The Terracotta Bride (5 points)

 

            The Terracotta Bride presents so many ideas and themes in such a short burst that it can be hard to process. One of the most important themes in the story is the perception/treatment of women. Junsheng has absolutely no respect for women, seeing them as possessions that he can use as he pleases. This is made literal with Yonghua, who is a test run for an artificial body he can use to be immortal. Him and his associates created a new form of life as just a way to see if they can further their own lives. Although Yonghua is naïve and barely alive, the rate at which she’s learning makes sentience entirely possible in her future. If she were modeled after a man, the characters would marvel at this and potentially treat her like a person and not an object. Siew Tsin is the only one who treats Yonghua like a person because she relates to her. Siew Tsin is also seen as a naïve object by those around her and she internalizes it, repeatedly telling herself that she’s foolish and inattentive. She views herself as below everyone else because everyone else tells her or treats her like she is. Even Ling’en, Junsheng’s first wife, sees Siew Tsin as lesser; in the end, she values Yonghua’s life more than Siew Tsin’s.

            The story also explores class structures and how the upper class manipulate that structure. Those in the tenth court get there by being given the most possessions by their living relatives, reminiscent of how the rich in our world tend to receive their wealth from rich relatives. Even when they live in luxury, those in the tenth court want more. People are judged by how many objects have been burned for them, not by their character, like how poor people are judged by society for not having money. Like in reality, those in the tenth court bribe those in charge in order to get their way. The story shows that the dollar bill is so evil that it even applies in Hell. I feel this theme of the rich getting by without working is perfectly summed up by this exchange from the story: "They want to become Buddhas?" said Siew Tsin. "Without putting in the work," said Ling'en.

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