Perlstein1

BrianPerlstein
Mrs.Hope
HonorsWorldLiteratureandWritersWorkshop
9November2015

TPCASTTAnalysisofJadeFlowerPalace

Thestreamswirls.Thewindmoansin
Thepines.Grayratsscurryover
Brokentiles.Whatprince,longago,
Builtthispalace,standingin
Ruinsbesidethecliffs?Thereare
Greenghostfiresintheblackrooms.
Theshatteredpavementsareall
Washedaway.Tenthousandorgan
Pipeswhistleandroar.Thestorm
Scatterstheredautumnleaves.
Hisdancinggirlsareyellowdust.
Theirpaintedcheekshavecrumbled
Away.Hisgoldchariots
Andcourtiersaregone.Only
Astonehorseisleftofhis

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Glory.Isitonthegrassand
Startapoem,butthepathosof
Itovercomesme.Thefuture
Slipsimperceptiblyaway.
Whocansaywhattheyearswillbring?

TitleThetitleofthepoemJadeFlowerPalacesoundslikeitrepresentsaplaceofwisdomand
beauty.ThisisbecausejadeisoftensymboliseswisdominChinesecultureandflowerstendto
universallybesignsofbeautyandhappiness.Thepalacetalkedmentionedinthetitleismost
likelymetaphoricalbecauseitisunlikelythereisapalaceofjadeandflowers.

ParaphraseThecreektwirls.Thebreezegroansin
Theevergreens.Silveryrodentsscamperontopof
Crackedflooring.Whatnoble,farinthepast,
Constructedthiscastle,standinginside
Destroyedstructuresnearthecliffs?Thereare
Emeraldcoloredghoulflamesinthedarkenedcorridors.
Thebrokenconcreteisall
Goneduetowater.Tensofthousandsoforganpipes
Emitsoundandrumble.Thehurricane
Dissipatedthecrimsonfallleaves.
Hispartyingladiesaregoldencoloredash.

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Theirvibrantfaceshavedisintegrated
Apart.Hisyellowcarts
Andmessengersarenolongerthere.Just
aequinemadeofrocksremainsofhis
Majesty.Irestonthesodand
Beginarhythmicpieceofliterature,howeverthequalitythatevokessorrow
Takesmeover.Thetimethathasnotyetcome
Slipsawaywithoutbeingnoticed.
Whichpersoncanstatewhatthefutureshallhave?

ConnotationTheconnotationofthewordsandphrasesthatareusedthroughoutthemajorityof
thepoemisformal.Forexample,theauthorstates,Tenthousandorganpipeswhistleandroar.
Thestormscatterstheredautumnleaves.Thisiseffectivebecauseformallanguage,suchasthe
languageusedabove,alwaysaddsmoreimportancetowhatisbeingstated.Theauthoralsouses
figurativelanguagethroughoutthepoem,particularlypersonification.Oneexampleofthisis
whentheauthorstates,Thewindmoansinthepines.Obviously,windcannotmoanbutthe
authorstatesthistobetterdescribethesoundofthewind.

Attitude/ToneThespeakerstoneisthetonethatasageorawisemanwouldhave.Thisisdue
tothewaythesentencesaredesigned,andthepunctuationanddictionthatisusedthroughoutthe
poem.Forexample,thesentences,Thefutureslipsimperceptiblyaway.Whocansaywhatthe
futurewillbring?usesallthreeofthoseaspects.Thequestionmarkattheendthatdenotesa

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rhetoricalquestionaddsanelementofsagacitytothepoem,andtheshortsentenceinthe
beginningfollowedbyaquestionaddsavarietyofsentencestructure,whichwisepeopletendto
speakin.

ShiftsThereisadistinctshiftinline16whentheauthorbeginstousepersonalpronounswhen
hestates,Isitonthegrassandstartapoem,butthepathosofitovercomesme.Thisisashift
becausebeforethoselines,itsoundedliketheauthorwastellingastorywithhimjustbeingthe
narratorbutafterthoselines,thereisapersonalaspectaddedtothepoem.Itisdiscoveredthat
theauthorisinvolvedwithwhatisgoingoninthepoem,ratherthanjustdescribingwhatis
happening.Also,personalpronounscausesentencestosoundmoreinformal,whichworkswell
becausewhenpeopletalktooneotherpersontheytendtospeakmorecolloquially.Thiscausesit
tofeelliketheauthoristalkingtohisaudience,whichallowshisfeelingstobeportrayedbetter.

TitleThetitleJadeFlowerPalaceisametaphorforthemessagethattheauthorisattemptingto
portray.Themessageisthatwealthandclassisnotpermanent.Ajadeflowerpalaceis
wonderful,butitcannotlastforeverandwilleventuallydeteriorateaseverythingdoes.

ThemeThethemethattheauthorportraysthroughoutthepoemisthatwealthdoesnotlastfor
eternity.Evenifsomethingfeelslikeitcannotchange,overtimeitwillbegintofade.Thetheme
pertainstoTaoismbecauseinTaoismthebeliefisthatwealthisnotpermanentsothereisno
needforbecomingwealthy.Thepoemisclearlyinagreementwiththisidea,astheentirepoem
mostlytalksaboutthedeterioratingmajestyofthepalaceofjadeandflowers.

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AnalysisofJadeFlowerPalace

InancientChina,peoplewereoftenlivingintimeswithseeminglyendlesswarfareand
bloodshed.Infact,athreehundredyearperiodinChinashistoryisknownastheWarringStates
Periodforquiteobviousreasons.Althoughthismayseementirelynegativetotheevolutionof
Chineseculture,someofthemostfamousandinfluentialphilosophiesofalltimehadtheir
conceptioninthisperiodofturmoilandviolence.OneofthesephilosophieswasDaoism,which
soughttomitigatetheamountofviolenceasmuchashumanelypossibleaswellashaving
peoplestrivetolivelivesofhappinessandmaximumrelaxionratherthanfocuisngonattaining
wealthandclass.Thepoem
JadeFlowerPalace
isaboutthecrumbledremainsofwhatwasonce
amagnificentpalaceknownastheJadeFlowerPalace.ThispoemaccuratelyportraysDaoist
worldviewsthroughtheuseoftheauthorsconnotation,effectiveshifts,andtheattitude
throughoutthecomposure.

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ThepoemsconnotationiseffectivetodisplayingDaoistnotionsbecausetheauthortries
toconvincehisaudiencethatwealthistemporaryandallgoodintheworldshalleventuallyfade
away.Tomakehisargumentsoundconvincingheusesformalconnotationthroughoutthe
entiretyofhiswork.Forexample,theauthorstates,Tenthousandorganpipeswhistleandroar.
Thestormscatterstheredautumnleaves.(TuFu810)Thisiseffectivebecauseformal
language,suchasthelanguageusedabove,alwaysaddsmoreimportancetowhatisbeingstated.
Iftheauthorwasusinginformalconnotationthroughoutthepoem,peoplewouldnotbenearlyas
persuadedbyhisstatementsthanwhenheuseshiseffectiveformalconnotation.Thisiswhythe
connotationutilizedbyTuFuhelpshelpshimconveytheDaoistprinciplesheisattemptingto
portray.
Theshiftsthatareusedbytheauthorarealsoextremelyeffectiveintheauthors
attemptingtoportraytheDaoistideologythatwealthisimpermanent.Forexample,inline16,
theauthorbeginstousepersonalpronounsforthefirsttimeinhispoem.Thisiswhenhestates,
Isitonthegrassandstartapoem,butthepathosofitovercomesme.(TuFu1618)Thisis
incrediblyeffectivefortheauthorbecausebeforethoselines,itsoundedliketheauthorwas
tellingastorywithhimjustbeingthenarratorbutafterthoselines,thereisapersonalaspect
addedtothepoem.Itisdiscoveredthattheauthorisinvolvedwithwhatisgoingoninthepoem,
ratherthanjustdescribingwhatishappening.Also,personalpronounscausesentencestosound
moreinformal,whichworkswellbecausewhenpeopletalktoothersbecausetheytendtospeak
morecolloquially.Thiscausesittofeelliketheauthoristalkingtohisaudience,whichallows
hisfeelingsaboutmajorDaoistprinciplestobeportrayedbetter.

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AnothereffectivewaythattheauthorconveysmajorideaspertainingtoDaoismis
throughtheportrayalofhisattitude.Thespeakerstoneisthetonethatasageorawiseman
wouldhave.Thisisduetothewaythesentencesaredesigned,andthepunctuationanddiction
thatisusedthroughoutthepoem.Forexample,thesentences,Thefutureslipsimperceptibly
away.Whocansaywhatthefuturewillbring?(TuFu1820)usesallthreeofthoseaspects.
Thequestionmarkattheendthatdenotesarhetoricalquestionaddsanelementofsagacitytothe
poem,andtheshortsentenceinthebeginningfollowedbyaquestionaddsavarietyofsentence
structure,whichwisepeopletendtospeakin.Allofthisaddstotheattemptedconveyanceof
keyDaoistprinciplesbyTuFu.
Throughoutthewholeofhumanhistory,peopleinallcivilizationshadcameupwith
differentideasabouthowtomaketheworldabetterplace.However,theremightnotbeany
civilizationwithmorediverseideasaboutthestepsthatmustbetakentomakeoursocietybetter
thanAncientChina.FromLegalismtoConfucianismtoDaoism,Chineseschoolsofthought
werenotjustincrediblydiverse,butoftendirectlycontradictedeachother.However,the
philosophyofDaoismresonateswithmanypeopletodayinourmodernworld.Afterseeingthe
uncountableamountsofdeathsfromeventslikeWorldWarII,theVietnamWar,andMaos
GreatLeapForward,humanshaveessentiallyallagreedthatreducingthetotalamountof
violenceshouldbeachiefconcerntoallpeople,justasLaoTzu,thefounderofDaoism
believed..Thisishowaphilosophicalideadraftedthousandsofyearsagobypeoplewholived
entirelydifferentlivesthanusisstillrelevantandcontinuestoshapeourlivestoday.

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