Scholars debate why wars begin, end, and the reasons why the vicious cycle is one of the only constants in history. It is well known that war never changes, but what can be done to make a nation change? In an excerpt from Liu E’s The Travels of Lao Can, a humble, traveling doctor - Lao Can - attempts to right injustices against innocent citizens of the nation, promote modernism and spirituality through his position of prestige amongst the elite. In this excerpt, he has encounters with Wang, an everyday businessmen, Lao Dong, the owner of the inn where he stayed, and Shen Dongzao, a local magistrate. Lao Can himself, birds and cages, and the weather all serve as symbols to promote the author’s argument of a solution to long-reigning political
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In extremes, weather can even be as restrictive as to inhibit normal functioning. The weather is described often throughout this excerpt and as the chapters progress, it becomes an ever-increasing force. It symbolizes the cycle in which the morality of China rises and decays throughout this time period. After Lao Can chats with Lao Dong about his conversation in the small shop about Prefect Yu, he realizes the injustices that the nation is facing due to the corruptive figures that were granted power. Soon after, the weather begins to grow colder and colder until soon, “the chilling wind seemed to reach every corner of the room, making it desolate and eerie” (607). After a walk turns into another discovery of injustice, he begins to formulate a letter to the Governor, telling of all the events that he had recently heard of. The bitter cold inhibits his ability to continue the letter - freezing the ink, brush, and, again, the ink continuously. Lao Can is finally kept busy by this, displaying a battle between the symbols of spirituality and the cycle in which the nation currently exists in. This suggests that political corruption exists due to a widespread lack of spirituality and that the nation is failing to acknowledge this prolonged …show more content…
A doctor free from official political involvement, Lao Can faces political fragmentation, armed with only his morality and the social responsibility he places upon himself. Lao Can is described to wear “garments of an immortal” (607) as his gown floats amidst the dull wind. The author consistently elaborates upon Lao Can being stricken with “nothing to do” (606) but when the cold weather attempts to freeze his words from being written, this battle between spirituality and the cold weather (which symbolizes the downward portion of the cycle of rise and decay within the nation) allows him to finally be “kept busy in this way” (609). His consistent boredom is comparable with spirituality in the nation being not well accompanied in respect of the general population. He is finally confronted with the harsh cold which allows him to fight to free his voice. Lao Can is a symbol of spirituality, shown through his unraveling of injustice throughout the excerpt, his juxtaposition against the magistrate - Shen Dongzao - toward the end of chapter six, and through the author’s comparison of his activity level to the symbol used for the cycle of moral rise and
In extremes, weather can even be as restrictive as to inhibit normal functioning. The weather is described often throughout this excerpt and as the chapters progress, it becomes an ever-increasing force. It symbolizes the cycle in which the morality of China rises and decays throughout this time period. After Lao Can chats with Lao Dong about his conversation in the small shop about Prefect Yu, he realizes the injustices that the nation is facing due to the corruptive figures that were granted power. Soon after, the weather begins to grow colder and colder until soon, “the chilling wind seemed to reach every corner of the room, making it desolate and eerie” (607). After a walk turns into another discovery of injustice, he begins to formulate a letter to the Governor, telling of all the events that he had recently heard of. The bitter cold inhibits his ability to continue the letter - freezing the ink, brush, and, again, the ink continuously. Lao Can is finally kept busy by this, displaying a battle between the symbols of spirituality and the cycle in which the nation currently exists in. This suggests that political corruption exists due to a widespread lack of spirituality and that the nation is failing to acknowledge this prolonged …show more content…
A doctor free from official political involvement, Lao Can faces political fragmentation, armed with only his morality and the social responsibility he places upon himself. Lao Can is described to wear “garments of an immortal” (607) as his gown floats amidst the dull wind. The author consistently elaborates upon Lao Can being stricken with “nothing to do” (606) but when the cold weather attempts to freeze his words from being written, this battle between spirituality and the cold weather (which symbolizes the downward portion of the cycle of rise and decay within the nation) allows him to finally be “kept busy in this way” (609). His consistent boredom is comparable with spirituality in the nation being not well accompanied in respect of the general population. He is finally confronted with the harsh cold which allows him to fight to free his voice. Lao Can is a symbol of spirituality, shown through his unraveling of injustice throughout the excerpt, his juxtaposition against the magistrate - Shen Dongzao - toward the end of chapter six, and through the author’s comparison of his activity level to the symbol used for the cycle of moral rise and