Familia

Chengdu, Central China, 1919. The brothers Gao—Juexin, Juemin, and Juehui—live according to the traditions their family has followed for centuries. Four generations now live under the same roof, which gives Grandfather Gao, the clan’s patriarch, a special pride. In the great family house, the older members continue their unmoved lives as if nothing were changing; as if General Zhang’s troops, preparing a new attack at the gates of the city, could not reach them; as if the new airs from books and magazines weren’t transforming their existence. The three Gao brothers are in agreement that the old traditions—arranged marriage, outdated rituals, and foot binding and long hair requirements for women—lack meaning, but not everyone has the strength necessary to rebel. Published for the first time in 1931, Familia portrays the disintegration of Feudalism in China at the beginning of the 20th century and is considered one of the most important works of contemporary Chinese literature.