Bound Feet (Visceral and Visual Imagery)
Footbinding is an ancient process where a young girl's feet are broken and then reshaped into unnatural shapes, often only a few inches long. Footbinding was a way for a woman of the gentry to show her class, grace, and marriageability. The New Culture Movement called this practice into question. Footbinding was later outlawed.
Shu-chen is one of the few Kao girls whose mother binds her feet. Shu-chen learns about “misfortunes of those with unbound feet” from her mother. But the price Shu-chen pays for beauty is enormously high. Shu-chen's footbinding was torturous; not only did she endure “whippings, a long period of excruciating pain” and “endless nights” without sleep, she also did not receive the social capital bound feet promised. Instead of being revered, Shu-chen's bound feet made her “a target of brothers’ and sisters’ ridicule” about her feet, “a pair of such odd shaped things”.
When discussing Shu-chen's footbinding, Chueh-hui sees "the image of tiny bound feet in tiny embroidered scarlet satin shoes," alongside "the sobs of agony and pain.” The unmistakable shape of bound feet is an image that evokes the violence of gender inequality in the Confucian gentry.
Moon (Visual Imagery)
The moon is a recurring image throughout the text. A full moon often sets a romantic or sentimental mood for the scene, such as in Chapter 10 when Chueh-hui and Chueh-min walk by the light of the full moon and listen to Chueh-hsin play his bamboo flute.
When the youngsters end their excursion rowing on the lake, they find "the picture of the moon shining through the fog intriguing." The moon was clear and bright just moments before, and the veil of fog over the moon creates a sense of foreboding. Indeed, soon after the younger generation observes the moon, they receive word that hostilities have commenced in Chengdu.
When Chueh-hui bids goodbye to his friends before leaving for Shanghai, Hui-ju points out the "full moon riding silently through the limitless night sky." This moon is hopeful and unfettered; it promises that Chueh-hui's escape will be successful.
The Fragrance of Plum Blossoms (Olfactory Imagery)
Throughout the text, plum blossoms symbolize romantic love, particularly pure, young love. In Chapter 9, Chueh-hui walks past plum blossoms whose "fragrance drifted to his nostrils." Chueh-hui destroys the blossoms, and "his hands, stained yellow with the juice, were steeped in perfume." This foreshadows how Chueh-hui's love for Ming-feng eventually causes her demise, and her memory lingers in Chueh-hui's heart.
In Chapter 10, Chueh-hui follows the scent of plum blossoms after "a delicate fragrance assailed his nostrils." He ends up in the grove where Ming-feng picks flowers. The word "assailed" is a telling choice in this quotation. Chueh-hui's love for Ming-feng is dangerous and unplanned; by using "assailed," which connotes an attack, the text implies that Ming-feng's beauty and purity took Chueh-hui by surprise, and he loves her against his better judgment.
When the young generation goes rowing on the lake, they see that “on the left was the plum grove, the blossoms were no more, leaving the unadorned boughs proudly displaying themselves under the moon, with probably some left-over scent." Even when dreams of romantic love are lost, as was the case for Chueh-hsin and Mei, the emotions remain, just as the scent of plum blossoms lingers on the barren trees.
Lake (Visual Imagery)
The image of the lake conveys a multitude of moods. For example, when the younger generation goes rowing on the lake, finding a brief reprieve from the family's tyranny, the water is serene and still. The boat moves to a "wider expanse of water, the lake's surface displayed a grand patch of even reflection," which Chueh-min describes as being "like satin." The lake reflects and enhances the characters' feelings. When the group contemplates how they will eventually split up, and their mood changes, "the surface of the lake turned dark, everything became wrapped in grey, without a single ray of light."
When Ming-feng goes to the lake to drown herself, hopeless and fearful, "the water darkly glistened; at times feeding fish broke its placid surface." But as Ming-feng accepts her fate, the lake takes on a new beauty, and Ming-feng feels "the crystal depths would give her refuge." When Ming-feng jumps into the lake, the lake responds, as its "placid waters [stir] violently," reflecting the horror of Ming-feng's death; when Ming-feng drowns, the "surface of the lake again became calm," foreshadowing that Ming-feng's death will be quickly and completely forgotten.
