Yu Fang and Jung Chang: generations apart Throughout the civilized world, societies are measured by their progress, or the way in which the lives of their people improve over time. Therefore, the lives of members of more recent generations are expected to be significantly better than that of their ancestors. While difficult to specify, this progress is typically found in the fields of medical care, gender equality, and political freedom. This natural aspect of civilization was retarded in 20th century China due to the substantial ineptitude of both the Kuomintang and Maoist communist regimes. Due to the numerous failures of these regimes, many of the fundamental issues plaguing Yu Fang would similarly hinder his granddaughter Jung Chang's first 25 years. Although the circumstances in which they lived and the political climate were very different throughout their lives, politics influenced the lives of both of these women as the struggles faced by Yu Fang and her granddaughter Jung Chang are similar in that they both illustrate the incredible lack of the progress that occurred in China during this period. This point is illustrated by; the lack of power held by women over their own affairs, the importance of one's family in determining one's status, and the lack of means by which a woman can escape her current status. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't 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 had over their own affairs. This point is desperately illustrated in Yu Fang's early life during and after her tenure as concubine to the warlord General Xue. Despite the many pleasures she was afforded as a concubine (a beautiful home, easy access to food), her movements were so limited that her only noteworthy activity was raising her infant daughter. It gives great emphasis to this struggle to mention that at one point this relationship with his daughter was also almost compromised. This happened when General Xue ordered Yu Fang to move herself and her daughter to his home, thus placing both Yu Fang and her daughter under the rule of his official wife. Although these rules were relaxed after General Xue's death and her marriage to Doctor Xia, she was still forced to face almost unbearable conditions under the watchful eyes of his children from her previous marriage. These examples from Yu Fang's early life illustrate how politics, or in many cases the lack of politics, in 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 over time progresses beyond these restrictive practices, Yu Fang's granddaughter Jung Chang would experience many similar restrictions imposed on her own life, despite growing up under 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 found herself in a similar situation to her grandmother when she and several other students traveled to the port of Zhanjiang in southern China in an attempt to learn Chinese in a somewhat controlled environment. While there, Jung Chang faced many accusations in his personal life as he aroused suspicion among his classmates for being "too popular" among foreigners. For this reason she was forbidden to participate in a banquet as a translator and she lostthe opportunity to have a conversation in English with a real native speaker. Although most likely the result of petty jealousy, this episode shows a political climate that, while very different from that experienced by Yu Fang's warlords, still allowed for an atmosphere in which women were almost at their most complete mercy on those who surround them regarding their actions. Another way in which 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 one's family in determining one's status. For Yu Fang, much of his adult life was determined by his relationships with members of the group that held political power at the time, the Kuomintang. During much of his life with Dr. By having family ties with these agents, Yu Fang and Doctor Xia were able to achieve a better standard of living than if they had not. These benefits ranged from allowing Dr. Thus the policy had a huge impact on Yu Fang's life as the politics of the time allowed for a system whereby, because Yu Fang had a family who were Kuomintang spies, she was granted special privileges that would not have been granted to her if he hadn't done it. .While most of Jung Chang's life was spent within the Communist regime rather than the Kuomintang, the politics of that era also created an environment by which one was judged on one's family ties. One such example occurred at the end of the Maoist regime, while Jung Chang was working as an electrician in a factory. While there, she began a very close (not described as romantic) relationship with a young man named Day. This newfound relationship became a problem due to many workers' view of Jung Chang's status as the daughter of communist officials as superior to that of Day as son of a former Kuomintang official. In this way you can see how the communist political scheme favored a system whereby those with family ties to communism were highly favored over those whose family boasted a Kuomintang background. The final way in which politics had a similar impact on the lives of both Yu Fang and Jung Chang is that it prevented women from obtaining the means by which they could escape their current status. This played out much more heavily in Yu Fang's life where her father certainly did not see her as having any intrinsic value, but instead only as a means through which to associate with General Xue. Due to political adherence to this cultural norm, Yu Fang was never able to explore any of her interests, but was instead seen simply as a sidebar to first General Xue and then Doctor Xia. While Yu Fang may indeed have found her calling in caring for her many grandchildren, the political structure during the period of her early life did not in any way help her achieve her personal goals. Once again Yu Fang's difficulties caused by the political structure of his time would be mirrored in the life of his granddaughter, Jung Chang. Although Jung Chang would eventually escape this system by traveling to Britain, there was a point where the communist politics of the time instituted a policy whereby; a worker could attend higher education at a university, but upon finishing school he would return to the factory from which he came..