Throughout the book The Question of Hu by Jonathan D. Spence the Chinese man John Hu often has his sanity called into question due to several episodes where his actions appeared insane to a European from this era. Although the question of his mental state is never fully answered by the author it is clear that Hu’s oddities stem from more than just cultural differences. Of course, no human deserves to be treated the way Hu was treated in the insane asylum in Charenton, but Father Jean-François Foucquet would have benefited from hiring a different Chinese local as his copyist. Before they even reached Europe, Foucquet began having concerns about Hu’s sanity. While sailing through the mid-Atlantic Ocean Hu told Foucquet that his mind is “filled …show more content…
Despite Commissaire Renault generously allowing Hu to stay in his own home, Hu proved to be a difficult houseguest. Hu refused to be around Renault’s housekeeper, likely because she was a woman (Spence 48). Although it may be customary in China to keep women in seclusion, a sane person should understand and accept the fact that customs are different in Europe. When it came to sleeping, Hu insisted on sleeping on the floor with the window open even as winter approached (Spence 48). Rather than fighting it, Hu should have embraced this opportunity to experience the different customs of this new …show more content…
Hu continued to ride it around town until the horse’s owner found him and scolded him. Unremorseful, he questioned why he could not ride it while no one else was using it (Spence 51). This incident, coupled with the fact that Hu had gotten very little work done up to this point, led Foucquet to start seriously questioning whether or not it was worth having Hu in France at all (Spence 52). It is very unlikely that riding a stranger’s horse without permission would be acceptable in China so why Hu would think this behavior is acceptable is a mystery other than the obvious reason being that Hu is not completely sane. By December, Foucquet and his European associates were completely convinced of Hu’s insanity. Now staying in the Bayneses home, Hu is just as terrible as he was in Renault’s home. His room was filthy, his furniture was rearranged, and he treated Mrs. Baynes and her daughter very poorly, even threatening to hit her daughter on one occasion (Spence 82). One night he dreamed that his mother had died and became inconsolable for days, refusing to believe that it was just a dream (Spence 82). In China, being a guest of someone’s home means being appreciative and good mannered, making Hu’s behavior completely
1. Schmitt’s purpose in writing this travel narrative, is to show the differences between the Chinese and American cultures, when it comes to many different things. Main examples in this narrative are; living under the same roof, loss of a loved one, and funeral etiquette. In the Chinese culture it is excepted to come into common areas in your under clothing. Where in America, this would not be appropriate at all. In most places in America, law enforcement would be called on some one outside of their living area in nothing but their underwear and shoes. The narrative shows the many differences in funeral etiquette. One such being, white floors being the
Four Chinese mothers have migrated to America. Each hope for their daughter’s success and pray that they will not experience the hardships faced in China. One mother, Suyuan, imparts her knowledge on her daughter through stories. The American culture influences her daughter, Jing Mei, to such a degree that it is hard for Jing Mei to understand her mother's culture and life lessons. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her
The piece describes what she envisioned her time in China would be like; visions of small talk and drinking tea danced in her head (Schmitt 125). This is a bit admirable to a more reserved person because it shows how outgoing she is when diving into a new culture. However, the reality of a language barrier and day to day behavior settled in. A series of uncomfortable exchanges illustrate the challenge of being accepted into a new culture. Described in the essay are people standing around in bath robes and under garments and popping in and out of rooms like some sort of clown
In the “Autobiography of a Chinese immigrant” written in 1903 by Lee Chew, dialogues about his point of view
What is Rex Huppke’s position on raising the minimum wage? How does his position differ from what we generally expect of authors when they take a stand on an issue?
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, portrays two themes. First, the text refers to Hmong history and the destabilization of the region of Vietnam forcing Hmong refugees to migrate to other parts of the world but mostly the United States. Within the text is another story of a Hmong refugee family and their daughter named Lia Lee who settle in Merced California. Lia is tormented by a misfortunate diagnosis of epilepsy and faced by cultural inequality by her American doctors. Health care providers wrote Lia Lee off as a complex patient with severe communication barriers. Almost all of her admission notes contained the phrase” language barrier” (Fadiman, 2012). As she bounced back and forth between healthcare providers within the Emergency Room and pediatric visits, her doctor, Neil Ernst concurs that her parents are responsible for the communication barrier and non-compliance with prescribed treatment. Dr. Ernst deemed this as neglect and had Lia placed in a foster home but after being separated from the only people she knew, her conditioned rapidly deteriorated. Her seizures progressed in intensity and duration until one
Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing to the early 20th century, many Chinese families struggled to gain social, economic, and educational stature in both China and the United States. In the book, A Transnational History of a Chinese Family, by Haiming Liu, we learn about the Chang family rooted in Kaiping County, China, who unlike many typical Chinese families’ exemplified hard-work and strong cultural values allowing them to pursue an exceptional Chinese-American lifestyle. Even with immigration laws preventing Chinese laborers and citizens to enter unless maintaining merchant status, Yitang and Sam Chang managed to sponsor approximately 40 relatives to the states with their businesses in herbalist
Jonathan Spence’s novel The Question of Hu covers mid-eighteenth century travels from China to the western world of a Jesuit missionary, Father Jean-Francois Foucquet, and a Chinese scribe, John Hu. The interactions that occur consist of the cultural differences between Chinese and European customs. Hu’s personality becomes a large question Spence raises not only with the title but also throughout the story when Spence talks about Hu’s way of thinking. John Hu’s personality is described by both Father Jean-Francois Foucquet and the narrator as being both insane and oppressed, respectively. The reader is led to have a sympathetic view of Hu, even though the narrator does not come out and explain exactly how the reader should feel,
The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.
You will submit a 2–3 page double-spaced paper which should include a cover sheet and references page where you cite the article and the Code of Ethics. These are the only two sources you will need for this Assignment. If you choose to use additional sources, you will need to cite them as well.
THESIS - When evaluating Arnold “Junior” Spirit from Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Jin Wang from Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, similarities radiate in both characters as their disparity in race deem the two of them as outcasts in the entirety of society. In addition to their lack of social interactions, their uniformity in their impulsive decisions cost them each a dear friend. Although Junior and Jin are quite similar, they share differences in the way Junior tries bettering himself by fitting into both his Indian and Reardan culture whereas Jin changes himself in every possible way to become Americanized.
Lia Lee was a Hmong infant born with epilepsy. Lia’s parents were immigrants to a Western nation. However, the parents held tightly onto traditional beliefs from their native country. The incongruent belief structure of the East and West created difficulty when the two systems collided in an effort to care for Lia Lee. Specifically, when the drug therapy prescribed for Lia Lee was not followed by her parents. Subsequently the child’s medical team contacted child services, which lead to Lia’s removal from her family. The result of the cultural misunderstanding was fragmented family. In addition to fueling the distrust of the western healthcare system by an already marginalized community.
In order to better understand the criticism against these Chinese writers, we must first understand what is meant by orientalist thinking or orientalism for that matter. One of the authorities on the subject, Edward Said explains the term "Orientalism" and tackles the question of East and
John Pomfret began his story Chinese Lessons as a third year Stanford student that felt extremely optimistic about gaining the opportunity to benefit from American political efforts to create friendly relations with China. He begins in 1979; here the author takes the reader through the immense difficulties associated with Americans studying abroad on Chinese soil. He describes his first interaction with Cao Guisheng, a Chinese spy (unknown at the time), working as a Chinese Diplomat. With his help, John was then permitted to study the Chinese language at Beijing languages Institute. After the author developed tedious study habits, he applied for Nanjing University, a school that allowed foreigners to
He claims himself as a businessman, not a poet. “I am just a businessman, not a poet. It is the poet who is supposed to see things so clearly to remember.” (29) The businessman does not meticulous as the poet but Unlike poetry, being businessman has to be straightforward and supposes to see a whole picture not as details-orient as poetry does. He states that he feels uncomfortable with Mr. Hương, Mr. Chinh’s cousin, because Mr. Hương expresses extreme Vietnamese cultures. “Huong struck me as being of this tradition — as surely his father must, too, for this is how an otherwise practical people learns an attitude such as this.” (33-34). He feels uncomfortable when Mr. Hương expresses the custom Vietnamese manners and does not say indirectly truth when Khánh’s ask what happens with Mr.