The Love Between Huang Dasha and LianGu

The Night a Tiger Was Captured

The Love Between Huang Dasha and LianGu

The “invasion” of western culture has tremendously impacted the Chinese traditions since the opium war. The transcendence of the western science, technology, political system and values unprecedentedly shocked Chinese society. Although “the 100 days reform” driven by those far-sighted scholars and ideologists, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Tan Sitong, ultimately failed, it urged this old nations once again to start reflecting on its own traditions and culture. In the process of westernization and globalization, at that time, emerged in large numbers of scholars and new ideas and reached a peak during the “may forth movement” and “new culture movement”. They were criticizing feudalism of ideological restraints, calling for freedom of love and marriage, and chasing individualism and equality for this society. A lot of new dramas, articles, newspapers boomed out at those interesting periods and created a lot impressive stories. We have read a lot of those, such as Lu xun’s Diary of a Madman, Slave mother, The Night a Tiger was Captured, etc. But the love tragedy of Lian Gu and Huang Dasha is really interested me. The conflicts between the new ideas and traditions described in this drama are very sharp. We not only can see the seeds of “new ideas” vastly growing among the new generations, but also can clearly feel that the Confucianism and other traditions still influence the “youth”. It is beautiful to see this, as if watching and expecting butterflies struggling breaking out of their cocoons.   

In TianHan’s The Night a Tighter Was Captured, Hung Dasha, the “youth”, beliefs the poetical and pure love between himself and LianGu, which is all set on the spiritual level rather than utilitarian or material. “I cannot forget Sister Lian. I cannot live without her.” He has almost nothing but his love. No plans, no nothing. “One day you told me I should become a tailor, but I refused, and after you beat me, I ran away. The next day you demanded that I become a carpenter…”(26, TianHan) We see that Lian Gu’s father was trying to persuade him to make a life, but he refused. The author might want to express that the hunter represents the higher class in society and what he actually demand is “go find a job and one day you will find the right girl.”  At the same time, we also can see that Huang’s love is unrealistic. At this point, there is nothing about the “class”, which is an interesting scene of the drama. In order to not separate with the woman he loves, he is willing to living in the temple, begging for food, and stubbornly following his feelings. “I would like slowly make my way to my place behind the mountain and gaze at the firelight in this room, especially the firelight that came through Sister Lian’s window.”(26, Tian Han) From the readings, I do feel that the author is trying to describe how the new culture movement influences the “youth”, which is becoming more open and honest to themselves and their loves, and criticize the feudal marriage tradition. But meanwhile, I did not see any brave and practically effective behaviors from the “youth”, in contrast to the other characters’ hardworking and brave tradition, which totally makes him look like a pathetic “freak” in the village. He failed, but not all because of the marriage tradition.  

By contrast, LianGu seems has a plan, “I thought of running away—I’ve though of running away for a long, long time.” She represents the “youth” as well. Confucianism instruction to women is following fathers, following husbands, and following sons. She breaks the rule and refuses to accept the arranged marriage offered by his father, which rarely happened before in her village. The female character touched me. She has the love to Huang Dasha as much as Huang’s to her, but she is much braver than him and has an ideal plan to support it. “We’d have made our plans to run away together. And where would you have run to? The city. What would you have done there? The Chang’s eldest daughter promised to introduce me at the mill so I could have gotten a job.” When I read here, I am wondering that how’s the girl falling love with that “freak”. If we agree that Huang Dasha is the perfect one in this drama to present the “youth”, then Lian Gu seems still have the shadow of the traditions, which came from the living environment.

Hung Dasha will never been accepted by the rich Hunter and the village. The lower class status decides his destiny of love. He has no choice. We also see that people living in this village are all working hard and compromise to the environment even if have to go into the mountain and fight with the beasts. Thus, I think Hung Dasha “strange” behaviors and the week personality make a sense to be despised by the other villagers, except for Lian Gu.

From LianGu and Huang Dasha’s love in this drama, we clearly see the achievements of “May Forth Movement” and “ New Culture Movement”. This is, people start to chase the freedom of love and women start to revolt the feudal ethical codes. However, the movement has not completed changed the entire society. At that period, when western values and culture impact the traditional values, people saw a colorful world and imminently wanted to shake off the old rules and to free themselves. But the feudalism has built for thousands years, it is hard to completely get rid of its shadow. All the readings we have read so far has proved this.

Work cited

Tian Han; The Night a Tiger Was Captured (Huohu Zhi yiye) Randy Barbara Kaplan, Asian Theatre Journal, Vol.11, No.1. spring 1994, pp1-34