Modern Chinese Literature

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Modern Chinese Literature
In Yenan, Ding Ling defended her literary independence and exposed problems in communistic
society leading itself to a conflict with the Party authorities. The story "When I was in Xia village”
represents the injustice made against the young peasant who was condemned by her neighboring
villagers after serving as the prostitute and the spy in the back of the opponent. In the 1940s, Ding
Ling was scarified in Yenan for her story When I was in Xia village.
It is necessary to mention that it was the system of the Communist party of those times and, as
we know, it had its own ideology and views on literature and art. After Ding Ling's integration into
communist party, she continued to write and perform disputable works. One of them was When I was
in Xia village. This history showed the backwardness of masses in Yenan operated by communists
instead of the idea of a positive picture of the peasant, and thus violated the decree issued by the
Party to create an integrated front with peasants.
Despite this fact, Ding Ling made big efforts to accept the objective style of the writing
demanded by the Party in the story. In my opinion, Ding Ling, actually, did not want to criticize over
the literature she had been working on for a long time. The criticism was rather a role of communists,
its companions and party members. Ding Ling was the person who had independent character and
independent ideas of art, thus, she was some kind of contradiction to the ideology of the Party.
So, what was the story about? When I was in Xia village represents a life story of the country
girl and her friendship with the storyteller. In this novel, the storyteller is the official of communistic
army representing the authority of culture, and she goes to Xia village for recovering. There she 
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meets the rural girl with the name of Zhenzhen with whom she develops a friendship. Raped and
stolen by Japanese army during the attack on the village, Zhenzhen have become the secret agent for
the communistic government, collecting Japanese military information and transferring it to the
Communists. When she comes home after the absence for one year with an illness that is sexually
transmitted, people in her community welcomed her with contempt and hostility. However,
Zhenzhen appears as the true heroine despite all the obstacles. She stoically had taken out the
restrictions of her family and romantic love. Finally, she decides to disobey the wishes of the family
of marrying her former beloved man and leaves to look for an absolute recovery from her illness and
for education. On a monologue of the decision of Zhenzhen, the comment of the storyteller was like
this, "I was struck. Something new comes from her" ("When I was in Xia village 315).
The girl by the name of Zhenzhen, who as it was known, provocatively rejected the arranged
marriage, after the Japanese intruded in her village and raped her. To revenge herself, Zhenzhen
secretly subscribes for communistic anti-aggressor mission which demands her spying for Japanese
army, serving as the prostitute. When the history reveals, Zhenzhen came back from front lines to
heal her disease which she had gained, "serving" to Japan and, to that degree, China. This situation,
however, causes more contempt, than sympathy of her neighboring villagers.
Zhenzhen's rape embodies the fear which any woman in China could have been put through the
wartime; her task as the prostitute spy illustrates full patriotism. But Ding Ling has her villagers
mainly unaware of the mission, so they think of her differently. For these villagers, the girl such as
Zhenzhen who threw down a challenge to the arranged marriage and then did not protect her
virginity is already enough disgusting. In addition, Zhenzhen suffers obediently; her venereal disease
became a physical symbol of her patriotic spirit and her unjustified shame.
Feministic critics claimed strongly that Zhenzhen's history indicates as much cruelty of
Japanese aggressors as roughness of the Chinese forces of defense. Zhenzhen's history is based on
the paradox that she can receive self-respect only through deliberate self-energy. For its patriotic 
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contribution, she was rewarded by the most offensive of diseases. It can be added one more point.
Zhenzhen joins confidential mission, allegedly, at the requirement of the Communistic integrated
front. In case if the group of Chinese would be revealed, at first, her own body had to be taken and
destroyed by enemies.
But more surprising fact is that besides all physical illness which torments her and makes her
suffer, Zhenzhen is shown in the story as quite perfectly looking person. The storyteller expressed,
"There was no symptom directed outside of her illness. Her complexion had been ruddy. Her voice
had been clear. She didn't show prohibition or roughness si