Introduction to Modern China: the gender relationships of "Raise the Red Lantern" in the context of the Chinese politics, culture and society, associated with its particular historical period

Résumé du document

Raise the Red Lantern (Dà Hóng D?nglóng G?og?o Guà) was directed by Zhang Yimou in 1991, but it was adapted from a novel written in 1990 by Su Tong. The title of the novel was Wives and Concubines, which tells us probably more about the subject of Raise the Red Lantern. As a matter of fact Zhang Yimou's film depicts mainly the female characters. At the center of the film is Songlian who marries a rich man in order to please her stepmother. She becomes the fourth "Mistress? of her husband, and she discovers the home of the Chen family throughout the film. The film mainly explores the relationships between the Four Mistresses, and their constant struggle against each other to win the favour of their husband.

Extraits

[...] Introduction to Modern China: the gender relationships of “Raise the Red Lantern” in the context of the Chinese politics, culture and society, associated with its particular historical period Raise the Red Lantern (Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo Guà) was directed by Zhang Yimou in 1991, but it was adapted from a novel written in 1990 by Su Tong. The title of the novel was Wives and Concubines, which tells us probably more about the subject of Raise the Red Lantern. As a matter of fact Zhang Yimou's film depicts mainly female characters. [...]

[...] Eventually, Raise the Red Lantern is therefore undeniably a good portrait of the Chinese society of the 1920's and 1930's. To conclude we should bear in mind that it was also definitely an artistic success. Raise the Red Lantern won the famous Silver Lion in the 1991 Venice International Film Festival, and it was widely acknowledged that the film was visually powerful, because of its beautiful use of color and its careful mise en scène. That is what the critic Roger Ebert expressed when he wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Raise the Red Lantern exists solely for the eyes. [...]

[...] So the westernization of China included also the development of schooling for girls, and other measures that intended to transform the Chinese society. The target was to make gender relationships more balanced in this society. But in the period, these attempts of reforms also started many conflicts between the Chinese people who supported Confucianism and the Chinese reformers who, with the help foreigners (missionaries supported more equal relationships between men and women. That is why the westernization of China was not very successful, and it explains why the society described in Raise the Red Lantern is still so feudal. [...]

[...] Nevertheless Zhang Yimou's analysis of the Chinese culture should not be ignored in this film. Actually the absence of any precise historical and spatial context is telling. It establishes the depiction of the Chinese household as one of the major goals of the film, and it throws light upon its most fundamental features and values. As a result this essay will not only intend to depict the Chen family that is at the centre of the film. We will also deal with what this specific household tells us more generally about the Chinese society itself, above all as regards the Chinese traditional family. [...]

[...] But more importantly, it shows us here how this respect of the ancestors and their rules used to prevent the Chinese beliefs and values from changing. As a matter of fact, in the 1920's and 1930's, China was still a rather feudal country. It appears clearly in the relationships between the people of the Chen household, and especially from the point of view of gender relationships. Furthermore the worship of ancestors was consistent with the respect of the father. It was expressed in the Chinese adage that said: “Animals know their mother and not their father. [...]