酷我-北美枫

[ericcoliu]

Chairman Chiang’s Smile


Six decades ago, there was a civil war in China. The ruling Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party) was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party. Chairman Chiang Kai-shek led his defeated troops and retreated to Taiwan as a strategic move to recover his forces and then retake mainland China in, what was hoped, a short time. My father was a first lieutenant in Chiang’s military troops, and, like the majority of mainland Chinese in Taiwan, shared with him this same illusion.

When I started elementary school, my father thought that I was old enough to learn something essential about being a good soldier: don’t ask anything and just obey orders. One day, my father tried several times to teach me how to salute, but I just couldn’t get my hand straight enough. He got frustrated and angry, and then ordered me to stand in front of a portrait of Chairman Chiang while shouting at me, “Stand straight and still until our Chairman is satisfied and smiles; or else you must apologize to him for failing to salute properly. Then you can go.”

I stood in front of Chairman Chiang’s portrait for almost half a day, but he wouldn't smile at or for me. Finally, I couldn’t bear it any longer and in my exhaustion fell to the floor and into unconsciousness. Later, when I woke up and opened my eyes, I saw Chairman Chiang smiling nervously at me, his eyes brimming with tears, and saying, “Son, You’re a good soldier.”
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Chairman Chiang’s Smile


Six decades ago, there was a civil war in China. The ruling Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party) was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party. Chairman Chiang Kai-shek led his defeated troops and retreated to Taiwan as a strategic move to recover his forces and then retake mainland China in, what was hoped, a short time. My father was a first lieutenant in Chiang’s military troops, and, like the majority of mainland Chinese in Taiwan, shared with him this same illusion.

When I started elementary school, my father thought that I was old enough to learn something essential about being a good soldier: don’t ask anything and just obey orders. One day, my father tried several times to teach me how to salute, but I just couldn’t get my hand straight enough. He got frustrated and angry, and then ordered me to stand in front of a portrait of Chairman Chiang while shouting at me, “Stand straight and still until our Chairman is satisfied and smiles; or else you must apologize to him for failing to salute properly. Then you can go.”

I stood in front of Chairman Chiang’s portrait for almost half a day, but he wouldn't smile at or for me. Finally, I couldn’t bear it any longer and in my exhaustion fell to the floor and into unconsciousness. Later, when I woke up and opened my eyes, I saw Chairman Chiang smiling nervously at me, his eyes brimming with tears, and saying, “Son, You’re a good soldier.”
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[不清]

The ending is nice. Was Chairman Chiang smiling at you in your dream? Or was he there besides you in person, because of his relationship with your father...... 耐人尋味!
_________________
「四十二排浪，沒有一排是相似的」——不清

博客：
http://42waves.tumblr.com

[[不清]]

The ending is nice. Was Chairman Chiang smiling at you in your dream? Or was he there besides you in person, because of his relationship with your father...... 耐人尋味!
_________________
「四十二排浪，沒有一排是相似的」——不清

博客：
http://42waves.tumblr.com

[ericcoliu]

Thanks for your comment.

In addition to your possible readings of the ending, there could be many interpretations, one of which is the narrator's mistaking his father for Chairman Chiang. It’s left to its reader.

According to Roland Barthes' conception of "the death of the author", the author has no authority over what readers are reading the text "properly" as the author would have had them read it.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Thanks for your comment.

In addition to your possible readings of the ending, there could be many interpretations, one of which is the narrator's mistaking his father for Chairman Chiang. It’s left to its reader.

According to Roland Barthes' conception of "the death of the author", the author has no authority over what readers are reading the text "properly" as the author would have had them read it.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[不清]

Oh yes, I agree with Roland's comment. This applies not only to literature, but to other art media. When a piece of work is published, it belongs to the public. The author, or artist, or poet's own motive is merely a reference. Ultimately it is the general public, or in most cases, the critics' job to interpret the meaning of the work.

In my own opinion, if a work needs too much explaination from the creator, this work is not good most of the time.
_________________
「四十二排浪，沒有一排是相似的」——不清

博客：
http://42waves.tumblr.com

[[不清]]

Oh yes, I agree with Roland's comment. This applies not only to literature, but to other art media. When a piece of work is published, it belongs to the public. The author, or artist, or poet's own motive is merely a reference. Ultimately it is the general public, or in most cases, the critics' job to interpret the meaning of the work.

In my own opinion, if a work needs too much explaination from the creator, this work is not good most of the time.
_________________
「四十二排浪，沒有一排是相似的」——不清

博客：
http://42waves.tumblr.com

[anna]

Eric,

You are a good soldier. I agree. You stand for yourself in your faith.

I believe this should be spirits for a good soldier.
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[[星子安娜]]

Eric,

You are a good soldier. I agree. You stand for yourself in your faith.

I believe this should be spirits for a good soldier.
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[ericcoliu]

Anna,

Thank you for your encouragement.

Have you seen Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory? In this mesmerizing film which exposes the futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI, war is viewed in terms of power relationships and class differences. Colonel Dax portrayed in the film is a real soldier who stands for his principles against a glory-seeking general. Below is one of most memorable quotes from Paths of Glory:


General Broulard: Colonel Dax! You will apologize at once or I shall have you placed under arrest!
Colonel Dax: I apologize... for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!


Or have you read Ha Jin's War Trash? Ha Jin brings to life a Chinese soldier who must find his strength to survive as one of the war trash left behind after the fighting in Korea (understandably, there are at least two versions of the storytelling of the Korean War across the Taiwan Strait) . War Trash, sadly, is a true embodiment of the cannon-fodder theory of war, a theory that soldiers are merely pawns in the hands of generals.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Anna,

Thank you for your encouragement.

Have you seen Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory? In this mesmerizing film which exposes the futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI, war is viewed in terms of power relationships and class differences. Colonel Dax portrayed in the film is a real soldier who stands for his principles against a glory-seeking general. Below is one of most memorable quotes from Paths of Glory:


General Broulard: Colonel Dax! You will apologize at once or I shall have you placed under arrest!
Colonel Dax: I apologize... for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!


Or have you read Ha Jin's War Trash? Ha Jin brings to life a Chinese soldier who must find his strength to survive as one of the war trash left behind after the fighting in Korea (understandably, there are at least two versions of the storytelling of the Korean War across the Taiwan Strait) . War Trash, sadly, is a true embodiment of the cannon-fodder theory of war, a theory that soldiers are merely pawns in the hands of generals.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[anna]

Eric, I agree war is generals' glory-seeking games...
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[[星子安娜]]

Eric, I agree war is generals' glory-seeking games...
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[ericcoliu]

I've revised my piece greatly and made it more succinct.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

I've revised my piece greatly and made it more succinct.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[clair]

[[clair]]

[dundas]

[[dundas]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]