Trauma and Chinese Traditional Culture: Essays of Tai Chinese Writer Mengli: “Escape from the Wolf Den (Taoli Langxue)” and “A Tiny Heart (Cun Cao Xin)”
Tai Chinese writer Mengli transformed her trauma experienced in early life into creative literary works, crafting vivid and compelling characters through unique artistic forms of essay writing. Characters not only deeply evoking powerful emotional responses through their strikingly lifelike portrayals but also reflect Chinese traditional culture and virtues. In appreciating and analyzing these figures, we engage in a form of dialogue—with the text, the characters, and ultimately the authors themselves and understand more about the practice of filial piety (xiao). This allows us to explore strong emotions the work brought and to uncover the mystery of how literature can so profoundly affect us.
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