Tradition is always stuck in the past and modernization is always stuck in the future. People on the other hand are in the present which is situated between the two. Tradition and Modernization are both pulling them in opposite directions. The True Story of Ah Q deals with this tension as it existed in China in the early 1900’s. One example of this tension is a situation dealing with the haircut of Mr. Chien’s eldest son. Ah Q’s outrage towards the haircut of Mr. Chien’s eldest son conveys how strongly many Chinese people felt about tradition at that time and how that strong cling to tradition got on the way of modernizing China. Hairstyle has always been important to the Chinese. Han Chinese were supposed to never cut their hair. During the
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His mother tried to defend him by saying someone chopped off the ponytail while he was drunk because she was worried about his ability to become a Chinese official without having a …show more content…
It seems that the focus placed on the hairstyle is keeping China from modernizing. One can gather from the story that China is willing to accept foreign education, because Mr. Chien’s eldest son was allowed to go to a foreign school. On the other hand many people in China were not willing to accept foreign ideas and instead say the traditional way of doing something as the proper way to it. This kept the foreign influence that could help China modernize at a minimal. People would have rather died then embrace something that was not Chinese in origin. Also the hairstyle of a person was more important than their education. This can be seen by looking at the mother’s reaction to her son’s haircut. It did not matter how well educated he was, since he did not outwardly show that he accepted Chines tradition by having a ponytail, his chances of getting a job was hindered. Lu Xun seems to suggest the absurdity of having a society that is based on the importance of ritual practice instead of a people’s skills and intelligence. Lu Xun saw these rituals as getting in the way of Chinese progress. In the story Ah Q ends up getting hit on the head repeatedly for making fun of the hairstyle of Mr. Chien’s eldest son. Lu Xun is suggesting that if China continues to focus of rituals then it will do nothing but hurt them like it did Ah Q. He is asking China to look past
His mother tried to defend him by saying someone chopped off the ponytail while he was drunk because she was worried about his ability to become a Chinese official without having a …show more content…
It seems that the focus placed on the hairstyle is keeping China from modernizing. One can gather from the story that China is willing to accept foreign education, because Mr. Chien’s eldest son was allowed to go to a foreign school. On the other hand many people in China were not willing to accept foreign ideas and instead say the traditional way of doing something as the proper way to it. This kept the foreign influence that could help China modernize at a minimal. People would have rather died then embrace something that was not Chinese in origin. Also the hairstyle of a person was more important than their education. This can be seen by looking at the mother’s reaction to her son’s haircut. It did not matter how well educated he was, since he did not outwardly show that he accepted Chines tradition by having a ponytail, his chances of getting a job was hindered. Lu Xun seems to suggest the absurdity of having a society that is based on the importance of ritual practice instead of a people’s skills and intelligence. Lu Xun saw these rituals as getting in the way of Chinese progress. In the story Ah Q ends up getting hit on the head repeatedly for making fun of the hairstyle of Mr. Chien’s eldest son. Lu Xun is suggesting that if China continues to focus of rituals then it will do nothing but hurt them like it did Ah Q. He is asking China to look past