Young Fu of The Upper Yangtze - Author's Point of View

Author's Point of View

In terms of plot, the story is told through the eyes of Young Fu. However, in terms of the overall conception, the story is told from a Western point of view, which should be no surprise, as the author is a Westerner who herself lived in China and knows the country from first-hand experience. One can see the author's point of view in that the featured Westerner characters tend to be sympathetic, whereas unsympathetic Western characters or influences are merely mentioned or alluded to. However, Westerners are depicted only sporadically in the book, and by the middle of the book they have all evacuated the city, having flown to the gunboats on the Yangtze to avoid the general chaos of the warring Tuchuns.

The main character has a rather Western taste for progress and invention.

The author also appears to harbor a sympathy towards the Nationalist government vs. social/land reformers such as the Communists (however, one sees this sympathy only if one knows what to look for — a child might not notice it). Again, considering who the author is, this should be no surprise. This point of view does not detract from the plot of the book, and in fact can be the seed of discussions about author bias with students old enough to understand what that means.