Yu Fang and Jung Chang: separate generations Throughout the civilized world, societies are generally measured by their progress, which is how the lives of its people improve over time. Thus, the lives of members of the most recent generations should be significantly better than those of their ancestors. Although difficult to pin down, this advancement is typically seen in the areas of medical care, gender equality, and political freedom. This natural aspect of civilization was to be delayed in 20th century China due to the substantial ineptitude of the Kuomintang and Maoist communist regimes. Due to the many failures of these regimes, many of the fundamental problems that plagued Yu Fang would similarly hamper his granddaughter Jung Chang's first 25 years. Although the circumstances in which they lived as well as the political climate were very different during their lives, politics affected the lives of these two women to the extent that the struggles faced by Yu Fang and her granddaughter Jung Chang are similar in that they both illustrate the incredible lack of human resources. progress made in China during this period. This point is illustrated by: the lack of power held by women regarding their own affairs, the importance of their family in determining their status, and the lack of means by which a woman could escape her current status. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the ways in which politics proved to be an obstacle for these women, illustrated in the novel, is the lack of power women have when it comes to their own affairs. This point is desperately illustrated in Yu Fang's early life during and after her tenure as concubine of the warlord General Xue. Despite the many pleasures she enjoyed as a concubine (a beautiful home, easy access to food), her movements were so restricted that her only worthwhile activity was raising her infant daughter. It is important to highlight this struggle by mentioning that at one point, even this relationship with his daughter was almost compromised. This occurred when General Xue ordered Yu Fang to move in with his daughter in his household, thus placing Yu Fang and his daughter under the rule of his official consort. Although these regulations were relaxed after General Xue's death and her marriage to Dr. Xia, she was still forced to face almost unbearable conditions under the careful supervision of her children from her previous marriage. These examples from Yu Fang's early life illustrate how the politics, or in many cases the lack of politics, of the warlord regime allowed Chinese women to have a complete lack of power over their own well-being. While one might assume that a society would progress over time beyond these restrictive practices, Yu Fang's granddaughter Jung Chang would experience many similar restrictions placed on her own life, despite the fact that she grew up in a new political structure; that of the new communist regime. Despite the regime change, Jung Chang's personal life was also extremely limited due to the political climate of the time. Jung Chang would find herself in a similar situation to her grandmother when she and several other students traveled to the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang to attempt to learn Chinese in a somewhat controlled environment. There, Jung Chang would face many accusations in his lifepersonal, as she aroused the suspicions of her classmates for being "too popular" among foreigners. Because of this, she was banned from attending a banquet as a translator and she missed the opportunity to have an English conversation with a real native speaker. Although likely the result of petty jealousy, this episode speaks to a political climate that, while very different from that of warlords experienced by Yu Fang, nonetheless allowed for an atmosphere in which women were almost on the brink. .total mercy from those around them regarding their own actions. Another reason why the political climate of the time led to many similar difficulties in the lives of Yu Fang and Jung Chang was the great importance placed on family in determining their status. For Yu Fang, much of his adult life was determined by his relationships with members of the group with political power at the time, the Kuomintang. For much of his life with Dr. Xia living in Manchuria, the status of his family as a whole was determined by their relationships with Kuominterm agents. By maintaining family ties with these agents, Yu Fang and Dr. Xia were able to achieve a better standard of living than if they had not. These benefits ranged from allowing Dr. Xia to open his medical center to Yu Fang having connections within the Kuomintang to getting his daughter out of prison due to her communist mindset. Thus, politics had a huge impact on Yu Fang's life to the extent that the politics of the time allowed a system whereby, since Yu Fang had family who were Kuomintang spies, she was granted special privileges. which would not have been granted if she had not done so. While most of Jung Chang's life was spent within the communist regime rather than the Kuomintang, the politics of this era also created an environment in which everyone was judged by their family ties. One such example occurred during the end of the Maoist regime, when Jung Chang worked as an electrician in a factory. There, she began a very close relationship (not defined as romantic) with a young man named Day. This new relationship became a problem due to the view of many factory workers that Jung Chang was the daughter of senior communist officials than Day as the son of a former Kuomintang officer. In this way you can see how the communist political scheme fostered a system whereby those who had family ties to communism were highly favored over those whose families boasted of being from the Kuomintang. The final way in which politics had a similar impact on the lives of Yu Fang and Jung Chang is that it prevented women from acquiring the means by which they could escape their current status. This occurred much more strongly in Yu Fang's life in which her father certainly did not view her as having her own inherent value, but rather as merely a means by which to associate with General Xue. Due to political adherence to this as a cultural norm, Yu Fang was never able to explore any of her own interests, but was instead seen as a mere sidebar to General Xue and then Dr. Xia. Although Yu Fang did indeed find her calling in caring for her many grandchildren, the political structure of her childhood in no way helped her achieve her personal goals. Once again, Yu Fang's struggles caused by the political structure of his time will be reflected in the life of his granddaughter, Jung Chang. Although Jung Chang.