"I think one of the main reasons it is banned is that the authorities are not ready to accept that Western books could change the life of a Chinese woman." ... Soon after Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was published, he was approached by a French production company eager to turn his book into a film.

What happened to the Little Chinese Seamstress?

The Little Seamstress learns about the outside world by reading the foreign books with Luo's help. She eventually leaves the mountain and everything that she has known without saying goodbye, to start a new life in the city.

How did Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress end?

In the end, Luo and the narrator discover the true potency of imaginative literature and why it is hated and feared by those who wish to control others, for the Little Seamstress, transformed by her contact with Balzac, comes to understand her own sexual power and leaves the Phoenix of the Sky for the city.

Is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (simplified Chinese: 巴尔扎克与小裁缝; traditional Chinese: 巴爾扎克與小裁縫; French: Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise) is a 2002 Franco-Chinese romance drama film with dialogue in the Sichuan dialect directed by Dai Sijie and starring Zhou Xun, Chen Kun and Liu Ye.

What is the theme of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie is a literarily rich novel that explores the themes of love, coming of age, reading, education, censorship and beauty through the story of three teenagers, two boys and one girl, affected by China's Cultural Revolution.

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25 related questions found

What does the alarm clock symbolize in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?

The alarm clock represents the bourgeois norms, such as timing the workday with a clock rather than with sunrise and sunset, that the Cultural Revolution was intended to quash.

How is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress a coming of age story?

At its most basic level, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress tells the coming of age stories of Luo, the Little Seamstress, and the narrator. ... As a violinist, the narrator knows that if he becomes accomplished enough, he could possibly have a future playing communist music.

Is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress a good book?

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an enchanting tale that captures the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening. An immediate international bestseller, it tells the story of two hapless city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution.

How does the little seamstress change?

In the months after her abortion, the Little Seamstress uses what she learns from Balzac's novels to transform herself into a stylish city girl: she cuts her hair into a bob, adopts a Chengdu accent, and makes herself a bra.

Where was Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress filmed?

He will follow up “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” with his latest film, “The Botanist's Daughter.” He failed to get approval to film in China because it is a love story between two women -- a subject that remains taboo in that country. Instead, it was shot in Vietnam with mostly Chinese actors.

Why do Luo and the narrator burn the books?

Luo and the narrator worked to get the books and then took great risks to keep them. The narrator knew they were valuable currency and used them to procure an abortion. However, he watches silently as Luo destroys them. This is because they have realized that education does have dangerous potential.

How old are Luo and the narrator?

The unnamed narrator of the novel is a thoughtful, intellectual 17-year-old who is sent to the countryside for re-education during China's Cultural Revolution. He lives there with his best friend Luo.

Who is to blame for the Little Seamstress running away?

When the Little Seamstress's denounces her domesticity, she shatters all remaining preconceived notions of stability the boys inhabit. This leaves Ma and Luo with no one to blame except Balzac's ideals and Red China's cultural tendencies for forcing the Little Seamstress to defy her culture and her surface identity.

What was Luo's condition when they reached the home of the Little Seamstress?

When they reach the Little Seamstress's house, Luo is dizzy with fever. The Little Seamstress cancels Luo and the narrator's performance and tucks Luo into her own bed, which boasts a mosquito net.

What happened to Luo's father?

This was when, in 1968, they saw a political rally in which Luo's father was being humiliated. Someone questioned Luo's father, and he had a cement sign tied around his neck reading, "Reactionary." When Luo's father confessed his crimes, the two boys left. The narrator started to cry, and Luo punched him.

What did Honore de Balzac write?

Balzac produced many notable works during the early and mid-1840s. These include the masterpieces Une Ténébreuse Affaire (1841; A Shady Business), La Rabouilleuse (1841–42; The Black Sheep), Ursule Mirouët (1841), and one of his greatest works, Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes (1843–47; A Harlot High and Low).

Why does four eyes edit the mountain songs for publication in the literary journal?

This would be his way out of reeducation in the country. The editor of the journal is an admirer of Four-Eyes's mother and didn't want to seem to be favoring Four-Eyes. Therefore, the editor suggested that Four-Eyes find the lyrics for some old folk songs to publish in the journal.

What does Luo say that gets the village headman to accept the music?

The narrator is terrified—all music by western composers has been banned for years. The headman asks what the song is called, and Luo says the song is called "Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao." The headman says that Mozart is always thinking of Chairman Mao, and Luo agrees.

What does the violin symbolize in Balzac?

The narrator's violin is a symbol of the power of storytelling and also of the way out of reeducation. ... Therefore, the violin represents his hope.

What story does the narrator tell Balzac?

One day the tailor asks the boys to tell him a story, since he has heard they are excellent storytellers. The narrator agrees to do so. He starts to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo, a tale of revenge.

Why does four-eyes say he remains friends with the narrator and Luo?

Four-Eyes is generally suspicious of other people and he regularly behaves in ways that are purely self-serving. Luo and the narrator hear him admit that he only remains friends with Luo so he can someday call on the dentist, Luo's father, for dental work.

What fear does Luo face at the Little Seamstress?

The narrator explains that Luo is terrified of heights and he relates a childhood experience in which Luo was too scared to climb a water tower. The fact that Luo is willing to face his fears to see the Little Seamstress shows how much he cares, both about her and his project of civilizing her.