Clouded Vision

Red& Three blood spots in the Headman's eye

"The headman held the violin upright and peered into the black interior of the body, like an officious customs officer searching for drugs (3)."

"Raising the violin to eye level, he shook it, as though convinced something would drop out of the sound holes (3)."


Sijie uses the symbols of Red and Three blood spots in the Headman's eyes do demonstrate a lack of intellectual liberty. The Blood spots in the headman's eyes represent the headman being blinded by communism. Because of the ideas of communism, he cannot see the Violin as a harmless instrument, rather he was so convinced that the violin was dangerous and a threat to communism. This resulted in him searching the violin like a"Officious customs officer searching for drugs". This shows that the Headman was lacking intellectual liberty because of what the cultural revolution had taught him, which was to treat anything that was not related to communism as a threat even if it was clearly harmless.

Wave after wave

Wave after wave

"When he began to sing the wrinkles billowed out, forming little waves that rippled across his tanned and gleaming body." (Sijie 75)

"Every now and then it disappeared into a roll of skin, but just as it seemed lost forever in the tidal flow it re-emerged, dignified and prime." (Sieje 75)

When Sijie describes the Old Storytellers stomach as waves, that always re-emerged I believe he was trying to capture the spirits of the Old Storyteller, Luo, and the narrator. The Old Storyteller has clearly been around for quite a while, and the never ending waves of his stomach represent the never ending waves of his spirit and happiness. Luo and the narrator have both been through so much because of the re-education, and when there spirits and true happiness seem to be fading, they always find a way to make sure neither of those things cease to exist. 

Unlocking your Inner Knowledge

"I rubbed the nail against a rock until it became too hot to handle, after which I wiped it on my mud-encrusted trousers, and polished it vigorously until the metal shone like new. When I held it up for inspection it sparkled so brightly I thought I could see my eyes and the late summer sky reflected in it" (91).

"Luo took the rusty nail now transformed into a master-key and moistened it between his lips. The key slid noiselessly into place, turned to the left, then the right, left again and a fraction the other way... there was a dry metallic click, and the copper padlock yielded at last" (98).

KEY ANALYSIS: This quote represents the “key” to the boy’s intellectual liberty, because Luo and the Narrator are creating this key as path to getting their desired books. Their key, which unlocks the padlock, represents the nation’s close mindedness and restrictions of foreign literature, and so by unlocking Four Eye’s door (the symbol of forbidden literature), they are opening themselves up to gain unlimited access to all of these Western classics. In the boy's eyes, when the key “sparkled so brightly,” it corresponds to how they view these Western books; a beacon of light for freedom.

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"'What is it with you two, always going for stuff that's forbidden?'

'Don't exaggerate,' Luo said.

'You think I'm exaggerating? You want me to show this to the commune authorities? Your old miller would be accused of spreading erotic material. He might even go to prison. I'm serious'" (77).

“‘How could you waste all that precious time writing down this drivel? I can’t believe it. Do you seriously think an official journal would even consider publishing this shit? That they’d give me a job on the strength of this? You must be out of your minds’” (77).

FOLK SONG ANALYSIS: These two quotes summarize Four Eye’s lack of intellectual liberty, as he feels that the Old man’s folk song is essentially garbage, and forbidden. His fear of publishing this song reveals the little range of freedom he believes he has. This lack of intellectual freedom is a response to the Old man’s authentic, playful mountain song, which is a symbol of freedom of expression. The “forbidden” aspect that Four Eyes is talking about correlates to China at the time, and how they felt about songs in general. Songs symbolize expression and emotion, and aren’t always used for propaganda purposes, like Four Eyes hoped. This song in particular, expressed humor, innocence, and the open  essence of country life, and Four Eye’s backlash to the old man’s song shows the intolerance of intellectual freedom present in China at the time.

Chains

Symbolism is present throughout the story in the form of two objects: the suitcase and movies. Both objects show the extent to which intellectual liberty was limited during the time of the Cultural revolution. 

Dai SiJie uses movies to show the propaganda during the Cultural Revolution. The movies show how conformed to Mao’s propaganda,  the intellect of the population were during the Cultural Revolution. Dai SiJie writes, “There were still showing the old North Korean Film The Little Flower Girl, which had moved the four sorceresses in the Little Seamstress’ house to tears (81).” By using the word ‘still’ the author portrays how limited the scope of movies they played in public theatres. The government had ready control over public media and was able to maintain control over the people using specifically controlled movie propaganda. The narrator further details, “By now we had seen three films at the basketball court in Yong Jing. By far the most popular was North Korean melodrama with a heroine called “the Flower Girl”(35). The fact that they have only seen three movies, throughout this extended period, displays the control that the government has over lives of its people. All of the movies contain content which either supports or agrees with Mao’s vision. These two quotes shows the limiting nature of China through the propaganda films. 

The suitcase is symbolizing the locking up of knowledge from western society held in the books, which goes against the popular consensus. Dai SiJie writes, “It was only after an hour’s headlong flight along the mountain path that we finally dared stop.  Luo opened the suitcase. On top of the neatly stacked books lay the buffalo tail: black, with a tufted end, and stained with dark blood”(105). As Luo and the narrator open the books, they were able to freely receive knowledge and information which was banned under the Mao’s regime. Symbolically breaking the chains that held them away from the riches and knowledge trapped inside the suitcase. This idea is further continued as the narrator suggests, “ We’ll help you carry your hod to the rice station, and when we get back you can lend us some of those books you’ve got hidden in your suitcase. How’s that for a deal”(54). This quote shows the extent to which people would go to obtain knowledge. It also further shows the extent to which someone would go to protect their new founded intellect from others.