Phoenix Mountain
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress takes place on Phoenix Mountain, but is this a fictional setting that Dai Sijie created? In reality, Phoenix Mountain exists. It is located in the Liaoning Province of Northeastern China, 52 kilometers northwest of Dandong, China. The mountain towers over the nearby Yalu River and measures about 840 meters from base to highest peak. The Yalu River is what separates China and North Korea. Despite the river’s illustration on many maps, the city near Phoenix Mountain in the story, known as Yong Jing, can not be located. This means one of three things: the city is fictional, the city is renamed for story purposes, or the city is simply too small to show up on any significant published map. As for visiting this area today, the only way to get there is by slow train or bus as the express trains pass right by it. In addition, the cost for entrance, like in any typical State Park, is 30RMB, or about $4.40, and is open from 8:00AM-5:00PM.
Although Phoenix Mountain acts as an area for relocation during the Chinese Revolution in the novel, there is not much recorded evidence about what its real use during this time was. However, the 300,000 year old mountain does have a history as sacred place. Phoenix Mountain attracted ancient emperors and nobles who left temples and pagodas behind to suggest its sacredness and as a place of worship. In addition, as a whole the mountain served as a holy Taoist Shrine for centuries. On its west ridge, there have been rocks found that resemble images of gods such as Guanyin, the God of Longevity, among others. As for today, the mountain hosts an annual festival on April 28th known as the “Medicine King Meeting” during which visitors are exposed to folk music, local delicacies, and especially herbal medicines. The mountain is known for its thriving plant life and is known to have over 800 types of rare plants and medicinal herbs.
In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie mentions, on many occasions, that the houses of the workers stand on stilts. Although the story is fictional, the author is accurate here as Phoenix Mountain is a very craggy and uneven mountain. In this way, the only way for houses to successfully stand would be to build them on stilts to provide a level base. It is also said that the mountain is very difficult and “gutsy” to climb. This links to the story in that Luo makes the dangerous journey to visit the Seamstress every day it was “gutsy” but he took the risk for the good of the woman he loved.
On a deeper and inferred level, Dai Sijie had reason to make Phoenix Mountain the setting for his story about the Chinese Revolution. Although there is no evidence that Mao Zedong actually relocated people to Phoenix Mountain, Dai Sijie realized that it was known as a place of “old” culture and sacred tradition through the festivals and temples it hosted. In this way, the author made the mountain his setting to show how Mao Zedong was trying to erase all of the “old” traditions and culture. Sijie’s novel is about re-education during the Chinese Revolution, and what better place to represent the extent of Mao Zedong’s plan to re-shape China then to bring the re-education to a mountain of “old” practice?
Although Phoenix Mountain acts as an area for relocation during the Chinese Revolution in the novel, there is not much recorded evidence about what its real use during this time was. However, the 300,000 year old mountain does have a history as sacred place. Phoenix Mountain attracted ancient emperors and nobles who left temples and pagodas behind to suggest its sacredness and as a place of worship. In addition, as a whole the mountain served as a holy Taoist Shrine for centuries. On its west ridge, there have been rocks found that resemble images of gods such as Guanyin, the God of Longevity, among others. As for today, the mountain hosts an annual festival on April 28th known as the “Medicine King Meeting” during which visitors are exposed to folk music, local delicacies, and especially herbal medicines. The mountain is known for its thriving plant life and is known to have over 800 types of rare plants and medicinal herbs.
In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie mentions, on many occasions, that the houses of the workers stand on stilts. Although the story is fictional, the author is accurate here as Phoenix Mountain is a very craggy and uneven mountain. In this way, the only way for houses to successfully stand would be to build them on stilts to provide a level base. It is also said that the mountain is very difficult and “gutsy” to climb. This links to the story in that Luo makes the dangerous journey to visit the Seamstress every day it was “gutsy” but he took the risk for the good of the woman he loved.
On a deeper and inferred level, Dai Sijie had reason to make Phoenix Mountain the setting for his story about the Chinese Revolution. Although there is no evidence that Mao Zedong actually relocated people to Phoenix Mountain, Dai Sijie realized that it was known as a place of “old” culture and sacred tradition through the festivals and temples it hosted. In this way, the author made the mountain his setting to show how Mao Zedong was trying to erase all of the “old” traditions and culture. Sijie’s novel is about re-education during the Chinese Revolution, and what better place to represent the extent of Mao Zedong’s plan to re-shape China then to bring the re-education to a mountain of “old” practice?
