This was a great story. The content and delivery rings very true to many of the stories that my grandparents and parents have shared with me regarding the misfortunes of others back in the old country. Women did not have a lot of choice or voice in these stories, and Hsiang Lin's wife is no exception having been forced into two marriages, "allowing" her second husband to have his way with her, and finally being at fault for the wolves taking her son in late spring. As infuriating, depressing, and frustrating it is to read such a tale, again I am reminded of the tales told to me as a child where members of my family suffered equally tormenting injustices. However, in the end, I think these stories do carry with it two morals.

As stated in Lu Hsun's short bio before the story, many of his stories written around the same time he wrote "The New Year's Sacrifice" were "critiques on Chinese society". With China slowing becoming aware of, even assimilating, Western customs, I'm guessing Lu Hsun saw the contrast of humanity between cultures and began to realize certain social injustices that affected minorities in China, in this particular instance women. Being referred to as "Hsiang Lin's wife" immediately reminds me of Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men, who was beautiful but lonely, forced to stay at home like a caged bird. It didn't matter if a woman was married, single, rich, or poor, she was counted to be very lucky if she died of old age surrounded by family. The husband and his family can essentially enslave her, and any money she earned belonged to her masters; an indentured servant with benefits. With hindsight being 20/20, we can all appreciate that the treatment of Hsiang Lin's wife was less than humane, but for Lu Hsun to address this at the time that he did is astounding to me, because even then my grandmother was going through nearly the exact same ordeal herself. Which brings me to moral/ conclusion #2.

Because I'm American-Born Chinese (ABC), the full appreciation of this story may be lost to me. But there is one thing that my family has taught me in many of the stories that they share, and that is to be longsuffering and grateful. My mother's mother, my wai po, grew up in a labor-intensive environment, and to this day suffers from body pains attributed to years of heavy-lifting. To be short, any money she earned was quickly gambled or drunk away by her father and brother, and growing up in a time where an elementary education was more than enough for a girl, she had to learn how to read, write, and calculate business arithmetics on her own. If her father caught her reading, he'd berate her for being stupid and wasting time. Thus she learned to be long suffering, and endured years of bitter and seemingly fruitless labor. However, she was always grateful to have a roof over her head, and a job to support her family. Because of the nature of her work, and her prescence in the market, she was, and still is, a very bright and beautiful woman. Many men came to ask for her hand, rich and poor. My grandfather was one, but she rejected him initially on account of her being too poor to marry his family whom were slightlyl richer. Nevertheless, in time they married, and again, in an age where many men drank, gambled, smoked, and fooled around with other women, my grandfather stood out in that he abstained from every one of these vices. Whenever they'd argue, he never struck her, but would putt off on his moped around the block a few times and come back to laugh it off over dinner. In that sense, my grandparents have set the tone for our family, and I am very grateful for the kind of characteristics that I have learned from their experiences. Our family, should one win our friendship, are a fiercely loyal people, and I believe much of it stems from the solidity and tranquility of my grandparents' marriage.

Thank you for adding some of your insight and stories from your family. I think that was really helpful in better understanding some of the stories from this week. I think for many of us who do not have any family or close friends from China it is really difficult to relate to the women in these short stories. My students sometimes hint at the types of cultural issues that their grandmothers faced--even with the foot binding, but never go into any detail.

It seems that the story's had a sad and depressing tone to it that reflects the author's views. The question of on immortality is one that most people have at one point wonder about. The sacrifice, is to give up something, without expecting something in return.

I really enjoyed reading the The New Year's Sacrifice, in that the description and storyline was very descriptive, which made it easy to follow as if you were present with the characters. For example, the detailed description of Hsiang Lin's wife and how she changed over time is very revealing of her character, and how much her son's death impacted her, as well as the interactions she had with her husband's family. Something I am wondering is what people thought of widows back then, in that the story mentioned how the uncle made a face when he realized she was a widow, but that the aunt chose to ignore his facial expression. Was or is there some sort of stigma about this?

I thought the language was beautiful..very descriptive. The story was very sad and reminded me of how women in so many cultures of the world are still used by families as property. This is a cultural idea of the value of person is their ability to perform work for families of the elite. Widows are looked down upon and the power of the mother-in-law of the daughter in law. I am reminded in India there is a wing in the prisons for mother-in-laws who have abused or killed their daughter-in-laws. It also reminds me that marriage is simply a contract that a women enters into usually to her detriment. President Carter's initiative and emphasis on global education for girls and women's rights is sorely needed. I know this is an old story, but still significant and compelling.

Wow - what a heartbreaking and infuriating story. I can see this story really resonating with my middle schoolers. Only a cold heart could not be melted by the story of Hsiang Lin's wife. This story will encourage many very rich discussions on a variety of topics - gender roles, superstition, empathy.

When I first read Lu Hsun's fictional work, The New Year's Sacrifice, I felt like I read it with a lens of what I thought it was, just a fictional piece. But, after learning about the historical background of China that give birth to works of literature by writers like Lu Hsun, I started to wonder the Hsun's literary activism in The New Year's Sacrifice. I thought of the Arturo Molina's comments in class about the observation of gender roles in China as portrayed in the fictional piece. To some extent, I felt that Hsun was almost being sarcastic in tone in describing traditional roles of women as prescribed in Confucian Chinese society. The perfect is example is account of Hsiang Lin's wife in the novel. Hsiang Lin's wife is never recognized in the novel by her own name, but is instead treated like property: first her existence is in relation to her partnership (although more like ownership) by her husband and later by her husband's mother who tries to sell her off in another arranged marriage and keeps her in her own home to serve as a servant. Furthermore, I felt that Hsun's descriptions of the town Luchen, and it's descriptions of the festivities almost had an air of disdain or criticism as a form of primitive Chinese society. I cannot be sure of Hsun's intent and the social implications that his novel would have or if it was even intended with the purpose of criticizing traditional Chinese society, but I felt that voice that is present in the piece mirrors the "rebellion against feudalism" and tradition that existed in China and perhaps the novel by Hsun captures societal feelings of the time.