Act+One.TH+Chat

Act One!


 * Purposes of act (TJ) Time: **


 * Higlights laws and instability of reformed government
 * The end of the reformed government - significant change in act two as in act one, people still kneel to show respect while there is an absence of this in act two
 * Introduces main characters to the play
 * (will be discussed in noteable characters)
 * Introduces foreign influence on citizens
 * "So, I cant handle the foreigners, eh? Well, I can sure handle you."
 * Watch causes conflict between character in the teahouse
 * Government pressure on citizens
 * Signs telling people that they are forbidden to talk about "Government Affairs"
 * Fourth Elder Chang taken away by police due to discussing government affairs
 * Government causes pressure on citizens as alot of them are struggling with everyday life
 * An example of this is the fact that "black markets" are becoming more prominent with the selling of drugs and women
 * Social Hierarchy
 * There is a very clear social hierarchy in the first act as women and peasants are put at the bottom and the emperor (or in the case of the teahouse) the Eunuch is at the top.

Notable characters (occupations, social status, etc) (TJ) Time:

In this act there are 25 character in total, however, I have taken notice of 5 main characters in this act: Political issues of the time period (Alice) Time:
 * Wang Lifa:
 * The owner of the teahouse
 * Although he is not extremely wealthy, he has a quite a bit of respect as he is the owner of the teahouse
 * Most likely to be the "main" character of the play
 * Eunuch Pang:
 * Works for the empress, as a royal servant
 * Very high social status as he is almost considered to be royal, the crowd in the teahouse greet him with respect as he enters
 * Pockface Liu
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">Sold girl to be Eunuch Pang's daughter
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">Attempts to sell watch to Second Elder Song, which shows his connection with the foreigners
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">Qin Zhongyi
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">Owns land on which the teahouse is situated
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 13pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">Due to his wealth, he has earned himself alot of respect through customers of the teahouse
 * Fourth Elder Chang
 * Represented as a kind, caring man as he buys the peasant woman and child a bowl of soup
 * Taken away by government for discussing state affaris
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The dominant figure of the reform movement was K'ang Yu-wei (1858-1927), the Kuang-hsü emperor asked K'ang to take over the government in June of 1898
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">" institutional and ideological change" The **Hundred Days' Reform** was a failed 104-day national cultural, political and educational reform movement from 11 June to 21 September 1898 in late Qing Dynasty China. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emperor and his reform-minded supporters. Guangxu (1875–1908), ordered a series of reforms aimed at making sweeping social and institutional changes. This was in response to weaknesses exposed by China's defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-5. []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"Meanwhile, a political struggle took place between the Kuang-hsu (Guangxu) Emperor and his aunt, the Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi (Cixi), within the Qing court. Although Kuang-hsu was the Emperor, real power was held by Tz'u-hsi. A 'northern' group of conservatives like Hsu T'ung supported the Empress, while a 'southern' group led by Weng T'ung-ho supported the Emperor. Although both agreed on the need for reform, the two groups struggled for the leadership. The Northern Party attempted to bring Chang Chih-tung to Peking to lead the movement. " []

>> characters (such as Eunuch Pang) establishes the clear class hierarchy that existed at that period.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Control and treatment of others (Abhi) Time: (1:20 ) **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Treatment of/by Lower Class
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The very opening scene begins with Wang Lifa and Soothsayer Tang--immediately, the reader is introduced to a relatively middle class man interacting with a lower class man. Wang Lifa treats Soothsayer Tang charitably and gives him a bowl of tea. Rather than indicating a general trend, however, this act serves to characterize Wang Lifa as he is one of the only characters who acts favorably towards the Soothsayer in this act.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sixth Born Kang, a peasant, is treated as a fool by Pockface Liu, who wishes to buy and sell his daughter. Pockface affords him no respect and is especially critical after Sixth Born Kang leaves.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Old Man who attempts to sell his wares at the teahouse is ignored by the customers, and isn't even recognized. The contrast between the attention given to the man here and that given to other
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Treatment of/by Middle Class
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">When Song and Chang get tea at the teahouse, they "politely proffer some to the guests around them," (7). This characterizes both characters and indicates a general amount of generosity and respect demonstrated to others in society.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Erdezi picks a fight with Chang because of a statement he made--this indicates a general violence infused culture, and, along with the teacup that Erdezi breaks, foreshadows the eventual violence and death that takes place at the teahouse.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fourth Elder Chang buys noodles for the peasant girl and woman, with whom he sympathizes. This serves to further the characterization of Fourth Elder Chang as an exception to the rule--someone who treats classes below him with more respect and sympathy than most other characters.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Treatment of/by High Class (or Foreigners)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Erdezi and Wang Lifa hold Fifth Elder Ma, a man with many foreign connections, in high respect. Fifth Elder Ma, however, refuses to even settle an argument that he considers 'below' him. This indicates that the general indifference that the higher class has towards those lower than them (socially or economically). This is in direct contrast with the absolute reverence that some characters (with notable exclusion Fourth Elder Chang) have of the higher class.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Qin Zhongyi ignores the peasant girl and orders her to get out--further evidence of the indifference shown by the higher class towards the lower class.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">When Qin Zhongyi and Eunuch Pang meet, the first interaction between two members of the higher class is depicted. Although both characters remain civil (unlike Erdezi), the Eunuch is riled by the fact that Qin Zhongyi even dared to speak to him and expresses his resentment afterwards. This represents the fact that there existed a general degree of civility between members of the higher class, who often refrained from physical engagements.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Control
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Wang Lifa reminds the customers to not converse about state affairs--a clear depiction of the constant fear that some citizens lived in; consistently afraid of persecution because of the utterance of a few simple words (18).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Song Enzi and Wu Xiangzi arrest Fourth Elder Chang and detain Second Elder Song because Fourth Elder Chang said "our Great Qing Empire is about done for," (16). This depicts the degree of subjective control exercised by members of the police over the citizens.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Negotiation (Abhi) Time: (0:45) **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">The teahouse itself is a common gathering place for disagreeing parties to settle their matters. In this manner, the element of negotiation is ever-present throughout the scene.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Examples
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Soothsayer Tang trying to get tea from Wang Lifa
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sixth Born Kang negotiating the price of his daughter
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fatso Huang settling the argument in the courtyard
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Qin Zhongyi negotiating the rent of the teahouse with Wang Lifa
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Purpose
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Within society, negotiation is an alternative to violence. The presence of multiple scenes of negotiation in the teahouse serves to indicate the fact that violence was not a massive factor //initially// in the teahouse, and that arguments could often be settled through negotiation. This presents an important contrast later, when arguments were settled by extreme acts of violence or by bribes.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Success and failure (Alice) Time: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">With the reform movement of Kang Yu Wei taking place, traditional large scale teahouses are slowly closing down one by one as their success declines. The constant social and cultural changes occur makes it difficult for proprietors like Wang Lifa to run a successful business. The lack of order in society leads to the sucess of unauthorized deals and negotiations whereas honest bussiness are failing.There are alot of disagreements among the locals during a desperate time, this leads to the emergance and survival of "black markets" for drugs and women. Overall the government had little control over their people, and failed toto maintain any decent stand of living for the genreal population.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Success and failure is mostly shown through the variation in customers at the teahouse, through the conversations taking place between characters and the general their general living conditions. There is a range of people presented, depicting the poor and wealthy ends of the spectrum. Also there are more inconsitant characters are introduced in the first act to demonstrate the range of people in society.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Examples
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pockface is succeding in hosting a deal between Sixth-born kang and Eunuch Pang, also earning some money between the deal.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Soothsayer is an example of an opium addict, one of many at the time due to foreign influences. Governemtn fails to deal with this problem.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">There isn't enough food and money to go around for the peasents, because the government's failure to look after the less advantaged population. Six-born kang is unabole to support and feed his own daughter who he loves, instead he must sell to to make sure she can survive and will be feed, "it's because it's impossible for us peasants to get by these days". This also shows the governemnts failure to take care of it's people and maintain the wellfare of peasant population. "but what else can i do? if we can't find a place that will feed you, you'ss starve. And if i can't get hold of a few taels of silver, the landlord will grind me to death. you, ah! Shunzi. there's no other way" (21) Another example is the peasant women and child that omes into the tea house begging for food and talking about selling her daughter.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">There are also failure in the justice system. Police find excuses to arrest innocent people for "disscusing state affairs". Song Enzi arrests Fourth Elder Chang for saying the great empire is done fore" (page 19-20)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Change/adaption/modernization/ reform vs tradition (Daisy) Time: ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Threats and promises (Daisy) Time: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">old superstitions are no longer believed by the people (fortune telling)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Foreign objects, the snuff bottle, Opium, pocket watch, foreign cloths and clothing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Foreign influences are visible, as Fifth Elder Ma follows their religion and speaks their language. But not all people are falling under the influence, there are individuals such as Fourth Elder Chang who rejects anything foreign related
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Traditionally in China elders deserve the most respect and care, but when an old man came into the teahouse to sell small objects, nobody paid him any attention but Third-born li
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Palace officials are starting to lose their prestige among the common people, because Qin Zhongyi engages in a conversation with the eunuch.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 27px;">﻿when Fourth Elder Chang challenges Erdezi to take on the foreigners, he is in a way challenging Erdezi's loyalty to his country. Because he says "you are in the government's pay but i don't see you rushing into the fray when the English and French destroyed Yuan Ming Yuan. Erdezi feeling insulted, threatens to beat up Fourth Elder Chang
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Qin Zhongyi threatens to raise the rent and eventually he proposes that he might just take back the entire teahouse and transforming it into a factory to save the people
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pockface Liu promises the Eunuch that the peasant girl he is selling is beautiful and can be well-manner with a little work.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Foreigner presence and influence (Abhi) Time: (0:50 )**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">The presence of foreigners is in fact never represented by a foreigner himself/herself--in the first act, it is only represented by the influence that they have on Chinese citizens and society. The foreign presence moves most characters away from the traditional Chinese way of life towards a more Westernized way of living. Any association with the foreigners also appears to elevate one's social status in Chinese society. However, notable exceptions such as Fourth Elder Chang and Qin Zhongyi exist--they believe that the foreign influence is harmful towards their society and attempt to resist it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Examples
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fifth Elder Ma is revered by the characters because of his association with the foreigners
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Pockface Liu is wearing mostly foreign attire, has a foreign snuff bottle and attempts to sell Second Elder Song a foreign watch
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Qin Zhongyi and Fourth Elder Chang present varying strategies on how to resist foreign influence
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Influence
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Characters such as Pockface Liu represent the movement towards a foreign way of life. Not only do they change their dress, but the depiction of the use of foreign goods is a microcosm for the impact it has on Chinese society--as more and more foreign goods are imported, the value of Chinese domestic good decreases, increasing the poverty level in the country. This poverty is represented by characters such as Sixth Born Kang, the peasant woman and the Old Man.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The resistance to foreign influence is represented by Qin Zhongyi and Fourth Elder Chang. Qin Zhongyi believes that the best method to resist change is to build a domestic factory that can hire workers. Fourth Elder Chang, on the other hand, attempts to do his part through small acts of sympathy. However, by the end of the play, both characters are depicted as distraught and at the bottom of society. This represents the fact that characters who failed to associate with the foreigners often got left out as the economy and government moved forward.