly stylized with spectacular visual effects and idiosyncratic and exotic stories. To a large extent, these allegorical films are embedded in a broad and nationwide intellectual movement seJfstyled as "cultural reflection" fansi culture. As a (weithuafansi and 'historical reflection" (lis/ii attempting to establish links with their "nation" and their national result, the superior visual quality of these films distinguished themselves from films produced by the "traditional" (i.e. socialist-realist) ways and had successfully catered to the audiences of the internatìonal (multicultural and multinational) markets.7 In this way, directors like Zhang Yimou were able to entice financial resources (from abroad) for their production even though some oftheir films were banned at home. Alongside the reform leaders' success in improving the general economic conditions and people's livelihood, by the end of I 980s, the country faced rising inflation. moral 1998, p.1-5. 5 Rayns, Tony. "Chinese Vocabulaiy -an lñtmduction to King of the Childreii and the New Chinese Cinema" in King' oftlie Children and the Ne,w Chinese Cinema (Chen, Kaige. & Rayns, Tony.). Loudon Faber and Pabcr 1989, p.3. 6 Lu, Sheldon Hsiao-peng. historical 1ntrodiiciion Qinese Cinemas (I 896-1996) and Transnational Film Studies" in Tramcnatîonal Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Nationhood, Gender (Lui Sheldon. ed.) Honolulu: UniveTsily ofHawaii Prcss l997, p.5. decadence, widespread corruption., official profiteering, a widening gap in income between the new rich and the poor, and an increasing loss of faith in communism. All these contributed to the growth of the student movement demandìng for more democracy and liberalization in May 1989 but was ended by the governments brutal suppression in the June Fourth Incident. The incident was definitely a blow to China's renowned economic success (which was the expected key to political liberalization) in the reform era, it was an even more severe blow to the Chinese people. recalling them to the haunting memories of the past. In läce of the old and new wounds (from the Cultural Revolution and the June Fourth Incident), Tian decided to shoot The Blue Kite in 1991 hoping to let the younger generations understand more about what happened in the past and urging for the elimination of oppression among the Chinese people. Thtferent deveIopmenk similar experiences In the last four dec&les, Taiwan and the PRC have experienced a very different course of development. WThile Taiwan underwent a rapid mod&nization and industrialization between I 950s and I 970s, people of the mainland were thrown into endless political movements during this period. However, the two places do share a common feature i.e. each having its wounded history. By the I 980s, changing international and political conditions coincidentally provided an apparently liberal setting in both places. It was within such a context that cinema no longer served as a state apparatus disseminating the state ideology, but could lùnction to liik up the personal memory and the natior.l history; and to establish negotiations between the past and the present. 7Zbang Xudong. "Politics ofthe Visual Encount Reaxling the Fifth Generaúon" in Chinese Modenmcm ¡n the Era ofReform: Cultural Fever, Avant-carde Fic.tion and the New Chinese Cinema. (Zhang Hence, the emergence of the New Chinese Cinemas in the 1980s was largely a response Different from their predecessors. the to the governments' liberalizing policy. filmmakers of the New Cinemas tended to present challenges towards the authority in the films by opening up their wounded history as the two places moved along the trend of liberalization. As a matter of fact, they did hope that their involvement in historical and cultural reflections could lìberate their fellow countrymen from the memoty of the dark and wounded past. thereby facing the f.ìture with ìntegrity and dignity. In this case. it is of definite worth to compare the works produced by the filmmakers of these two places. Of the numerous productions by the filmmakers from the New Cinema generation, Hou Hsiao-hsien's A Cuy Kile are of Sadness and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue chosen for comparison in this dissertation. lt is because the two films, telling the family saga of Taiwan and the mainland respectively, have favourably provided a common ground to compare how they address, re-constmct and re-present their wounded history with respect to their filmic texts and styles. Nevertheless, richness of the films should not be limited to their textual presentations, but should be evaluated in relation to the extra-te,dual events occurred in society. As a matter of fact, both A City of Sadness and The Blue Kite have adequately manifested their associations with and their impact on the contemporary events. As a matter of fact, the most notable event that has linked up the two ifims is the June Fourth Incident in 1989. When A City ofSadness was first released in 1990, the Chinese communities) tended to compare Xudong) Durham and London: Duke University Press, lo people (especially those from the February 28 Incident to the June 1997v p.203-213. Fourth Incident. Meanwhile, the occurrence of the June Fourth Incident had such a strong impact on the mainland Chinese that people like Tian Zhuangzhuang decided to tell how "politics rule over lives"8 in The Blue Kite. Yet, while A City of treated with enthusiastic responses (from the officials and the people), Sadness was The Blue Kite faced numerous obstacles during and after its production in spite ofTian's mild criticism of the authorIty. In this regard, we shall examine how the films act as the indicators reflecting the pace of democratization and political liberalization when they are read in context ofthe socio-political events. In other words, a discussion on the two films as the vehicles for national liberation and the instruments revealing the socio-politìcal progress ofthe two places will be offered in the later chapter. 5TIaII, Zhuangzhnang. "lIistoiy. . . bornage. .memory". . Available fiin Yahoo Search Engine [Accessed 6 April 1999) 11 Chapter 3 History and Memory of the New Chinese Cinemas in theoretical framework Both A City ofSadness ( fr) ) and The Blue Kite ( (J) ) are about the family story presented in the form of the characters memory via the diary and the recollection of youth. When placing their memories alongside the socio-political backgiound, a discussion on history of Taiwan and Mainland China is presented to the viewers indeed. In view of such link constmcted in the two films, Walter Benjamins discourse on historical writing in his "Theses on the Philosophy of Histoiy"9 will be borrowed as the framework to examine the relationship between history and memory. As the personal memory depicted in the films is largely shaped by the public events in history, it should have its counterparts in the nation and the advent of (oppressed) popular memory is likely to be triggered offby an individual's memory. In this case, the stories of the two films are no longer understood at personal level. Instead they should be read at collective level in context of Fredi-ic Jameson's national allegory. Yet, one should note that Jameson's approach is not totally explainable of the cultural productions in Taiwan and Mainland China, it has its own insufficiencies and will be noted in the following discussion. Lastly, suitability of the two films as Gabriel Teshome's third cinema fhnctiomng for national liberation, will be evaluated in the last section ofthis chapter 9Benjainin, Walter. "Theses on the Philosophy of Histor in illuminafions. (Arendt, Hannah. ed. & ZObD, Hariy. trans.) New York: Schocken Books. 1969, p153-263. 12 Histoiy, based on historicism, is believed to have all truth recorded, therefore the "eternal" image of the past is always achieved. However, in Benjamins work,'° he Criticizes that historicìsm only offers generality but ignores particularity in the course of historical development. Under most circumstances, historicism only cites empathy with the victor; such history only follows the preference and the orientation ofthe victor, thus benefiting the ruler.' Meanwhile, true picture ofthe past seems to vanish quickly, those images of the past, that are of no concerns to the present, are easìly forgotten on the surface. As time moves ahead (i.e. progresses), people will get farther and farther away from the previous wounds and catastrophes. Yet. the struggling I oppressed class will still remember the wounds and they serve as the "depository ofhistorical knowledge".'2 In this regard. Benjamin believes that history is subject to mampulation, there is always a secret agreement between the past generation and the present one. Hence, at a moment of danger or at a configuration pregnant with tensions, memory and shock springs up. As what Benjamin states, "to articulate the past historically does not mean to recognize it 'the way it really was' (Ranke). It means to seize hold ofa memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger. . . [and] this danger affects both "the content of tr&Iìtion and its celer'3 "History is the subject of a structure whose site is not homogenous, empty time, but time filled by the presence of the now."'4 Here, it means when certain events (which have not been integrated/absorbed in the existing order of history) break out or are lo Ibid 1Ibid., p.256. '2lbid., p.260. 31bid, p.255. 13 discovered, the original optimum (history) is destabilized and is ready for further construction and reconstruction. In fact, they are to blast open the historical continuum as dictated by the victors in history and initiate a revolutionary opportunity of revolution fighting for the oppressed past. Hence, when historians decide to relive an era and to offer a genuine image of the past. they are about to cause damages I irritations to which happened in the later course of hIstory. Hence, history is no longer static. Historical wrìting becomes critical, ìnterverutionist and highly ideologìcal. In Yip's words, "all representations ofthe past, then, are shaped and defIned by the political and cultural concerns of the specific moment from which they emerge."t5 Hence, the filmic texts are presented in poetic manner though, they are to serve for a political cause ultimately. Similar to some third world countries, both Taiwan and Mainland China have their dark past. Although the governments may want to conceal it, the oppressed class remembers this and has served as the depository ofhistorical knowledge as mentioned by Benjamin. In face of the wounded history, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tian Zhuangzhuang are manifesting how they are blasting open the historical continuum and touching upon polìtical taboo by producing A Cuy fSadness and The Blue Kite. lt is because both Hou and Tian believe that history should include both official accounts and popular memory ofthe past. For the part contributed by popular memory, one can notice that a story of an individual actually resembles stories of his/her fellow countrymen owing to the fact '4fbid, p. 261. 15m1n p, 141. 14 that both Taiwan and Mainland China were in developing stage in terms of their modes ofproduction in the last few decades. Sìmìlar to other third world countries, both places had been undergoing the process of re-building their own identity and constructing a new socio-politica! structure, during whìch a strong-government rule was established. As a result, publìc sphere was enlarged at the expense ofprivate space. Individuai desire was subordinated to collective desire. Power of the people was delegated to the ruling class at an augmenting scale. To further secure their power, the ruling class stipulated all kinds of oppressive rules are stipulated and individuality is severely suppressed. As thousands of people are involved in public sphere. theìr experiences become similar to each other under such an oppressive regime. Hence, when reading the cultural productions of Taiwan and Mainland China, they are no longer interpreted at personal level but at national level; and are in close association with political development of the two places. As a matter of fact, all these above can be discussed with reference to Fredric Jamesons discourse on national allegory. In this case, an explanation of Jameson's national allegory and its suitability in understanding films of the New Chinese Cinemas will be discussed. In Frederic Janieson's "World Literature in an Age ofMultinational notes that the Third World is closely associated to the First World.'7 Capitalism",16 he Their relation is Jameson, Frcdiic. "World Lileralure in an Age fMU1tInatiOTh1 lapitalisin" in The Cunent in Clayton and Virgie Lokke. e&t). West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue UUÎVeTSIty Press, 1987. p. 139-155. 17 Janiesoi the mint World tefets to counlxies that once experienoed impeii1ism and colonialism aixi the First World refers to the capitalist camp inbipolar context dwing the Cold War era. See Jameson's "World Literature in an Age O1MU11±natiOIRI Capùnlism" in The Current In Cri&isin: Ecavs on the Prerent wid Future ofLiterwv Theov (Koelb Clayton and Virgie b*ke. ed.). West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. 1957, p. 139-158. 1G Criticism: Esav on the Present and Future ofLiterarv Theory (Kaelb 15 characterized as the struggles against Fìrt World's cultural and economic imperialism in the post-colonial period. Hence, he hypothesizes. all Third World cultural productions share certain common qualities in spite of their different national cultures and diverse historical backgrounds. Second, all Third World texts or narratives are allegorical and can be read at national level as national allegories. It is because Third World texts mostly depict lives of people during the imperial and colonial period or their experiences that are directly or indirectly resulted from the former colonial rule in the post-colonial period. To a large extent, similar experiences are found among the populace having been under the oppressive rule of the colonial (alien) government and struggling against the oppressive ruling class or the authority. When viewing the Third World in this aspect, in contrast to the First World, the split between private and public spheres is therefore trivial and insignIficant. Secondly, no matter how poetic and aesthetic the text is, their metaphorical form is highly political and are to serve for a political cause. Thirdly, Jameson has noted that every lust and desire depicted in these Third World texts are closely associated with desire for economic and political power. As a matter of fact, these three characteristics are observed in many developing countries. Having discussed how Third World texts are different from those of the Fìrst World, Jameson fùrther reiterates that the story of the Third World essentially projects a political dimension in its national allegory. Life of an individual in the story is associated with collective lives. In other words, the story of an indIvidual can be read as the stoty of all the people I the whole nation in Third World. This is a total contrast to 16 First World where one's personaL experience does not necessarily relate to the experiences of the rest of his/her fellow countrymen. As a Third World story tells the story of the whole natìon through the story of an individual. Hence it requires other forms and styles to express and convey the subtle (or hidden) message. Totally different from the secular and ordinary cultural productions in forms and styles, third-world texts, in fact, are reconstructing and revealing what Jameson's claim ofthe real world beneath the appearances ofour own world. Through the process of reconstructing the real world, Jameson believes the national allegories can contribute to a "cultural revolution" removing "subalternity" (namely the mental inferiority feelings and the habits of subservience and obedience developed by situations of domination) on one hand. On the other hand, it can project fliturity with reference to the narrative text, which is largely the product of the contemporary socio-poIitical and cultural conditions. However, Jameson's discourse is not totally explainable ofall Third World Literature, as noted by Aijaz Alunad. Tn his article "Jameson's Rhetoric ofûtherness and the National Allegory",18 Ahmad notes that descrIptions of any kind are always ideological and cannot be purely descrIptive. This also applies to Jamesons delineation of the First, Second and Third Worlds in bis article. Ahmad argues that Jameson's classification lacks comparable expression. It is because his classifcation of the first-and-second- world is based on modes of production or production system (i.e. capitalist or socialist) 8 4j Aijaz. "Jainesoxfs Rhetoiic of Otherness and the Nalìovat Allegory" in In Theor: Clcses. Naflons. Literahires. London Verso, 1992, p.95-122. 17 whereas the Third World is defined in terms of ìntra-national domination (i.e. the experience ofcolonialism and imperialism). In this cases countries classified in the First or Second Worlds can also be understood as the Third World countries as far as they once experienced colonìalism and imperiaLism. The United States and Hong Kong are the typical examples noting the contradictions ìn this classification. Also in the eyes of Ahmad, Jaineson tends to search for a unitary determinant as the source of all narrativity in the sphere of ideology and cultural production (i.e. imperial and colonial experiences). Yet Ahrnad argues that there is no such thing known as Third World Literature" which can be "constructed as an internally coherent object of theoretical knowledge."9 There are some texts in the Third World revealing the features of national allegory though, not all third-world texts are national allegories, according to Ahmad.2° He further notes, Jameson has generalized I totalized i homogenized the ideology of Third World and the qualities in their cultural productions to such a large extent that he has ignored certain issues, which pose significant differences among the texts of the so-called Third World. These issues include periodization, social and linguistic formations, political ideological struggles found in the texts of these countries/states.2' For instance, before 1980s. films were heavily censored in Taiwan and films about Communism were prohibited under the authoritarian rule ofthe KMT. Between 1950s and 1970s, the government continued to regulate the 1 Ahmad, Aijaz. "Jamesozfs Rhetoiic of Otlicrncss and the National Allegory' in ¡n Theory: C1a.sres. Nalions. Literatures. Lomlon: Verso, 1992, p. 96-97. 20 Ibid., p. 109. Alunad CXi1iCie that Janieson insists over and over again that the national experience is central to the cognitive formation of the Third World inteIICCtJa1 and that the narrativity of that experience takes the form exciosively of a 'imtiona1 aJ1egoi'. 21Ibid,p.97. 18 industry through the issuance of directives. Under the strict control of the government, filmmakers could hardly have the freedom to produce films that could speak for the nation (under oppression) and could hardly be national allegories. On the wholes Ahmad emphasizes that multiple determinants and dimensions22 should be noted when studying texts of the so-called Third World Literature. As a matter of fact, some of Ahmad's criticisms are also noted in the cases of Taiwan and Maìnland China where the stories ofA City ofSadness and The Blue Kite occur. In order to resolve the problems of applying Jamesons theory to Taìwan and Mainland China, Teshome's discourse on Third Cìnema will be borrowed to add in more specifications so that a model can be formulated to justify A Cuy of Sadness and The Blue Kite as the national allegories and the vehicles for national liberation. Nevertheless, one should note, the unique historical experiences of Taiwan and Mainland China may require some of their cultural productions to be interpreted accordingly. As mentioned before, Jameson's classification ofthe worlds is probIematic. this can be remedied by Gabriel Teshome's classification. In his World: the Dynamics of Sivie and Ideology,24 However, Third Cinema in Third countries that are classified as the Third In addition to the shuiicomings of Jameson's &scourse mentioned in the text, cultumi heterogeneity of social formalions among different continents (i.e. Asia, Lan America nd Aflica) is so different that it is impossible to bave one theorj generalizing Third World Litetature. Also, Third World countries' colonial and imperial experiences vary from one to another. Heiice people's responses and reactions to the ideas of imperialism and colonialism during the coloinal and the post-colonial period are 22 impossibly identicaL 23 to Janiesoi the worlds are classified into First Second and Third Worlds in ternis of production systems For instance, the ?RC, which is a socialist siate, may be classiñed as the Second World instead ofthe Third WOrhL 24 Teshotne, G. R Third Cinema in Third WorkL the Dami olSivie and ¡deolozy(dissei1ation). Ann Arbor, Michigan: University MicroIins hiteTnalional, 199 1, p. 9 19 World should embody both political and economic qualities. In other words, Third World countries should be those that have been colonized one time or another and are in developing stage with a mixed or planned economy. While some ofthese countries have opted for socialist reconstruction oftheir society. some have chosen the capitalist mode of deve'opment. In this way, it can remove the problem of insufficient comparable expressìon. As Taiwan and Mainland China fit it the above criteria, they can be loosely delined as the Third World. Yet, this does not mean that their cultural productions in the cinematic arena (as Third World Literature) are necessarily national allegories. Instead, they should be those that are qualified as third cinema. According to Teshome,25 third cinema should be built upon the rejection of the concepts of traditional cinema as represented by Hollywood and should be about the lives and struggles ofpeoples ofthe Third World,, serving for an ideological end. Hence, third cinema refers to films with social and political relevance. In fact, Teshome contends that third cinema, political in nature, manifests stmngly their opposition to imperialism and class oppression; and is coined as a cinema of decolonization and for liberation.2' To be more specific. third cinema should be able to liberate minds (oppressed and subaltern), to contribute to the development of new consciousness to transform the society and to develop new film language that can accomplish the aforementioned goals.27 25Jbid, p. l-11. 26Th1d p. 4. In this regard, Teshome flotes thattbe principal characteristic ofThird Cìnema is really not so much where it is made, or who makes it, but the ideology and the consciousness it portrays. 1bid, p.6. 20 As both A Cuy f Sadness and The Blue Kite tell the lives and struggles of Chinese through the characters' memories of their family dissolution via unconventional forms and styles, they should be well qualified to be third cinema and can be read as national allegories. In this regard, the next chapter wIll offer a discussion on how these two films are read as national allegory. Also, as these national ailegories are blasting open the historical continuum through the juxtaposìtìon of private memories and official history, hence, attention will be placed on how the private-public relation ìs constructed in the nexi chapter. To a large extent, national allegories and third cinema are to have close associations with oppression and struggles. ht their discourses, Jameson and Teshome point out that these struggles are related to the nations' colonial experience. In the case of A City of Sadness, this may be very true as Taiwan had been under colonial rule ofseveral foreign powers including Holland and Japan in history. However, The Blue KUe, with its setting in Beijing, is not a cultural production/outcome resulted from former colonial and imperial experience. Stiictly speaking China (excluding Taiwan. Macau and Hong Kong) in the last two centuries had not been colonized by any foreign power, in spite of its semi-colonial staths in times of Scramble for Concessions at the turn of the centwy. Hence colonial experience may not be a allegory found in necessary 20th pre-condition for national the films. Instead the cultural production may be coined as national allegory if it is produced in a state, of which its people experienced/experience oppression and were/are in struggle against the authority in the past or at present. As such an unpleasant experience I memory happens to a vast majority of the people whose 21 memories are ready to spring up at a moment of danger to reconstruct the nation s history28, the cultural production should be read I interpreted at national level as allegory. Then A CUy ofSadness and The Blue Kite cari act as national allegories telling the unpleasant memories in the past, serving to amend and reconstruct their history. To Benjamin, this ìs really essential because the fullness of the past is only available to the redeemed mankind.2 state relation -have In this case, how the issues - identity of a Taiwanese and peoplebeen put forward by the directors to destabilize the historical continuum will be discussed in the next chapter. Having studied the allegories ofthe two films, the challenges posed on the authority and the redemption process of addressing the wounded history, we sb11 proceed to examine how A City of Sadness and The Blue Kiíe, as the politicized cinema, can act as the weapon for national liberation and to transform their communities in the last chapter of this dissertation. 2S Wa1ter "Theses on the Philosophy of HistorÇ in Illumination Zohii, hairy. Irans.) New Yoik: Schocken Books, 1969, pîS5. 1bid, p. 254. 22 (Arendt, Ninnh et & Chapter 4 Family, Nation and the State In this chapter, there will be two major sections. The first section will focus on how the national allegories of A City of Sadness and The Blue Kite are structured by the family dissolution; and how these allegories operate via the cinematic styles, the reiteration of motifs and the juxtaposition ofprivate narratives and public events. Also, in the light of Jameson's national allegory, a more detailed discussion on the private-publìc relation will be offered. Having studied the directors' construction ofthe national allegories, the national identity issue addressed by Hou Hsiao-hsìen ìn A City of Sadness and the peopl&s struggles amidstst the state politics portrayed by Tian Zhuangzhuang Blue Kile in The will be scrutinized in the next section. (4.1) Family dissolution forming the structure of the national allegory Famìly is an important unit in the social structure of the Chinese people. directors can definitely articulate its symbolic significance ofthe collective experience ofthe people through the events occurred to the family. Yet, such a stmcture of the story may not necessarily tell the audience that a 1iníly saga is interpreted as the story of a nation. It very depends on how the directors stnicture the narratives in order to convey this notion. In the followings, we shall examine how the directors structure their stories as the national allegories and how these allegories operate to destabilize the history. In these allegories, private narratives and public events (mediated by state apparatuses) are frequently juxtaposed. In fact, they are used to destabilize history through the 23 directors addition of multiple perspectives (other than the official one). In the eyes of Gramsci, a state comprises both the politica! society and the civil society.3° While political society is m&!e up of state institutions such as the army and the central bureaucracy which exercise dIrect domination on people, civil society is made up of voluntary affiliations like schools and families. In other words, there are ideas dictated by the authority in the political society there are also ideas voluntarily contributed by populace ¡n the civil society. Hence, historical knowledge should not only involve official history, but should also include other perspectives, constituted by popular memory (in fragments and ruptures). As mentioned by Jean-Francois Lyotard,3' "Histoiy ìs made up ofwisps ofnarratives, stories that one tells, that one hears, that one acts out . . . a mass of millions of insignificant and serious little stories that sometimes let themselves be collected together to constitute big stoñes and sometimes disperse into digressive elements." In this case, June Yip32 further claims "History here is no longer conceived of as a univocal, seamless narrative but as a complex dialogic web of multiple, heterogeneous. and fragmentary stories that by chance touch, intersect and sometimes contradict each other." In other words, private narratives (Le. personal memory) are needed ìn forming public accounts of historical events (i.e. popular memory). 30 31 Saii, Edrd. Orientalism. New York: Vintage, 1981, p 7. Yip. June. "COnstructing a Nation: Taiwanese Hìsloiy TranmaIna! Chinese Cmema: 1&ntUv. Naffonhco ofilawail Press, 1997, p.143. 32161d, p.143. 24 and the Films of Hou Hsìao-bsien' in Gender. (Lu, Sheldon. ed.) Honolulu. Unrversity To establish link I contrast betweenì the private sphere and the public sphere in A City of Sadness and The Blue Kite, state apparatus has served as the intermediary. In the eyes of Louis A1thusser33 the State, as a "machine" ofrepression, only endorses the ideology of the ruling class and liinctions to secure their domination over the rest of the people. Hence, peopl&s submission to the miing ideology is required in order to consolidate the State power. To achieve this end, the State apparatuses become the means functioning as either the Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs) or the Ideological State Apparatuses (ESAs).34 While the RSAs primarily function by violence, aiming to protect the ideology of the ruling class so as to secure the State power, the ISAs primarily function by ideology. aiming to consolidate the niling ideology "behind a 'shield' provided by the RSAs"35 so as to legitimize the State power. In the two films, both types of state apparatuses have been employed by the directors in presenting the official histoty. Hence, we shall study how these apparatuses have also become the subjects of ch1lenges by the popular memory. Distancingfrom Ihestory ofihefamily meditaling the sadness oftIie city Jn A City qf Sadness. Hou }{siao-hsien' s innovative cinematìc form and style have effectively conveyed his story as a national allegory to the audience. Also these allegories have operated to destabilize history by distancing the audiences from the NOteS towaixts an lns1igation)" in 3Althussei; Louìs "ideology and I&ological State Apparatus trans.) New York & London. Monthly Review B. Brewster nin and Philosophy and Othet Ea Press, 1971, p.127-186. 411eTe, the RSAs xefer to the govermnent the admhiiciition, the army the police. the courts, the prisons the religious and so OiL Ou the other band, the ¡SAs refer to the number ofinstitutions in society including radio) and the cultural ISA the educatioLa1 ISA tI family ISA, the communications ISA (like press and ISA (like aits and literature). 35 ¡bid, p. 150. 25 plots, establishing certain motifs and offering alternative perspectives to an issue, thereby urging the audience to imagine and structuretheir understanding of history. As a family saga (about old Lin Ah-lu and his four sons), A City ofSadness, taken place itt northern Taiwan, Jinguashi (i1) and hufen ()iíf3), covers the period between 1945 and 1949, i.e. from the surrender of Japan to the Nationalist government's Tetreat to Taiwan. Despite the fact that the film opens with hope and optimisn such as the broadcast of Japan's surrender, the birth of Wen-hsiung's son who was named Guang- ming ()) and the opening of Little Shanghai (the nightclub), every of its narratìves direct to the eventual break-up of the Lin family and thus the devastation of the whole natìon through the brutal acts ofthe KMT. In the film, Wen-hsiung (m), the eldest son of Lin Ah-lu, is a nightclub owner, a black marketer and a gangster (as his father). In the later part of the film, he is killed in a fight with the gangsters. Meanwhile, Wen- sun (rn), the second son, never appears in the film. The audiences are told that he is a doctor and disappears in the Philippines during the war. Upon his return from Shanghai, Wen-hang the third son, is obsessed by the torture from the Chinese government for being the Japanese interpreter in the war. As the film develops, he is again accused olbeing the collaborator by the gangsters. Wen-hang is then arrested by the government and is beaten into mentally ilL Wen-ehing () (the youngest son) ìs the leading character in the film and he is related to most of the events occurred Working as a photographer, he and his circle of friends, Knan-jung () (Kuan-mai' s elder brother) Despite the fact that in particular, have actively involved in the rebellious movements. Wen-ching does not actively participate in these events, he is arrested thiring the White 26 Terror (after the February 28 Incident). At the end ofthe fIlm, before bis arrest, Wen- ching deliberately takes a photo of his family. telling the audiences how Taiwanese treasure to preserve a complete fmi1y. Yet, the photo-taking process has only foreshadowed the destruction of the family (and the nation) from the frozen looks of Wen-chìng and his wife, Kuan-mei To some critics, the Lia family, as structured in A City of Sadness, is an awkward and unusual family setting in Taiwan under the Japanese Occupation. This is because the four sons are of different social status (some are gangsters and others are intellectuals). Nevertheless, it is this setting that can encompass the diverse experiences of Taiwanese from different social classes and backgrounds during that period. To a large ectent, the family acts as a collection centre of disconnected and fragmented stories. Sentimental plots or build-up for climax are rarely cultivated. By presenting the nariatives in such a non-linear manner, the viewers are Less involved in the plots at personal (private) level of the characters. Jnstead we are kept away from the characters' stories and ai-e encouraged to associate these events with the story of nation. Hence, the film becomes histoiiogTaphic, urging the viewers to consider the film In wider context. Apart from the narrative construction, Hou's "self-restricting" cinematic styles36 important in constructing a stoiy ofthe nation. Among the typical styles adopted in the film are long shots, long take and few close-ups- 36 The closest shots employed in -the Nornes Abe Mark & Yeb, Yueh-yu. «Qty of Saliiess' USA, Universir! Available fro!l1 Engine [Accessed 28 Apii) 19991 27 ofCalifortha, Berkeley, 199& Yahoo Search film are only up to the chest, i.e. the medium close-ups. Long shots and long take often operate simultaneously ìn the film. Even during the wedding ceremony of Kuan-mel and Wen-ching, in spite of the apparent focus on the couple, only long shots, medium close-up and rear projection are used, direct front projection on the couple is hardly found. In this way, the wedding in the film is no longer a private event between Kuanmei and Wen-ching. The audiences are not drawn to their private sphere, but are guided to ponder the plot and the event in a wider context ofthe contemporary situatìons. Here, one can see how individuals are submerged into a wider context of the family and the nation. Also, in the film, visual violence and repressive state apparatuses (RSAs) are deliberately downplayed to serve for similar function. For instance, fighting scenes between gangsters are depicted by a series of long shots and extreme long shots with long take. This is very unusual compared to ordinary films which are used to include on-location close-up and medium shots to reveal violence. Apart from this, audiences do not see/hear explicit and detailed execution ofRSAs in the film, only radio broadcast, faceless police, military march, hallway and wire bars of the prison, rear projection on the police arresting Wen-hang, long shot of the police shooting Kuan-jung and his associates, as well as expected ofi-screen execution of RSAs are noted. All these depictions are to de-sentìmentalize the whole event, thus distancing the audiences from the events on-location. In this way, the audiences are given time and space to ponder these events in context of the whole nation through pondering the off-screen environment and possibilities associated with the event. Hence, they are no longer personal events ofthe characters, but ofthe thousands ofoppressed Taiwanese living on the island at the time. 28 Mother feature contributing to the formation of national allegory the reiteration of motifs. In the film, motif of hospital has in A Cuy ofSathiess is been delicately portrayed. Rather than being the workplace of Kuan-mei, hospital hs thnctìoned to tell the stories of the populace. Hospital scene is first presented when Kuan-mei starts her job in Jinguashi. Later on, along one single axis with the same camera angle and steady camera movement, the hospital hallway is repeatedly shown under various circumstances including Shusukos (-f) visit for Kuan-mei before leaving Taiwan, the return of sick and unstable Wen-hang from Shanghai, the wounded being sent to the hospital as a result of riots, the birth of Kuan-meis son and so on. Through the delineation of a specinim of experiences among the Taiwanese in that period. the hospital, as a silent, stagnant and unchanging object, becomes the location witnessing separation. pain, suppression. chaos, birth and death of the people, telling the audience the fate ofa nation. Throughout the film, Hou has deliberately juxtaposed private narratives and publìc events in a parallel manner. In fact, he is reconstructing history by posing constant challenges towards the public (official) accounts of history through the private narratìves ofthe characters which become the popular memory.37 Radio broadcast is among the most of the film, radio broadcast about remarkable ISAs in the film. In the very beginning the surrender of Japan by the emperor has helped in legitimizing the newly established Nationalist government which is manifested by the positive responses in private. However, as the story develops, one wìll notice how people are disillusioned and how the optimistic start only turn out as an irony. Apart from the broadcast by the emperor (symbol of' authority), broadcast by the authority have been repeatedly used as a tool to tell what the public is portrayed under the official assumption. Meanwhile, a "real" public beneath the "official" public is disclosed through the characters' acting and plots in the film. The prominent example in the film ìs Chen Yi's () broadcast of settling the so-called riot and pacifying the Taiwanese after the February 28 Incident. In the filin, such a dissemination of state ideology and "actuality" by Chen Yi has been presented thrice As a matter of thct spreading the state ideology through this ISA is primarily to entice support from the populace (who have little information about the truth) by manipulating people's protest (ti-iggered off by the February 28 Incident) into an immoral and peace-disrupting riot. However, the dìrector argues that people in private do not totally submit to what the state claims. As a matter of fict, the three broadcasts in the film are intercut with scenes disagreeable with the official claim on the protest. They include scenes of the wounded masses at the hospital hallway, Wen-ching's recount oftbe authority's brutality and the chaotic conditions witnessed during his stay in Taipeì after the incident; as well as Kuan-mei's diary via voiceover. Here, a more detailed discussion on the fuxiction of' Kuan-mei' s narration is attempted. In the film, Kuan-mei's narration is about her personal events written in the diary Histoiy and the Films of Hou Hsiao-bsien" in 37Yip June. 'Conucting a NaliolE Taiwanese Naflonhood. Gender. (Lu, Sheldon. eEL) Honolulu: University Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, though, these events, being put in context of that partìcular period of history, are associated with the contemporary political and socio-economic conditions, retelling the history of a nation. Hence, Kuan-mel's voiceover/narration has presented the feminine force38 questioning the masculine, official accounts under the conventional historiography. Traditionally, women are supposed to be confined to the private space and should not intervene in the affairs of the public sector. However, in face of the 1inear' account of the Taiwanese hìstoy established by the officials and the authority who have deliberately concealed parts of the actuality, women's entry to the public space symbolizes interruptions ofthe officiai histoiy and addition ofnew perspectives to the official history with contradictions and reconstruction. Through Kuan-mei's diary, we learn about how official history is not a mirror. but a distorted image of 'full" history. FulJness of history also requires the fragmented and personal documentation of events from the populace lìke According to Nomes & Yeh (1994), the Kuan-niei. feminine voice in the film becomes a powerful antithesis to contrast the linear, hegemonic discourse ofthe nation's history. In A City of Sadness, focus has been placed on the ISAs at the expense of the RSAs. Here, it may reveal that Hou does not simply intend to lament on the brutal acts of the government. Instead he tries to establish a dialogue with the offlcìals, challengìng the truthfiulness of official histoty and the correctness of the official action. To a large ofHawail Press, 1997, p.!41 38 Nom Abe Mark & Yeb, Yueh- "city of Sadness" US& University of Califernia, Berkeley. 1994 Yahoo Search Available from Engine LAccessed 28 Apiil 1999J 31 extent, he is presenting and urging for alternative perspectìves in understanding the history of Taiwan. (Re-)construction bypeople, (re-)desmiction by politics When structuring his national allegory in The Blue Kite, Tian Zhuangzhuang adopts an audience-friendly, melodramatic approach to exhibit stories of various characters and how these stories are outcome of the ruthless politics. The Blue Kite is a recount of Tietou's () childhood and youth as well as how Tietou (born in Shujuan his mothers the early 1950s) and survive through the turbulent years in China. With the background settìng in a Beijing family in between the early 1950s and the late 1960s, i.e. from the death of Stalin to the start of the Cultural Revolution. one sees the re- presentation ofseveral events and their severe effects on the vast majority ofthe Chinese people. Among the major events depicted in the film include the Hundred Flowers Movement, the MtiRightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward and then the Cultural Revolutìon. Because of these events, Tietou loses his father, Shaolong (j); because of these events, her mother marries twice to Guodong (*) and Lao Wu () after the death of Shaolong. At the end of the film, Shujuan worried about Lao Wu, an old party cadre under severe criticism, goes to his bouse and tries to intervene as her seriously ill husband is under attack by the Red Jurads. To help ber, Tietou is also brutally beaten up. Finally, Shujuan is arrested and is sent to a labour camp as a counter-revolutionary. Similar to A City of Saibiess, the stoiy starts positively with the building-up of a new f.mily (i.e. the marriage of Shujuan and Shaolong), but it ends in the total destruction of the family in spite of Shujuan' s repeated attempts to reconstmct 32 it through marriages. From the story of Tie-tou's family, Tian Zhuangzhuang prompts the audiences to ponder the misfortune of countless Chinese families through the sadness of one family. For The Blue Kl/e, its allegorical structure is built upon the different stories of the characters, who are representing the ordinary Chinese and thus the whole natìon. Throughout the film, Tietou, the narrator, is keen on recounting the experiences/stoñes of the people (i.e. friends and relatives) around him amidst those two decades of turbulence. Through the stories of Tietou' family (i.e. the Lin family) and Shujuan's family (i.e. the Chen family). the stories of different people (taking up various roles in the Communist China) are presented and a structure of telling the story of a nation is constructed. On top of'this, the scope of historical re-presentation is "enriched" by the repeated effort in formIng a new family through the three marriages of Shujuan. In the film, almost all the characters have a story to teil. With all these individuas stories clustered together, a picture of popuIr memory of a nation and thus the national allegory, contrasting wìth the official history, is consinicted. Apart from the use of narrative form, motifs in the film have helped in reiterating the director's challenge of the officialdom. The motif of having meal at the dining table in the borne of Tietou's grandmother has appeared in several scenes. The act of eating plays a crucial role among the Chìnese people indeed. Family gathering is always manifested in the form of hang all the members sitting around the dining table for meaL. Hence, dining table can be treated as the intennediary for family togetherness and completeness, especially for important occasions like wedding and re-union. In the film, 33 the dining table functions for family gathering where Shujuan and her siblings discuss the severe impact of political events on the daily lives of their family menibers disclosing the truth in contrast to the official 'truth". From the meal of an ordinary family and their discussions on political issues, the viewers can feel the intensity of political impact on the ordinary people which in turn, urges the viewers to meditate the political atmosphere and environment surrounding the Chìnese people at the time. Another motif reìterated in the film is the train station. Train station is for re-union and separation representìng joy and sorrow. There are several times in the film shooting about the arrival of the frain and its departure, intercut with dialogues among the characters such as Sholongs departure and Zhu Ying's (*) return after her release from jail, Contrary to the motif of dining table, which is located in the private sphere but represents the repetitious dining scenes of other families in China, train station is iii public sphere. By shooting Tietou's family amidst the crowds, the viewers are guided to associate the misfortune of Tietou's family with thousands of other Chinese families. To the Chinese, train station may have an even more specific meaning. It is the starting point of (where) people' s relocation at massive scale takes place "thanks to" the repeated "Up the Mountain and Down the Village" programme& In addition,, the director presents several shots of public places and peopl& s activities in the public sphere so as to reveal the socio-political influences surrounding the vast majority of the Chinese people; and how numerous 1milies are treated unfairly like Shaolong who is accused of being the rightist. 34 Different from his previous highly stylized films like Horse Blue Kite appears as a political melodrama. In the films1 ) ). The Thief ( ( several objects are employed to foreshadow the upcoming events through their symbolic significance. An obvious example is the toy-horse which has its head broken off during the wedding ceremony of Shujuan and Shaolong, signifying their later misfortune. Throughout the film, the director has spent much efforts on enriching the contents ofthe narratives and projecting the notion of"authenticity" ofthe narratives. To a large extent, this approach indicates a departure from the Fifth Generation's cinematic styles and the director's return to the traditionaL I conventional style of film-shooting. As the film was shot in the post- Tiananmen period, Tian's direct and blunt narration ofthe Chinese wounded history (by projecting the notion of "authenticity" from the narratives) reveals his boldness and "outspokenness" towards the officialdom. The film, made in the post-Tíananrnen era, is no longer a recollection of the old past. It also reminds the viewers of the "new" past (ie. the June Fourth Incident) and the tragedy ofthe whole nation. Similar to A City qf Sadness state apparatuses have been adopted as the intermediary linking up the private and the public in The Blue Kl/e. Yet, Tian has put more emphasis on how politics rule over people's (daily) lives in his construct ofthe national allegory. In a liberal and capitalist society. split between private and public is easily noted as private life is seldom affected by public events. However, in a socialist state, everything is politicized As a resu1t state apparatuses become the tools (a1opted by Tian) to unveil the impact/outcome of (public) political events on the populace. At the very beginning of the filni, Tie-tou has narrated how his parents' wedding and his birth are simultaneously postponed because of the broadcast of Stalin's death, a mighty and remote (to the Chinese) leader of the Soviet Union. Events like this have only resulted in minor social impact on the lives of the ordinary people. However, they have shown how the public events have influenced the private events like marriage and sìgnif the loss/reduction ofprivate space among the people under a socialist regime. In facts thìs notion of public sphere (events) encroaching private life is reiterated and intensified through a spectrum of ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) in the film. Similar to A Cuy qf Sadness, radio broadcast, as an important cominunìcation ISA, is repeatedly used in the film to disclose the official stance on the major public events. In most cases, ìt ilinctions as the instrument to foreshadow the up-coming effects on the characters ìn privare sphere as a result of those public political events. For instance, intolerable of the severe criticism on the state bureaucracy during the Hundred Flowers Movement, the state decides to introduce the re-education (i.e. persecution) programme of the so-called rightists. When the radio broadcasts this decision, it foreshadows the up-coming catastrophe to Tie-tou's family. Upon this broadcast, plots of Shaolong being criticized and being sent to the remote areas for re-educatIon are displayed. In addition to Shaolong, Shuyan (4), Shujuan's younger brother, is another victim of the political movement due to his criticism in school. Once a new campaign is announced, its impact on various characters is shown one by one in the fi1n such as the impact of the Anti-Rightist Campaign on Shaolong. Shuyan and Guodong (Tie-iou's first stepthther). As a result, popular memory of the state suppression is constructed through a constellation of individuals' pnvate experiences. To a large extent, the director has revealed how politics (in public sphere) rule over people's private lives, how little privacy people can preserve and how people can hardly be in control of their 36 own lives in era ofturbulence. In the film, Tietou, the narrator, is responsible for telling audiences what happen to the characters who are affected by politics. For instance, the deaths ofShaolong and Tie-tou's stepfathers, the innocence ofZhu Ying beingjailed for years, the return of Uncle Shuyan and the arrest of his mother condemning the Red Guards. In doing so, Tietou becomes the mouthpiece of the director criticìzìng the atrocities done by the government to its people. Apart from the ISAs exhibited in The Blue Kites the fervent masses and later the Red Guards, flJnctioning to "police the conduct of people in New China", become the repressive state apparatuses (RSAs) to a certain extent. In the film, the masses are actively encouraged to execute the state directives. For instance, people are mobilized to join the parade supporting the Great Leap Forward under the leadership of some party members, showing the popu1r participation in public events. Furthermore, the most prominent example of ordinary people taking up the role of RSAs is the Red Guards breaking into Lao Wu's house to arrest him. Lao Wu is an old party cadre, he should enjoy power and contro! supposedly. However, vacillations ìn politics, all of a sudden, make him subject to the "illegitimate" Red Guards' humiliation and torture. In a socialist regime, the RSAs are no longer confined to the government, the police and the army. Under the rule of man, populace can also be manipulated into the RSAs initiating repression and oppression to their fellow citizens. Here, one can note how events in public sphere penetrate into every aspect of private life. Politics do not only rule over the people, they are suffocating the whole ofthe nation. 37 Comparison Having discussed the structure of the two fi1ms national allegories and their Incorporation of private narratives posIng challenges towards officia1dom one may find it easier to understand The Blue Kite as a stoiy about the vast majority of Chinese through its linear narration of a family story accompanied by others' stories with a central storylìne on the mother-and-child relationship. After seeing the film, grievances ofthe Chinese when looking at their history via people's memories are felt. In spite of its complicated presentation. a more detailed examination on A City of Sadness will allow the viewers to discover that Hou1s narrative form and cinematic styles are of high coherency and consistency. Plots and technìques in the film are interwoven and echo to each other in the process of presenting the national allegory. In addition, this national allegory has inoduced new perspective to the audience which is successfùlly established by them to meditate the events the director's deliberation of vacating time and space for and issues ocìaliy endorsed for the nation. When Hou tells the stoiy on the cinema screen, the viewers are also guided into other off-screen domains of the nation' s story and history. Hence, the national allegoiy presented in A City of Sadness becomes fr much more weil stmctured and ìs more powerful in aesthetics to entice people to re-consider history. Although both iJms have established a private-public relation depìcting how piivate lives are affected by public events via state apparatuses, they are cpressed in different ways and have different implications to the viewers. In A City of Sadîess, Hou Hsiao- hsien intends to initiate a dialogue with the official history ofTaiwan by contrasting the 38 public/official accounts of events wìth the private recounts of the events. Frequently, stories ofthe characters told in the film are different from what announced I recognized by state apparatuses. Hence, contrast between public accounts and popular memory constituted by private recounts is established, urging the viewers to re-consider the history of Taiwan. Tn a sense, the viewers will note how the private sphere has entered the public sphere, causing dìsmptions to the history ìn Continuum through the new perspectives introduced by Hou. Contrary to the introduction of new perspectives in A CEO' of Sadness, The Blue Kite has concentrated on how private lives are affected by public events. In the film, audiences hardly find obvious traits ofthe director's intention to add new perspectives to the historical events occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Instead, one will note that it is inclined to be an autobiography at personal level. In both films, the directors attempt to challenge the legitimacy of the state policy and actions. However, such challenge ìs more prominently delineated in A City of Sadness through various contiasts between private and public set up by the director, probably due to the repeated "colonization" superimposed by different regimes on the island in history. Contrary to the KMT government which was treated as an "alien" government after the retreat of Japan. the establishment of the PRC in 1 949 was generally supported by the people. From the films, one may find that struggle against the authority manifested via popular memory in A Blue Kite. CIty ofSadness is more prominent than that in The This may reveal that there are groups of people in Taiwan who do not recognize the KMT as the legitimate ruler of Taiwan. As a malter of fact, this is revealed by the presence ofsome political parties like the DPP (*), fighting for the Jndependence of Taiwan. On the contraiy, Tian Zhuangzhuang has focused on questIoning the correctness on the state1s polices, he does not intend to pose any challenge towards the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the dominant party in the maInland. The director, through The Blue Kite, only hopes that the government could provide a better society (in political terms) for people to live in. (4.2) Relating Present to the Past - People, Nation and Identity People living in either Taiwan or Mainland China have their own wounded history that are not openly endorsed by their governments. In other words, there are participants in certain historìcal events still being oppressed and repressed by the authority. As a result. this class of people becomes the depository of historical knowledge, writes W. Benjamin. In fact, they are about to spark off a historical continuum explode by memory flashing up at a moment of danger. Of course, this will cause instability to the existing regime. However, to attain peace of mind, one must undergo the process of redemption, recognizing and reconstructing the past. This is because only a redeemed mankind can receive the fullness of the past (Benjamin, 1969). As a matter of fct, Benjamin's ideas ofre-writing history have constituted the leading motivation behind A City ofSadness and The Blue Kite. By blasting open the historical continuum as noted by Benjamìn. in context of Jameson's discourse on Third World literature, at which portTayal of hope/desire is a component in the structure of a national allegory, desire(s) portrayed in the allegories (i.e. A City of Sadness and )union. The Blue Kite) is fmily (re- To fulfill the hope, ìt requires the authority to re-assess re-evaluate and recognize what actually happened in the past. In other words, redemption is made and the past is reconstructed. Following this line of thought, we shall proceed to examine what the directors have incorporated in their films to achieve this desire and the contemporary socio-polìtical conditions that prompt them to incorporate these elements in their films. 41 ¡n search of cultural and nativiwi ¡dent ity Although A Cil)) ofSaduess has only covered a very short period in the post-World War II era, the text tells the story/history of Taiwan ever since the Dutch and Spanish sailing to the East and settling in this "beautiful island", flha Formosa in the 16th century. The history of Taìwan sìnce the European arrival has never been a linear project, but has been disrupted by events external of the native Taiwanese control. When putting Taiwan in contert of its historical development in the last few centuries, one may discover that the island bas been the colonies of different nations. In particular, Japan had ruled Taiwan for fifty years up till its surrender at the end ofthe Second World War. In the post-war period, the KMT government resumed its rule over Taiwan. Yet, native Taiwanese found it hard to accommodate with this new government which engaged in numerous acts of malaôministration. In the eyes of the native Taiwanese, they fell into the hands of another colonizer cloaked in the name of de-colonizer. people's Eventually, discontent and anguish towards the KMT government intensified, leading to the outbreak of February 28 Incident. In response to the riots and chaos, the government resorted to gun power and state apparatuses to suppress the opponents and dissenters through the white terror and the martial law. Before the lifting ofthe martial law in 1987, the February 28 Incident remained a taboo subject among the Taiwanese. The KMT government did not want to be noted of its dark past, and the people did not dare to speak out under the tight control of the political 42 system, (secret) po1ice mi1ìtary educational system and media. "Officiai nationa1ism"9 has been promoted among the Taiwanese people by (the KMT) upholding the Conlùcían values of loyalty () and filial piety () as well as superimposing the mainland culture on the island under the claim of TaIwan being an integral part of ancient China. As a matter of fact, the temporal dìmension of (ancient) pastness is inherent in the concept of peoplehood, which can be artfUlly manipulated by the KMT to "legitimize" its rule over Taiwan and to confront the opposìtion° However, the irony is none of the Chinese dynasty before the 20th bad ever valued Taiwan as part of the empire.4' Hence, this explains why the Nationalist government fails to entice people's recognition of Taiwan as a pal-t of China in the post-World War IT period and why the characters in A City ofSadness complain about the marginal status ofbeing a Taiwanese. By the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Taiwan had been transformed into a modern and industrialized society. Accompanied with economic success and growing affluence of the populace, Taìwan was on the road towards democratization. Yet, there were several sensitive socio-political issues remained and the government did want to downplay 39Anderson, Benedict Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin ad Spread of NailOnaJisin revised & extended ed.). London: Verso 1991. Wa11ersteiti, 1miname1. "The Conruction of Peoplehood. Racism, Nationalism, Etbnicîty" in Nation, Cks: Ambiguous Identities. (by Bahl,ar, E. & WaJierstein, L) London New York: Verso, 1991, p:Th. Before the 17th y Taiwan was neglected by the chinese government, as reflected from the absence of the Chinese imperial Government's administitive structure. The erst time thai the Chiiese government recognized Taiwan as part of its iethtocy was when the Ming government encoiraged the mion of the sonthern people (snffeiing m famine) to Taiwan. However, only loose control was tinposed on the is'and. In the 17 century, Taiwan ha1 a populalìon mixed 'uth rnainind inese, aborigines (i.e. the "mountain people"), Dutch an& SpaiisK Before being colonized by the Japanese in the 20th Taiwan was sbortty colonized by the Dutch between Treaty of Shimonoseki at the turn ofthe 1624 and 1662. During theperiod ruledby the Qing court Taiwan remainedlo be loosely adxnithstered in spite oC its declamtion of Taiwan as an integi1 part of the empire in 1887. Se "Taiwan's 400 years of histoif. Available from 1ittpj/www.taiwandc.org'het-1624:hln> Yahoo Search Engine jAceessed 15 4 April 1999] 43 them. Some of these included the KMT's legitimacy in ruling Taiwan and conflicts between the mainlanders and the indigenous. Amidst the opposing forces of concealing (the dark past) and increasing the government's transparency (for political liberalization), Taiwan ìn transition at that momen of the time became a site entangled with tensions and oppressed memories, ready for changes. In view of this, many Taiwanese were inspired to look back the history of Taiwan and to re-consider their identity as Taiwanese. Among them ìncluded the filmmakers of the New Taiwanese Cinema like Hou Hsiao-hsien. Searching for a Taiwanese identity bas been a frequent agenda A Cuy of Sadness. in Hou's films including In terms of the cultural categoiy, Taiwanese have no problem in recognizing themselves as ethnic Chinese. However, the different (and specific) cultural and historical experiences ofTaiwan from those ofthe mainland China in the last four decades have contributed to the development of a new Taiwanese identity, and these unique experiences have disinterested many Taiwanese in submitting to the KMT' s claim of representìng all of China at national level. As a matter of fàct, A Cuy of Sadness is the film attempting to explore and to provide the origin and formation of Taiwanese identity today. alternative to the official and conventional version. To Benedict Anderson, the term "nation" is defined as "an imagined political community -and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign".42 A nation has its cultural roots. Its formation is a cultural construct, "not in the sense of building on 44 historical tradition but in that of being collectively imagined by all those going to the same kinds of schools."43 Against its historical background and cultural experience in the last few centuries, the 'Taiwanese" national identity has been characterized as of ambivalence, hybridity and dispersion.44 All these qualities can, in fact, be noted in A City ofSathiess through its narratives and languages (spoken and written). The Taiwanese characteristic of ambivalence, in memory of the twin oppression from the Japanese and the KMT government, is effectively reflected from the narratives of the characters in the film. Although Taiwan resisted the Japanese rule at national level, Hou attempts to introduce an unconventional perspective on the relationship between the Taiwanese and the Japanese in A City of Sadness. &fore her departure, Shusuko (daughter of Kuan-jung's Japanese teacher) offers kimono and calligraphy work to her and Kuan-jung as souvenirs during her visit to Kuan-mei's workplace. The friendship between Kuan-jung, Kuan-mei and Shusuko is the best illustration of how an equal footing and harmonious relation is found on the island, surpassing the antagonistic master-slave relation. To a large extent, this is a strong manifestation of Bou's humanistic attitude towards people. In fact, his portrayal of Japanese in this way may 42Anderson, Benedict Imagined Conimunitics: Reflections on tI Origin and Spread øf Nationalism (revised tt extended ed.). London: Veiso, 1991, p.6. 44 (3) 43 Tonnesso, S. & Am1ov H. (ed.) "Asia in Theories of Nationalism and National Identity" in Asian Forn ôfdie Nation. Richmond, Suney: Curzon, 1996, p. 25. , 45 , 1993 ' p. 3 simultaneously remind people of the Japanese contribution to Taiwan during the occupation period.45 To a large extent, the friendly relationship depicted above is definitely a strong conlxast to the conflicts between the native Taiwanese and the mainlanders in the film. An example showing this is that, Wen-ching (the deaf-mute) is almost beaten up by other Taiwanese in the train compartment as he is unable to speak out his identity after the outbreak of Februaiy 28 Incident. From thìs example, it does not only reveal the intolerance between the native people and the mainlanders towards each other, but also the hostility of the native Taiwanese towards the outsiders, noting that not all the native people are the sole sufferers in the 1940s. As a matter of fact, in the eyes of the native Taiwanese, the antagonistic relationship between the KMT (from the mainland) and Taìwanese is comparable to that between the mainlanders and the natives. The most prominent instance is when the KMT policemen an-est Wen-hang who is accused of being the collaborator for the Japanese during the World War II, his father expresses the helplessness of Taiwanese during the Japanese Occupation. They do not intend to be the gangsters, they do not intend to work for the Japanese, but their country, the Qing China, abandons them and they have to do so for the sake of survival. However, the "new" government bas hardly paid sympathy to 45 Amidst the revolts and resistance against the Japanese, Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese for My years, dining wlñch taI institutions and fundametilal infrastnicflire were set up and these were of crucial importance to the latter development of Taiwan.. During this period, the Governor of Taiwan was given over athuinistration, mililaty, andjudiciary power in governing the island. Also, the Japanese ofikials in Taiwan embarked on improving agTiCUltWBI products and IndUStiIaI development AlU these provided crucial foundation for the later economic take-otT of Taiwan. 46 them. It onLy comes to exploit them and even purges them. As a matter of fact, in face of the KMT government and its dark past, the Taiwanese having no inclination to identify with its ideology, only feel as what Wen-hsiung speaks out about the Taiwanese, "Eaten by others, ridden by others, sympathized by no one." Yet, under Hou's portrayaI the whole issue ofnatìonal identity is not simply operated at this level of identifying with this government or not, but rather, it is fi.irther complicated by the concept of "motherland" During the fifty years of the Japanese (ffl).46 Occupation, the desire of Taiwanese to return to their motherland (i.e. China under the rule ofthe KMT government) was embodied in revolts and resistance. After the KMT's takeover of Taiwan, people's desire ofbeing part ofthe motherland shouLd be fulfilled. However, the whole concept was complicated by the cìvil war between the KMT and the cc?. in face of the KMT's oppressive rule after the February 28, intellectuals being persecuted by the authority still place passion (wishftul thinking) towards their imagìned motherland. And this is reflected from a poem written by a dissenter hiding in mountain area. In the poem. the dissenter writes that, in life, he cannot be with the motherland though, it is hoped that he could return to the motherland upon death. In Chinese, the poem is r i . While it is not difficult understand the dissenter's passion for his motherland, one may ask where his motherland is. When he talks about the motherland, one can associate it with "China". However, where is China? InTaiwan (under the KMT)? Or in the mainland (under the CCP)? As a matter offact, this is not only a question for Taiwanese, it is also a question 4&*J o r r r . r--j1 : «EJ) ° 47 : 19996 IO for many Chinese (overseas or in the mainland) like Hong Kong people. In short, this is an issue about Chinese diaspora. Having discussed the function of the narratives in exploring the national identity issue. We shall turn to the use of language, spoken and written in the film as an important Instrument to Convey the notions of ambìvalence, hybridity and dispersion in 'Taiwan Experience". In the post-war Taiwan, the Taiwanese native dialect (with Hakka and Amoy accent), coined as primitive and backward, is not recognized officially and speaking Mandarin is compulsory. Hence, there is scene of teaching Mandarin ìn the hospital in the film, depriving the importance of the local dialect as the mother tongue among the native Taiwanese and diluting their orìgìnal native identity. Hence. use of the Taiwanese dhilect as the dominant medium of narration in A City of Sadne&s becomes a recognition of the native identity and a challenge towards the officially endorsed ìdentity. Meanwhile, during the Japanese Occupation and the following transitionai period, the educated people, who have a Chinese name and a Japanese name, have revealed the double identitìes of a Taiwanese. In the film, Kuan-mei has a Japanese name "Hiromi" . The interchangeable use of the two names in the post-war period may reveal the Taiwanese cultural acceptance to the imperialist, Japan, showing both eletnents ofhybridity and ambivalence. Also, against a background ofrepeated colonial and diasporatic experìences, Taiwan has been resided by Dutch and Japanese formerly, mainlanders, mountain people and native Taiwanese. Incidents showing the linguistic diversity with several dialects spoken in one scene are portrayed in the film. The most obvious example is the gangsters' dialogue and negotiations in the Little Shanghai. In 48 fact, the director attempts to show how things, indigenous and foreign, have integrated into the island socially and culturally. In fict, today's Taiwan is inevitably a mixed form of all these different cultures. Apart from the use of languages in telling Taiwanese Experience, intertitles have taken up an important role in constructing the identity issue in the film. Although Wen-chìng is a deaf-mute, this does not prevent him from nzrrating the story of Taiwan through intertitles. By showing the Chinese characters in the middle ofthe black background on- screen, these intertitles appear as records of events inscribed in tablets, urging the audiences to "read" about the pastness of Taiwan and the origin/formation of Taiwan today. These intertitles, each telling an anecdote, consist of several Taiwanese past experiences. They include the family history of Wen-ching about his brothers conscripted by the Japanese, Wen-ching's childhood with scenes of Beijing opera,, the stoly of sakura during the Meiji era, the last words ofthe dissenters before execution to their families delivered by Wen-ching, lives of Kuan-jung and his associates in the mountain area. To the Taiwanese of the older generation, many have witnessed or experienced that part of history (circa the Februaiy 28 Incident period), yet it is a taboo to them. They have seen it., but they are not allowed to discuss and share opinions about it openly (i.e. to hear and to speak) as result of the authority's suppression. From the intertitles written by Wen-ching, we do not only sense the sadness of a deaf-mute, but the sadness ofa nation being kept speechless and the silent struggle ofthe people against the authority (making every effort to tell their memory). From what written on-screen, the viewers are reading the historical formation of the Taiwanese national identity, 49 whìch has hybrid associations with the Second World War, the mainland Chinese cu1ture the Japanese and the political persecution and oppression. Nationhood and siojehood Similar to Hou, Tian also engages in a process of soul-searching for the Chinese in The Blue Kite, but with a different agenda - examining the relation between people and the state. To Immanuel Wallerstein (Wallerstein, 1991), nationhood is a socio-politica! manifestation in the construction ofdifferent types ofpeoplebood. In the modern world, nation-state, built upon the concept of nationhood, has been a dominant type in the formation of a state. Yet, among the different categories (others include racism and ethnicity) of peoplehood why is the concept of nationhood adopted by the authority? This is because this can allow the ruling class to have a "limited (in boundary) and sovereign" state by upholding rationhood. Then the state can gain solidarity and autonomy. eliminating the threats of internal disintegration and external aggression. Sometimes, such national sentiment can be cultivated and manipulated by the state to achieve administration uniformity and policy efficacy.47 Hence, it is no surprise that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also manipulated the concept ofnationhood and the notion ofpastness binding people together to establish the new state, the People's Republic afChina (PRC) in 1949 As a matter offact, the CCP's success very much rested upon Chinese people's discontent towards the cornipt KNIT government, the eigbt-year Japanese occupation and the CCP's countryside 50 mobilization. Hence, the founding of PRC is rather an outcome of agrarian uprisings and nationalist revolution, its establishment is hardly a pure proletariat and socialist revolution. Upon its establishment in 1949, New China, in the Cold War's bipolar context had to take sIde so as to secure its autonomy in the international arena. Meanwhile, to consolidate the state power, opposition and dissension were avoided, counter- revolutionaries were cleared at massive scale. In view of the changing world and domestic conditIons, nationhood, emphasìzing common pastness of the people, is no longer of use value to the mling class. Instead, a new identity of peoplehood, constructed in the form of socialist vs. capitalist, is created and upheld. As a result, Chinese tradition and culture was condemned whereas attempts we made to win out the world-class powers and the imperialists, like the USA and Britain. In The Blue Kite, these two aspects have been delineated by Tian Zhuangzhuang. In the course of exercising the state ideology and achieving the state policy, people are totally ignored.48 A state ìn modern world is to serve its people; but it turns out that 47Wallerstein, linnianuel. "The Construction of Peoplehood: Racism, Nalionalicm. Ethnicity" w R. (by Balibar, E. & Wallerstein, L) Lrnidon & New York: Verso, Nalïn, CIass. Ambiguous IdenUie& 1991, p. 81. In the New China, Chairman Mao Zedong ìntended to transform China from a poor couiifly into a To end the political disunity, "counter-revolulìonaiies" (the remaining modern socialist siate. Guomindang forces and the landlords) were clearecL To let off discontent among the people under the sbict COmmUnist rule, Mao ithtiated to «let hundred flowers blossom 1 bundred schools contend" in the early 1950s. Yel; intolerable of the intellectuals' severe criticisms, the goverument started the Miliiigblist Campaign to exadicate the dissenters and to re-educate some of them m 1957. Turning to the economic arena, the "Great Leap Forward" (GLP) was introduced in I 958, following the rialionalization of private assets and agricultnral collectiviïalion in the First Five Year Plan (1953-57). The GLP was intended to quickly transform into a powerful industrial nation by "walking on two legs" (Le. rapidly developing both industiy and agriu1ture). Impossible goals and targets were set up and eopte throughout the whole untiy were thrown into this feivent industrial production. People's communes were 4 ç . 51 ', 3 '' people are sacrificed for the interests of the state and the ruling class. In The Blue Kite, the text is centred around the rnan-iages of Shujuan, who marries to Shaolong, Guodong and Lao Wu. To a large extent, Shujuan's subsequent marriages after the death of her first husband are the outcome of politics. Shaolong her first husband, is sent to the remote area for re-education as a result ofthe Anti-rightist Campaign and ìs "killed" by tree trunk there. Guodong (Tietou's first stepfather) dies from ulcer and malnutrition during the Great Leap Forward. Towards the end ofthe film, Lao Wu (Tietou's second step&ther) dies from heart attack as a result of the torture from the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolutìon.4 For each marriage she expects a promising ftìture, however, her hope is repeatedly crushed by ruthless politics. In the film, another couple being victimized is Shuseng () (Shujuan's elder brother) and Thu Ying who have planned to get married. However, Zhu Ying's refusal ofparticipating in the dance party for high- level officials costs her years of imprisonment and ruins her marriage. In the latter part ofthe film, Shuyan's proposal to marry a girl can even be rejected and can be substituted by another girl recognized by the party. Under such an authoritarian regime, marnage has been totally politicized, people's lives have been totally politicized, too. As a matter of fact, despite its presentation of certain amusing anecdotes, the film is primarily composed oftragic events like separations and deaths. All the main characters in the film are only the ordinary people and almost none of them is about to revolt organized as the self-sufficient units. Contraiy to the leaders' expected success, the GLP proved to be a failurc. d 4ç In face of the OLP fai1ure Mao resigned from the bead of state and other leaders like Lui Shaoqi initiated several changes in Mao's economic policies to aJ1ea1e the economie condilions. Man felt that these changes were turning China away from true communisui The conflicts betn the two camps (one ntic sOci2i, pO1Ìñ! and cultural upheaval -the led by Mao, the other by Liu) finally resulted in a 1976. Great Proletarian Cuifliral Revolution between 1966 and 52 against the authority. Instead they are the supporters of the Communist rule and only seek for a peaceftil life under the new regime. In fact, they have tried to avoid involving in any sensitive issue. However, vacillations in state policies and political struggles from above have involved everybody. Shaolong is a typical victim of the unpredictable shift of political wind. He only engages in a casual talk with his colleagues once and is designated as a rightist. Another character that may best reveal the unpredictability of politics is Shujuans elder sister. Throughout the film, she is a staunch supporter of the party and is in keen defence of party policy. However, this does not save her from persecution. Whefl the Cultural Revolution starts, she becomes the victìni of the movement and is tortured by the young "revolutionaries". To the vast majority of the Chinese people. the last four decades were ftzll ofendless nightmares. Through the camera of Tian, the viewers have noted how oppression in various forms has been implemented by the state and how people's livelihood has been severely devastated. For the sake ofpolitics at the top, the whole nation ofpeople is thrown into endless movements and campaigns. However, these have never been the will of the people. Among the various groups of people focused victimized at the time, Tian has deliberately on the intellectual class in the film. As a matter offct, most ofthe characters come from the educated class instead ofeoming from the peasantry. Shujuan is teacher, Shaolong and Guodong work in the library, Shuseng works fòr the militaiy Ying is a theafre actress and Shuyan attends high school before sending to units Thu the remote the background setting ofA City area for re-education- This is definitely diflerent from 53 ofSadness in which the Lin family is composed of gangsters and intellectuals. On one hand, this may have to do with Tian's family background. Tian's parents are from the educated class and involved in performing acts in the PRC. To a large extent, The Blue Kie is an account! an autobiography of the director's childhood and youth ìn the country. Unlike Hou (whose family migrated to Taiwan from the Mainland afler the Second World War), Tian is the witness of major historical events in the Communist China. On the other hand, in the Chinese modern history, intellectuals have always been the subjects of victimization and suppression. They are the group of people who are most concerned about their state and their country. hence they are also the group of people posing most potential threats to a corrupt regime. As a result, they are oppressed the most in every political movement and campaIgn. Thirty and forty years ago, the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution embarked on the severe suppression of the intellectual class. During the reform era, such tragic suppression of intellectuals repeated in the Democracy Wall movement in the early 1980s, in the antibourgeois liberalization campaign in 1986 and in the June Fourth Incident in 1989. Throughout the film, "Song of CroW' (,) and the blue kite have been reiterated by the director. They represent the director's thoughts and attitude towards the state. "Song of Crow", which is about the filial piety of crows towards mother crow, is the song that Shujuan teaches Tietou during his chIldhood. The song has been played several times in the film, especìally when Shujuan and Tietou are together at home. However, the last time that the song is played is duiing the Red Guards' intrusion into Lao Wu s honte. Here, the song does not function to symbolize the intimate relationship between mother and child it acts as an irony to the state, mocking the state's destruction 54 of everything among the people, even the thndamental ìnter-personal affection of the family. In several state movements, individual interests have been subordinated to the state interests. Such notion is particularly prominent during the Culturai Revolution. The Red Guards (the youngsters) were Indoctrinated o severely that parents and relatives could hardly be comparable to Chairman Mao (Zedong) and the state. On one sìde of a coin, this is definitely a successful illustration of how the zenith of the state power can be reached when absolute obedience is elicited from the masses. On the other side of the coin, everybody was suspicious of others, trust and care among the members was absent in family. People (with rationalìty) living under such a regime are of no difference from living in nightmare. In this regard, how can these people identify with their state? For those intolerable of all these ìrrationalitìes and tortures, some chose to escape from their country, some chose to commit suicide. When people lose their confidence in and loyalty to their country, the nation is on the road of committing selfdestruction. Another object dellberately portrayed throughout the film is the blue kite. As a matter of fact, the blue kite has been destroyed more than once in the film. When it is destroyed, little Tietou cries and asks for a new one from his father. The blue kite has been with him throughout his childhood and youth. In the film, the kite represents the happy times of Tietou. When it is destroyed (i.e. happiness crushed), he may be upset for a while. Yet, unhappiness can be quickly removed by the making of a new one. Here, we may learn that happiness and joy may be repeatedly ruined, people are also quick to recover from that. Also, they remain positive anñ hopeful ofthe new happiness. Yet, how many times can they Withstand this? Apparently, the director may tend to say "No more". By 55 displaying the past/history in the form of memory (through Tietous narration), the director has exhibited bow polìtìcal struggles (inc1udin the June Fourth Incident) have ruthlessly taken away happiness ofthe people, the past generations have suffered enough and it is hoped that this would not happen again to the next generations in the fìiture. Comparison In A City of Sadness, Hou has shown bow Taiwanese find it hard to submit to the Japanese, the KMT government and to bave empathy with the outsiders (i. e. the mainlanders). By constructing the relations ofthe Taiwanese vis-à-vis the Japanese, the KMT government and the mainlanders in these ways, Hou has satisfied no party but has only stirred up criticisms from ail parties. Jn the film, Hou does not intend to re-present the exact historical and social conditions, distortions and dislocations are noted. Nevertheless, Hou has successftilly established a forum for discussions though its exhibition ofidentity discontinuity via ambivalence, hybridity and dispersion caused by disruptions in the historical continuum. Different from Hou. Tian and his generation ofChinese, who live in the mainland China, do not encounter any problem in national identity and historical continuity. However, Tian's generation experienced such a traumatic era that he deeply feels the helplessness of Chinese in face of state power and state rule. In the film, Tìan's mixed feelings towards the state are manifested from characters' private criticism ofthe policy in spite oftbeìr public submission to the state polìcy 56 Both Hou and Tian claim that their films are not to challenge the legitimacy of the ruling class (i.e. the KMT government and the l'RC government). But Hou believes that Taiwanese should think about where they come from and who they are as Taiwanese. And Tian hopes that The Blue Kite could pay homage to the past generations that suffered and let the young generations know what happened in the past and that the next generation would not repeat this in future. 57 Chapter 5 Conclusion: Vehicle for National Liberation Following Teshome's discourse on in Chapter 2, third cinema, political in nature, manìfests strongly their opposition to Imperialism and class oppression; and is to serve as the political weapon for decolonìzatìon and national liberation. To be more specific. cultural productions coined as third cinema,, should liberate people from oppression, to contribute to the development of new consciousness, to transform the society and to develop new film language that can accomplish regard, an examination of bow A City the of Sadness aforementioned goals. In this and The Blue Kite, as national allegories, can serve as the vehicle for national liberation via the directors' representation ofmemory and history will be attempted in this chapter, In the previous chapters, Benjamin's challenge towards historicism and his argument on histoncal reconstniction stimulated by memory springing up at a moment of danger has provided the framework to examine the two films. Operating within Benjamin' s framework, one can find that the two Chinese communities in transition have become the instruments stimulating Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tian Zbuangzhuang to re-present the oppressed memories of the wounded past in their films. memories from the private sphere in A City ofSadness and By staging the oppressed The Blue Kite, the directors have embarked on a dialogue with the official accounts of the past. As a matter of fact. such a constmction of private memories in negotiation with the official history in the films have blast open the histotical continuum long endorsed by the existing governments. For Hou Hsiao-hsien, the national identity issue explored in A City 1 5g Sadness has been a disruption caused to the history of Taiwan, whereas victimization of people under the ruthless politics in The Blue Kite is a criticism posed by Tian Zhuangzhuang towards the authority (in the past and today). In view of the political nature ofthe two fi1ms their production and release are not only assocìated with the past of Taìwan and the mainland, but are also indicative of the socio-politica! development and progress in these two Chinese communities today. When A City ofSadness was first released in 1990, Hou's restrained cinematic styles and bis creative dealing with the concept ofnationhood have urged people to relate the film to the ctra-textua1 issues in context of the contemporary society, thereby initiating a series of discussions on the February 28 Incident, history of Taiwan and the Taiwan experience. At the times people of different walks of life were eager to present their views and opinions towards the different aspects of the film from the cinematic aesthetics to the historical, political and cultural issues of the society. To some people, Hou's dealing with Februaiy 28 in A Cuy ofSathiess is like a requiem to the event. To others like people in Hong Kong, they were remìnded of the June Fourth Incident occurred in I 989. While some critics showed strong appreciation to the film as they were amazed by }lou's boldness in opening up the wounded past of Taiwan from a humanitarian standpoint,50 some radicals were dissatisfied with Hou's wishy-washy reconstruction ofthe wounded past.5' There were movie-goers dìsappointed by the lack ofviolence and the actual course ofthe February 28 Incident on-screen. There also were 5ot . (J (E) . , 'jj±'1991 I f993 38-48 scholars noting many distortions and misplacements in the film, claiming it failed to portray a historically correct society of Taiwan. Nevertheless, one should note that the film, having incorporated unconventional perspectives about Taiwan. has successfully enticed new and multiple perspectives from people on various historical and socìo-polìtical issues in relation to Taiwan. Here, one can note how A CUy of Sadness, as a product of the director who was stimulated by a moment of danger (i.e. the Taiwanese society in transition), became a vehicle prompting people to engage in explorations in other domains. In fact, these are definitely essential qualities for national liberatIon, thereby establishing a healthy nation. As a matter of fact, people' s incessant struggle for a re-assessment of the wounded past ìn the last four decades finally brought the ¡(MT government to give up efforts of concealing its dark past. In 1992, the KMT government promised to issue a report that disclosed corruption and misrule being the fundamental causes of the February 28 Incident, in contradiction to the past official interpretation. In addition, monument was erected in memory of the victims in the February 28 Incident. Some people may argue that Taiwan is still far from being a liberal and free society as the Nationa! Security Law was introduced to partially substitute the martial law though, Taiwan is on the road of further political liberalization and is known of moving the quickest in pace of democratization amotg the Chinese mjnunities (e.g. Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China). On the whole, A Cuy of&zdness the last decade. does play the role of third cinema as a vehicle for national liberation in Yet, for The BIne Kite, it is totally another story. The film was shot three years after the June Fourth Incident (1989). As any sensitive issue (posing potential threats to the regime) should be avoided in the post-Tìananmen era, the film which was largely an outcome of the June Fourth Incident encountered numerous obstacles during the period it was shot. At the time, anonymous letters were sent to the ministries and party committees, accusing Tian Zhuangzhuang of 'opposing the Communist Party and Socialism" through the production of The Blue Kite. As a matter offact, the final edit of the film was done in Japan as the post-production was forbidden in the mainland's film studio. To make it worse, Tian was not allowed to leave Chìna to finish his work during that period. In fact, this Incident has indicated that Third World Cinema in China still has a long way to go in achieving total liberation ofthe people. Despite the fact that the film enjoyed acclaim and gained awards abroad, it was banned at home. Nevertheless, its prohibition from public viewing in China widely aroused people's concern about the freedom of expression and human rights in China. The film has been very mild in its criticism towards the regime. Yet. the government insisted on a ban of the ñlm. As Tian Zhuangzhuang states, 'I finished shooting 1992. The Blue Kite in But while I was involved in post-production, several official organizations involved with China's film industry screened the 1m. They decided that it had a problem concerning its political 'leanings', and prevented its completion. . . The stories in the film are real. . Wbai worries me is that lt is precisely a fear of reality and sincerity that has led to the ban."52 In fact, the government's Ireatment of the film reveals that from Available Review" FUni a Kite: Blue "The James. 1ittpJ/2O9.7S.2O.222/mOVieSJb/b1UC_kitC.h11I1> Yahoo Search Engine [Accessed 6 December 19981 52ßerardmneJli, 61 people in China (officials or ordinary people) are still obsessed with the wounded history and they do not know how to handle it properly, resulting in double standards53 amidst the trend of continuing economic liberalization in the post-Tiananmen era. Nevertheless, TIan's detennination of completing the film regardless of numerous obstacles should be appreciated. In fact, Tian's boldness tells that people are witnesses of history and historical events occurred in their times have definitely formed a part of their memories. These memories are ready to spring up when they are triggered offat a moment of danger. To Tian, the June Fourth Incident bas become "the moment of danger". ¡t did not only stir up hIs memory about China ìn the last four decades, but also urged him to produce The Blue Kite to re-examine our histoiy and to let the younger generations know about the history. h fact,, Tian once says £Our parents' generation paid for the history with theIr blood and tears. . .Things have improved since the ecottomic reforms, but ifChina really wants to change, people have to understand what's happened get rid of the idea that politics rules their lives. .Many people today don't know anything about this period (1950s and 96Os). Discussion ofthe persecutions of the Anti-Rightist Campaign. . is still taboo for writers, artists and filmmakers. . . The Blue Kite pays homage to my parents' generation."54 Co-incidentally, the June Fourth Incident has become the intermediary linking up A City of Sadness and 5 The Blue chezi Kaige's FaìewellMy Kite. If the February 2S hcidn is noted as the Taiwanese Concubine and Thang Yiinou's To Leve we produeed th fewer obsiacles intheearly 1990s. 54Tian, 19991 Zhiinghuang. 'HÍtoiy. . . Available from homage. . .memoiy". Yahoo Scaidi Engine [Accessed 6 Apiil version of "the June Fourth Incident", one should be delighted to see the KMT's willingness to lift the martial law and to re-evaluate the nature ofthe incident compared to the Chinese government's unwillingness to re-assess the June Fourth Incident. From the textual and extra-textual events occurred in relation to The Blue Kite, one may have observed that the two A City ofSadness and places, Taiwan and the mainland China, are in different stages of national liberation. Over the last decades globalization nd multinational capitalism brought enormous economic benefits to both places. yet they did not contribute much in improving the human rights conditions ìn Mainland China. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the country's growing interactions with the global markets can play a part ín quickening China's political liberalization, like what happened to Taiwan in the last two decades. While A City ql Sadness can be treated as a requiem soothing the history of Taiwan, the treatment of The Blue oppressed in the Kite in Mainland China indicates that Chinese people are still in the queue for redemption to receive the fullness ofthe past. 63 Appendix h About the Directors Hou Tlsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien ari active parLicipant in the New Cinema movement is definitely among the most representative figures. Born in Guangdong province of the mainland China in 1947, Hou's family moved to southern Taiwan in 1948. After completing compulsory mIlitary service ìn I 969, Hou studied film and drama at the National Taiwan Academy ofArts. He joined the film industry in 1973 upon his graduation. Hou's films (refer to Appendix II: Fulmography) are largely autobiographical, emphasizing realism through ìts authentic artistic and esthetic portrayal of life in Taiwan. His unique observational and documentary-like style has earned him several international awards and has been acclaimed as the most representative director of the Taiwan's national cinema. Three films (A Cii), of Sadness, The Puppetinaster and Good Men, Good Women) he produced between I 989 and i 995 are even coined as his epic trilogy, representing the past and the present of Taiwan. Tian Zhuangzhnang (EEffi±Í±) As one of the prominent New Cinema filmmakers, Tian Zhuangzhuang was born in I 952. His parents were known actors and were zhiqing. During the Cultural Revolutìon, Tian was sent to ulm province and later he joined the army. In the I 970s, he obtained an apprenticeship in the photographic department of the governments Agricultural Film Unit. In 1978, he entered the Beìjing Film Academy. In 1980, he codirected a video film called Our Corner. In the following years, he directed a number of films (refer to Appendix II: Filmography). In 19S5, Tian made On the Hunling Grciund and it caught international recognition for the first time. In I 986, he directed The Horse Thief Although his films were commented as too stylized and too difficult to The Horse Thief another highly stylized and exotic film. did win for him another international recognition. In i 992, Tian made another award-winning film The Blue Kite. In the meantime, Tian also participated in several commercial productions for the domestic market. understands rI Appendix II: Filmography Hou Hsiao-hsien Year Title 1980 Cute Girls 19x1 CheerfulWind 1982 1983 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1993 1995 1996 1998 Green, Green Grass ofHome <) The Boys from Fenkuel (IJX) (J*4) The SandwichMan A Summer at Grandpas (1) The Time to Live, the Time to Die (1E) Dust in the Wind (J) Daughter ofthe Nile ACìtyofSadness The Puppetmaster ( (X> Good Men, Good Women () Good-bye South, Good-bye Flowers ofShanghai (L) Tiui Th.inazhuin9 Year 1982 1983 1984 1985 I 986 1987 1988 1991 1992 1997 Title Red Elephant ( I[) A SummerEperience (> September <iIM) On the Huntìng Ground Horse Thief ( (L) (1A) DmmArtìst Rock'nRollKids Da Taijian Lì Lianyng (A) The Blue Kite Steel is Made this Way 65 11) Bibliography Mimad, Aija.z. "Jameson' s Rhetoric of Otherness and the National Allegory" in ki Theory: Classes Nations. Literatures. London: Verso, 1992, p.95-122. 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