According to Chinese culture, the forces that determine order are yin and yang. The basis of this concept is that everything has its opposite which maintains balance. One of the most well-known yin and yang pairings is life and death. Yu Hua, in the novel To Live, recognizes this relationship and integrates the concept into the plot in order to influence the characters. This includes life and death constantly checking each other by taking the character’s lives, and the price one has to pay to keep stability. Also, the character Fugui is significant example of the delicate balance as he lives life and sees death around him.
Out of all the powers of balance, there is a thin barrier between life and death, which causes people to quickly cross …show more content…
Despite tough living conditions and experiences he lives to an age that suggests shock and surprise from others since they could not “have guessed.” The author creates this strange phenomena to illustrate imbalance. During this time period, few live to his age and remain healthy. It is even more impressive considering that life expectancy at the beginning of the book was at an all-time low historically. These points all suggest an uneven shift in the author’s balance. Although, Fugui does suffer from hardships like the other characters, he appears to never pay the price of death. This longevity, seemingly unexplained, is a part of the author’s purpose which is balancing the enormity of death in the story. It is explained eloquently that “if you escape a calamity with your life, there is bound to be good fortune to follow” (85). The character Fugui faces many calamities concerning family, wealth, and friends. Yet there are moments of pure happiness, or “fortune,” in between which seem to counter the bad effects. Events in the book continue in this pattern which is set by Hua. This establishes the plot of the novel, and the extent of its influence on
Out of all the powers of balance, there is a thin barrier between life and death, which causes people to quickly cross …show more content…
Despite tough living conditions and experiences he lives to an age that suggests shock and surprise from others since they could not “have guessed.” The author creates this strange phenomena to illustrate imbalance. During this time period, few live to his age and remain healthy. It is even more impressive considering that life expectancy at the beginning of the book was at an all-time low historically. These points all suggest an uneven shift in the author’s balance. Although, Fugui does suffer from hardships like the other characters, he appears to never pay the price of death. This longevity, seemingly unexplained, is a part of the author’s purpose which is balancing the enormity of death in the story. It is explained eloquently that “if you escape a calamity with your life, there is bound to be good fortune to follow” (85). The character Fugui faces many calamities concerning family, wealth, and friends. Yet there are moments of pure happiness, or “fortune,” in between which seem to counter the bad effects. Events in the book continue in this pattern which is set by Hua. This establishes the plot of the novel, and the extent of its influence on