Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Goldflower and the Bear
Chiang Mi's Goldflower and the bear, published in 1979, is a revision of the traditional structure of the red riding hood story, incorporating a more modern viewpoint. In this version, the age old gender roles of the protective brother and demure sister are reversed. In order to survive, Goldflower must utilize her wit, and in the end, physical violence. The audience is unmistakably that of modern children, had the story been published in the Grimm's time the role of the daughter would have seemed inappropriate. The fairy tale is clearly attempting to impart a sense of self-reliance, independence, and strength to the child. Removed are the connotations of the predator as a male presence, instead the bear comes to represent a general threat, unattached to any symbol. While Goldflower makes the mistake of letting in the bear in the first place, instead of being punished the narrative has her take responsibility and deal with the issue herself. Further, all adult authorities are absent from the story and place much more of an emphasis on Goldflower's ability to trust herself and remain calm and in control.
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Have you ever heard of the story of Lon Po Po? Lon Po Po is an old Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood with several deviations from the European versions, but it is extremely similar to "Goldflower and the Bear." The details of the story match up almost perfectly, down to when the bear says, "I've got a cold" and "Please blow out the wick before letting me in." The only points where Lon Po Po deviates from the Goldflower and the Bear story is that Lon Po Po is a wolf and that instead of tempting the bear with pears, she tries to seduce the wolf to climb up the ginkgo tree, in which she and her siblings are hiding, by allowing her to pull the wolf up in a basket and then lets go of the basket when she had pulled the wolf up almost to the top of the tree.
ReplyDeleteI believe Chiang Mi is borrowing most of his story from this older Chinese fairy tale, Lon Po Po. The symbols that he uses, however, are symbolic of the Communist struggle in Asia. The bear symbolizes the U.S.S.R. and the rising red sun at the end of the stories symbolizes the tenacity of China and the rule of Mao Tsaiung. (The use of pears instead of ginkgo fruit may have significance, but I doubt it...) I also think he reuses the story of Lon Po Po to demonstrate that China still retains its old values, cleverness and resourcefulness, even when the shadow of U.S.S.R. threatens to impose its foreign ideals of socialism (which is pretty much the same thing as you said.)