Chiang Mi "Goldflower and the Bear"

Chiang Mi recorded “Goldflower and the Bear” in 1979, just a few years after the end of the Cultural Revolution in China and the death of Chairman Mao. Prior to the Cultural Revolution, another one of Mao’s programs to modernize China, the Great Leap Forward, had resulted in a widespread and devastating famine, which killed millions and millions. In addition to those who died from starvation, many Chinese also suffered illnesses as a result of the famine. Thus, the beginning of “Goldflower and the Bear” would probably seem very plausible to Chinese readers who lived in a country recently devastated by both illness and death. Famine would also be fresh in many people’s minds, which could explain Goldflower’s success in utilizing the bear’s gluttony against him. The bear wants both the children and the pears that Goldflower offers him, and the desire for pears offers Goldflower the opportunity to kill the bear. This also ties in with the common fairy tale trope of the evils and consequences of gluttony.

The Cultural Revolution, another one of Mao’s attempts at modernization, led to rampant persecution, violence, and chaos as Mao tried to rid China of its “old” ways. Mao enacted many of his policies with the help of the Red Guard, which was composed of radical students who perpetrated many violent acts against those deemed in opposition to Mao’s modernization goals. Thus, I would argue that “Goldflower and the Bear” was written for children, who during this period in Chinese history had seen much more of the evil existent in the “adult world” than most children their age at a different time or in a different country. The line between child and adult at this time was probably not as easily demarcated because of children’s knowledge of many things usually hidden from them by adults, such as violence and fear. Therefore, Chiang perhaps deemed children better equipped to deal with the violence in this tale and better able to appreciate the need for the strength and courage demonstrated by Goldflower. Also, after so much chaos a happy ending in which the brave girl conquers an enemy with the sun “rising red in the East” likely gave much needed hope to many readers (Tartar 20).