An Analysis of Power Distance in Post Qing Dynasty： From the Perspective of A Dream of Red Mansions

【Abstract】A Dream of Red Mansions， which embodied the essence of Chinese culture and also embodied the uniqueness of Chinese literature. Up to now， there are so many experts study A Dream of Red Mansions from different aspects. But none of them prefer to study A Dream of Red Mansions from Hofstede cultural dimensions. This thesis will focus on Post Qing Dynasty and attach great importance to power distance on the basis of A Dream of Red Mansions. The findings reveal that there exists a high level of power distance in the late of Qing Dynasty and it shows that patriarchal social system has long been existed in the society.

【Key Words】Power distance， Patriarchal social system， Post Qing Dynasty， A Dream of Red Mansions

1. Introduction

Culture is an important element in literature and literature can reflect the essence of culture. The masterpiece A Dream of Red Mansions reflects different aspect of Chinese culture， so a deep analysis of A Dream of Red Mansions with the perspective of Hofstede’s power distance dimensions will be an interesting research.

1.1 Overview of Hofstede cultural dimensions

Hofstede （Hofstede， 1980，1983，1984， 1991，1997， 2001）， using data obtained from employee attitude surveys from IBM subsidiaries in forty countries， found that the cultures of these forty nations differed along four primary dimensions： power distance， uncertainty avoidance， individualism， and masculinity. （Jandt，2007） The result was revealed in his book （Hofstede，2001）Culture’s Consequences： International Differences in Work-Related Values in 1980， where it was defined into four cultural dimensions：

（1）power distance（2） uncertainty avoidance（3） individualism/collectivism（4） masculinity/femininity

In this thesis， we will merely focus on power distance dimension embodied in A Dream of Red Mansions.

2. Analysis of Power Distance Dimension embodied in A Dream of Red Mansions

Power Distance demonstrates the degree of inequity in the society and can be measured by power distance index. In general， a higher ranking index means stronger social hierarchy All the social members are educated to stick to the rigid power system which stresses absolutely compliance and high respects toward higher authorities.

3. Power Distance Between Male and Female Power-holders

In the novel， Cao Xueqin has depicted the character of Wang Xifeng. She is in charge of all sorts of things in Rong Mansion. When Leng Zixing describes Rong Mansion to Jia Yuchun. He describes Wang Xifeng as， “ she’s extremely good-looking and a clever talker. So resourceful and astute that no man in ten thousand is a match for her.” （Cao Xueqin， 1994） Qin keqing， who is an intimate friend of Wang XIfeng， also said that， “you are such an exceptional woman， aunt， that even men in official belts and caps are no match for you.” （Cao Xueqin， 1994） And in the eyes of Zhou rui， Wang Xifeng is an exceptional woman. she said， “As for talking， ten eloquent men are no match for her.” （Cao Xueqin， 1994） From what described by these people， we could find that Wang Xifeng has ability to charge Rong Mansion. But no matter how capable she is， she cannot escape from the ancient and out-dated patriarchal social system. Which can be best illustrated with the example of Jia Lian. In the novel， Jia Lian have affairs with Bao Er’s wife. But when Wang Xifeng notices their adultery， she asks Dowager（賈母） for help. Everybody knows that Dowager totally trust and care about Wang Xifeng， but this time ，she didn’t help. Instead， Dowager said， “Don’t take it so seriously. He’s only a boy and as greedy as a cat. This sort of thing can’t be helped. All young man go through such stages.” （Cao Xueqin， 1994） From this comment， we could find that even though Wang Xifeng is in charge of all sorts of things. But when it comes to the affair of his husband， she can’t do anything， but obey the order of patriarchal social system. This shows that in terms of power， male power-holders precede female power-holder. Another example is Jia Tanchun， she is also an astute woman just like Wang Xifeng. But she cannot do everything except to accept her father’s will to marry her to a far distant area. Vice Verse， You Sanjie， who is an pure and innocent woman inwardly， had to kill herself because the person she love， Liu xiangliu didn’t believe that she is pure and innocent.

Another example is that who Jia She， an old reprobate who wants YuanYang to be his concubine， he asks his wife （lady Xing） to be the matchmaker for him. In the eyes of Wang Xifeng， lady Xing is a “stupid，weak-minded woman who， to save herself trouble， always humored Jia She， finding her sole pleasure in life in amusing property and money. All decisions great or small in their household she left to her husband.”This shows that the patriarchal social system deeply rooted in Lady Xing’s mind. How satirical it is， a woman has to be a matchmaker of her own husband.

4. Conclusion

From what we have discussed above， we can safely draw the conclusion that China is a high power distance country. And even if woman are capable of dealing with all sorts of thing ，even if they are talented， they cannot face the fate of being controlled by the patriarchal social system， in which man holds more power than woman. A Dream of Red Mansions nakedly revealed the alternation of a Dynasty. In the Post Qing Dynasty， the tragic fate of female characters is particularly highlighted， who， due to the constraints of patriarchal social system， was forced to be the victims of that era in order to maintain the interests of the family， such as Jia Tanchun and Jia Yuanchun.

【References】

[1]Hofstede，G.（2001）， Culture’s Consequences，Sage Publications， Thousand Oaks， CA

[2]Sameng Wu， Dream of Red Mansions and the old Chinese family [M] Hunan： Yuelu bookstore， 1998.

[3]Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang， A Dream of Red Mansions.

[4]王昆侖.紅樓夢人物論[M].北京：北京出版社，2004.