English A: Literature

Part 1: Works in Translation
Reflective Statement and Written Assignment

How does the ‘journey’ in ‘Head for Winter’, reflect Bei Dao’s experience of transition and change in Mao’s China?

Reflective Statement

Bei Dao’s work was greatly influenced by the conditions in which he was living, as well as his experiences. He was only seventeen years of age during the Cultural Revolution. He later joined the Red Guard and he was required to remove all banned books in China from library shelves, as this was an order from the Communist leader at the time, Mao. The power of the government can be witnessed, as the public is controlled of the literature they are allowed to legally read. The Cultural Revolution aimed to destroy the Western influences in the country and enhance the Chinese traditional values. Bei Dao wrote with a group called the ‘misty poets’, which were a group of people whom wrote poetry with political undertones. In many of Dao’s poems, he reveals the strength of the political regime, for example in ‘Head for Winter’, the first stanza refers to Mao as the “sun”, or the leader, and the “wind”, the freedom of the society, is being blown towards it, suggesting that Mao is capturing their individuality.

There are references to economic growth in poems such as ‘Don’t Ask Our Ages’, where Bei Dao describes the precipice as “concrete” and there is also mention of “electrical wires”, suggesting that there is availability of man-made resources. Although there was economic development in China, the people were not allowed to develop emotionally, an example is seen in Bei Dao’s ‘An End or a Beginning’, “here I stand replacing another, who has been murdered”. The murder was not only physical but also emotional, such as people’s freedom and hope. Murder implies the killing of something that is not your own, suggesting that the government is the murderer.

In ‘Head for Winter’, Bei Dao wrote about the cosmetic and superficial world, that is China, implying that society is hidden from the truth. This has led me to wonder whether living in a society such as Hong Kong, where unlike China, there is more government transparency, and people are entitled to their own opinions, are we also kept away from the truth? I am beginning to ponder whether the news media society watches is valid, or just told to us because it is what we are supposed to believe.

Bei Dao served his home country, China, as a young member of the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, however amid his experience in the army, he envisaged reality, which may have been the underlying reason that initiated his writing. In the poem ‘Head for Winter’, Dao uses ironic features to explore the transition from a familiar world into a future of uncertainties. His personal experiences could be reflected in the poem, and could act as a guide to the victims of Mao’s suppression away from the unstable nation, and also may further be implied as a warning to society that their journey to escape the superficial world could lead to a harsh future.

The first stanza depicts a sudden transformation in civilization, which negatively impacts society, thus igniting a personal compulsion to liberate themselves from their own home. Bei Dao’s use of oxymoron to describe the “wind” (Bei Dao, 1990, p.81; subsequent citations refer to this edition and appear in the text) as being “blown away towards the setting sun” (p.81) creates an effigy, where the “wind” (p.81) has forcefully been pushed into a certain direction. The “wind” (p.81) could connote the freedom of the people, whom similarly, lack control of their own will and opinions and have been urged towards the “setting sun” (p.81). As the sun is something that illuminates, especially during the day, it signifies the knowledge of the truth. Thus, the metaphor of the “setting sun” (p.81) describes when light begins to dull, symbolizing obscurity of the truth, and when the day comes to an end, further interpreted as finality, suggesting that the ending is irreversible. Therefore, if one were to take on this journey away from the artificial world, there would be no return. Bei Dao uses biblical allusions for further interpretations of the “setting sun”(p.81) and references to Micah 3:6, which suggests that China may succeed temporarily, however this success could lead society to loose sight of reality and people’s minds could consequently become enslaved or confined. (Adam Clarke, ND.) “Sun” (p.81) may also connote a leader, thus creating reference to Mao, the communist leader of China. Furthermore, the Bible signifies the “setting of the sun” as “evil and treachery” and also symbolizes the last time of Church. (E. Swedenborg, ND.) Dao uses biblical allusions to characterize Mao and his inhumanity due to the iniquity of his actions and the banishment of religion within the nation. Thus, the connotations of “wind” (p.81) and “setting sun” (p.81) may be interpreted as people’s freedom and thoughts being captured and obscured from the truth as a result of Mao’s actions.

Dao portrays society as “sparrows” (p.81) because they are perceived as resilient birds that can nest anywhere. Sparrows are also very common bird species, implying that people within society are indifferent from one another, neglecting individualism. In the 1950’s, China witnessed a war against sparrows, because the birds would feed on the country’s rice crops, thus, Mao interrupted the natural causes of the ecosystem and resulted to killing them. As a consequence, the people suffered from a two-year famine. This foreshadows the profusion of harsh repercussions as a result of Mao’s irrational actions. Society’s determination to “head for winter” (p.81) is portrayed through their acknowledgment that it will be their “last remaining warmth” (p.81) and the future ahead is uncertain, where they are not assured a protected environment, yet they are prepared to sacrifice the little hope and “warmth”(p.81) they could embrace in their country and begin their transition from a harsh, yet familiar, world to the world of “winter” (p.81).

The connotation of the word “winter”(p.81) is generally negative, suggesting that the conditions are harsh and uncomfortable. This mirrors the sensations of death, which is cold and painful. Birds usually migrate towards warmth, however in the poem, Bei Dao implies that society, illustrated as “sparrows”(p.81) defy their natural instinct and migrate away from the “sun”(p.81), which replicates society’s choice to flee away from predicted circumstances to a possibly agonizing world. Dao reveals the power of the regime through people’s eagerness to flee the country, regardless the risks ahead, and escape the oppression of Mao. Also, the repetition of the imperative, “head for winter”(p.81) in the first line of each stanza may seem to suggest that Bei Dao is advising society that it is a wise decision to move forward for the betterment of living standards, regardless the unpredictability of the future.

Appendix

Head for Winter
The wind has blown away towards the setting sun the sparrow’s last remaining warmth

Head for winter we weren’t born for the sake of a sacred prophecy, let’s go past the arched doorway formed by humpbacked old men leaving the key behind past the main hall where ghost shadows flicker leaving the nightmare behind leaving all our superfluous things behind we lack for nothing sell off even our clothes and shoes and our last rations leaving our jingling change behind

Head for winter singing a song no blessings, no prayers we will never go back to decorate the painted green leaves in a season that has lost its enchantment fruit that cannot make wine won’t turn into vinegar either roll a cigarette out of newspaper and let the black cloud faithful as a dog close at our heels as a dog wipe away all the lies under the sun

Head for winter and don’t sink into green dissipation, at ease everywhere don’t repeat the incantation of thunder and lightning letting ellipses in thinking become streams of raindrops

or walk down the street like a prisoner under noon’s supervision ruthlessly stepping on our shadows or hide behind a curtain to recite with a stammer the words of the dead performing the wild joy if the tyrannized

Head for winter in a land where rivers are frozen roads begin to flow on the cobblestones along the river shore crows hatch out a series of moons whoever awakens will know a dream shall befall the earth precipitating as cold morning frost replacing the exhausted stars the time of evil shall come to an end and icebergs in uninterrupted succession become generation’s statues

Bibliography

Bei Dao, 1990, The August Sleepwalker, (Translated by Bonnie S. McDougall), Anvil Press Poetry Ltd., London.

Online Sources:

Adam Clarke, ND. ‘Commentary on the Bible’:referncing, not plagiarism.
Retrieved Sunday 17th June, 2012, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/clarke/mic003.htm E. Swedenborg, ND. ‘Spiritual Meaning of Setting Sun’: referencing, not plagiarism. Retrieved Thursday 31st May, 2012, from http://biblemeanings.info/Words/Time/Setting_Sun.htm S. Ratiner, 2008. ‘Reclaiming the World: A Conversation with Bei Dao’: referencing, not plagiarism.
Retrieved Sunday 17th June 2012, from
http://www.bu.edu/agni/interviews/print/2001/ratiner-beidao.html