The document discusses the evolution of women's values regarding love and marriage in Chinese history, contrasting traditional figures like Yulian, who adheres to family values and sacrifices personal happiness, with modern women like Jia Jia, who prioritize individual desires and financial independence. It highlights the impact of different economic stages outlined in Marxist historiography, showing how Yulian represents a feudal mindset while Jia Jia embodies capitalist ideals. Ultimately, it argues that contemporary women should embrace their own identities and strive for personal happiness rather than conforming to traditional societal expectations.

1. Chinese History
Based on the lecture on Chinese History and Marxist
Historiography that we can observe that women’s values for
love and marriage have changed dramatically. China entered
different periods from the feudal system to the opening of
China. In the feudal period, people attached importance to
family ethics took the land as the main interest and lived a life
according to family rules. However, after China entered the
capitalist era, capitalism encouraged people to pursue money
and material life.
Marriage and love are very important to a woman. However, at
different times, a woman has a completely different way of life.
For example, Yulian lived in a feudal period dominated by
family so she put her husband's family first. In my opinion,
Yulian sacrificed her love and happiness for putting family
first, which is a great thing but not worth it. However, Jia Jia
from the beginning of the gold digger because of a series of
events and become a brave pursuit of their own love and life
woman is very worthy of praise.
With the passage of time, people's concept has changed
gradually, from the old conservative value of family to the
priority of their own ideas, from the pursuit of land as the
interest standard to the pursuit of money and material life as the
most important goal, which is an important symbol of the
changing times.
Jia Jia and Julian have something in common. They all focus on
who can give them a stable and good life. However, the
difference is that Yulian follows the traditional idea of giving
priority to her family but Jia Jia is based on their own ideas to
live out their own life.
Marxist Historiography
1. Marxist Historiography has five different stages. The first

2. stage is Primitive Communism, People at this stage use hunting
as raw meat, which is the most important asset. The second
stage is Oriental Slavery, the agricultural development began,
and people willing to fight elsewhere and take slaves to
cultivate for themselves. The most valuable is the slave. The
third stage is Feudalism, serfs or peasants serve for their king
and pay the rent or tax. Capitalism is the four-stage, the most
important asset is money. The five-stage is Communism, for
this stage that no more private ownership and it will be a world
of peace and no war.
2. Base on Marxist Historiography lecture, the era of Yulian's
life is very important to the family. She listens to her family's
arrangements to get married and takes care of her husband's
family after marriage. So I think Yulian is in the third stage of
the Marxism Feudalism stage because people at this stage serve
the king, they obedient and obey the rules. Yulian's life all
follow her husband’s family and obey her family. Jia Jia
emphasized that she has money from the beginning of the film.
Anything she wants that she just use money to get it. All Jia Jia
thinks that she can buy it with money. Therefore, Jia Jia is the
fourth stage Capitalism stage in Marxism.
3. On the stage of Yulian so be Feudalism. Yulian represents a
woman who is loyal to the family. Her husband's family is most
important for her, although her husband married another woman
but she didn't say anything just accept it. She did everything for
her husband's family and does not complain. Her only job is to
take care of her husband's family and to ensure that her
husband's family works well and follows the orders of everyone
in the family.
About Jia Jia’s stage, I think the most valuable aspect of
capitalism is money, so she can do anything to have money and
have a better material life. Jia Jia wants to have more money
and even marry her boyfriend. She goes to the United States to
have a baby because it can bring a lot of money to her. Compare

3. Jia Jia and Yulian, Jia Jia has more freedom. Unlike Yulian, Jia
Jia is free to choose and decide the life she wants.
The culture is not permanently fixed. From the era of Yulian, it
can be seen that traditional culture is like a woman who relies
on men to live with men. For men wealth as a symbol. However,
the era changes. Jia Jia represents a modern woman. She has her
own ideas. She can decide her own life. Therefore, culture can
be changed and it's not permanently fixed.
Finding Mr Right / 北京遇上西雅图
1. As a modern woman, JiaJia is a woman who is brave to
pursue her own goals and considers anything based on herself
rather than others. JiaJia is a person who loves herself very
much. For example, she wants to live in a big room. Just go to
fight for Mrs. Huang to fight for a big room. If she wants to eat
anything then she will try to get it to eat, she won't let anyone
change her mind. At the end of the movie, she finally has a
family that she ever wanted but she noticed that this was not the
family she wanted. She immediately chose to leave and raised
her children by herself. She also creates her own career. When
she saw Frank and she was also in the Empire State Building,
she braves to pursue the love she wants.
2. At the beginning of the film, the factor that shaped her
attitude towards interpersonal relationships and marriage was
money. But after a series of events, JiaJia realized that
meaningful life was not only the money, especially when her
boyfriend was arrested in prison, she immediately lost all help.
This situation let her know that life is plain and meaningful is
more meaningful than life that is only with money.
3. The similarity between Jiajia and Yulian is that both of them
insist on the goals they believe and verify believe that they are
moving forward. Different places are Jiajia's brave pursuit of
their goals and Yulian will consider The situation at the time
and accepting the tradition at the time believed that it was her
fate.

4. 4. Jiajia lives in the modern society, the current society attaches
importance to everyone is an individual and advocates freedom
is not bound by tradition, so Jiajia can do whatever she wants to
do as long as she wants to do it. Yulian lived in the traditional
and conservative ancient society at that time and attached great
importance to the family and the ideas of others. Everything
must be considered detail and have to take care of everyone's
feeling. Many people can truly face their inner feelings, causing
traditional women to think that this is their fate.
Destiny 江南愛情故事
Yulian representation of the traditional Chinese marriage.
After watched this movie, I feel sad. Yulian representation of
traditional Chinese marriage. Her marriage was decided by her
family. She had never seen her husband before she got married.
Her husband did not appear on the wedding day. She can choose
to go home after the wedding but she insists on staying at her
husband’s house as a wife. She is filial to her mother-in-law and
treats her husband's brother and sister very well. She never feels
angry or wants to leave. Yulian shows Chinese women's virtues
of traditional marriage.
In my view, I don’t think that modern Chinese women need to
embody those attitudes. As a modern woman, we should try to
face our feelings and fight for our happiness. I think that one of
the most precious things is to have your own ideas and be able
to create your own life. People should be able to change, not
yield, to life that you don’t want. My grandparents' marriage is
like Yulian. My grandmother didn't know my grandfather before
getting married. My grandmother's family decided her marriage.
After marriage, my grandmother took care of my father alone
until she died. My grandma took care of me and took care of
this family until she died. She never complained, but she said
she didn't know what is love. She follows the tradition to
protect our family. Because of my grandmother's story, I feel

5. very sad after watching this movie. I think that modern women
should listen to their hearts and create their own lives instead of
obeying their lives to fate and tradition.