Leo Lee’s article establishes the connection between how Charles Dickens and Lao She thought of modernity through fiction. Both novelists seemed conservative in their outlooks on social progress and revolution. The two cities in the novel, Paris and London, represent two views on the history of social changes.
The late New York senator Patrick Moynihan said this about the two views: “The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture to save it from itself.
Lao She’s novella illustrates this perfectly. As a cultural conservative, Black Li spends time to turn the tea bowls until the red fish on them all faced him. He’d die defending cultural values and social order. White Li the liberal, other the other hand, is willing to sacrifice others for political ideals like equality between the rich and poor.
Wang Five offers an objective approach to reality. He says Black Li cares about his legs (physical well-being) while White Li cares about his heart (Hegel called it “the spirit of freedom”). Older brother views women as objects of worship whereas the younger Li treats women as the means to an end.
Hope the two of you share your understanding of these larger issues by interpreting the story by Lao She. Let me know which brother you like better and why. How do you like the political changes that elevate Wang Five’s personal dignity but that also jeopardize his physical existence?