Love and Society in "The Story of Yingying"

The Story of Yingying shows how love can be destroyed if other things outside the relationship, such as society, are allowed to affect the couple’s future together. Two people, Zhang and Yingying (Miss Cui), fall in love with each other and for a short amount of time they enjoy being in love. But soon outside forces cause the love affair to fall apart due to the choices that are made. 

In the beginning of the story, we find out that Zhang is twenty-three years old and has never had relations with a woman. He is quoted saying, "I am the true lover - I just never happened to meet the right girl. How do I know that? It's because things of outstanding beauty never fail to make a permanent impression on me," (pg. 1054). Later on when he is introduced to Yingying for the first time, she was not wearing anything spectacular just a normal everyday dress. She wore no makeup, except for a bit of rouge, and her hair was in disarray. Yet her beauty was extraordinary enough to startle Zhang. He chooses to try and tries to win her over by confessing his feelings for her. She tries to follow what is socially acceptable of a young unmarried woman at that time but eventually gives in to her feelings for Zhang.

Later on, the role society plays is seen as the key to understanding what doomed their relationship. Zhang has to follow the social obligation to live where he goes to school. He does manage to return to visit her, but must once again leave to take his exams. On the eve of his departure Yingying tells him, “To seduce someone and then abandon her is perfectly natural, and it would be presumptuous of me to resent it. It would be an act of charity on your part if, having first seduced me, you were to go through with it and fulfill your oath of lifelong devotion,” (pg. 1057). Yet, she plays the zither for him after saying this because he has always wanted her to play it for him. Even when she realizes what is going on, she chooses to show her devotion to him. We see that Zhang's priorities are clearly set on his schooling rather than on his relationship with Yingying when he chooses to go back to take the exams. He chooses to follow what society expects of him rather than choosing to be with Yingying. Yingying was clearly willing to make sacrifices for Zhang, but Zhang was not willing to sacrifice for her in return.

Yingying further shows her understanding that their future together was doomed. In a letter to Zhang she writes, "When I offered myself in your bed, you treated me with the greatest kindness, and I supposed, in my innocence, that I could always depend on you. How could I have foreseen that our encounter could not possibly lead to something definite, that having disgraced myself by coming to you, there was no further chance of serving you openly as a wife?" (pg. 1058).

All of Zhang’s friends have heard what has happened and wonder why Zhang has chosen to pursue education over love. Zhang is quoted saying, "It is a general rule that those women endowed by heaven with great beauty either destroy themselves or destroy someone else," (pg. 1061). Zhang and Yingying end up marrying other people. It is clear in the end that they still do have feelings for one another, but Zhang made his choice and must now deal with the fact that he lost his true love.

Word count (minus the page numbers): 593

Text: The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Third Edition, Volume B

Śakuntalā and The Ring of Recollection by Kālidāsa

My initial thoughts on Śakuntalā and The Ring of Recollection was that it should be just as famous as Romeo and Juliet. I also think that this story should surpass Romeo and Juliet. Secret love, fate and a curse, happy ending? Sounds like an awesome story because the lovers do not die in the end! I know that Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about forbidden love and is like the ultimate love story, but in Kālidāsa's story they end up together which inspires hope for the rest of us. I don't know about you, but I like a story that brings hope that a happy ending is achievable rather than one that says a secret/forbidden love is not achievable while alive. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I am what I am.

Initially, I was going to focus on connecting the dots between Romeo and Juliet with Dushyanta and Śakuntalā. While I would like to do that, I had an epiphany. I really enjoyed this story and it seemed somewhat familiar to me. Then it hit me: the Disney movie, Mulan II, has similar aspects and themes to this story.

How you may ask? Allow me to explain my thought process. Some basic comparisons that I can make would be the different castes (social classes) of the Mulan and Shang when compared to Dushyanta and Śakuntalā. Dushyanta was a king and Śakuntalā was a female ascetic although we find out later on that Śakuntalā is the daughter of a nymph and therefore is not actually in the same caste as her adopted father. Mulan was a member of one of the lower classes who moved to the warrior class in the first movie. She becomes known as the hero of China.

Śakuntalā completely ignores her dharma (her duty) of receiving guests and showing them the hospitality of the ascetics and the hermitage. Therefore the consequences of ignoring "the hermit" (who turns out to be Durvasa) are he curses Śakuntalā. The curse is that her husband, Dushyanta, will not remember who she is until he sees the ring he gave her. (I'm just giving some background on the specifics of the curse; there isn't a curse in Mulan, but there are consequences that happen as well from ignoring the dharma.) Mulan's duty is to bring the Emperor's three daughters to their new husbands through an arranged marriage that will help cement that country's friendship and alliance. Mulan's first duty was supposed to be to her Emperor but she tried to follow the duty she had to her heart first. By encouraging the daughters to do the same, they end up falling in love with the soldiers guarding them. She gets in a fight with her partner and fiance, Li Shang, and their relationship is in tatters because he believes in his duty/dharma to the Emperor. Through an ambush, Li Shang is believed to be dead and Mulan mourns him. The next morning, she leaves the princesses with their lovers and decides it is more important to complete the mission herself.

Both stories have happy endings. Li Shang stops the wedding of Mulan to the foreign prince and is able to marry her himself and Dushyanta finds Śakuntalā and reunites with her. I know that was probably a vague overview of what happened in The Ring of Recollection but I would encourage you to read the story to get the whole romantic story. So much happens that it is better to experience yourself than to read a summary for you would miss some of the best parts.