The Couplets (Dramatic Irony)
A pair of couplets reading: Benevolent rulers, happy family; long life, good harvests, hang outside the Kao family compound. These couplets are ironic because they do not accurately represent the Kao family. The patriarch of the family, the Venerable Master Kao, is dictatorial and violent, not benevolent, and because of the Venerable Master Kao's demands, the family is overall unhappy. Many of the characters die early; Mei, Ming-feng, and Jui-Chueh die young during the narrative, and several other family members suffer early deaths before the narrative begins. Lastly, the phrase good harvests implies abundance. However, Uncle Ke-ting squanders the family's wealth with his gambling, and Chueh-hsin makes a pittance of a salary.
The Venerable Master Kao's "Confucian Morals" (Situational Irony)
The Venerable Master Kao is a member of the Confucian Morals Society who demands his family's complete obedience and proper behavior. Yet, on many occasions, the Venerable Master Kao behaves hypocritically, often without realizing his hypocrisy. For example, the Venerable Master Kao gives Chueh-hui a book entitled "On Filial Piety and the Shunning of Lewdness." However, the Venerable Master Kao is known for his published lewd poetry and his dalliances with female impersonating opera singers. For his sixty-sixth birthday, the Venerable Master Kao celebrates with erotic operas, which he forbids the younger generation from watching.
It is a point of pride that the Kao family compound has "four generations under one roof, only one less generation than the 'ideal' family...yet not one day goes by without open quarrels and secret wrangles." The Venerable Master Kao's Confucian family structures are hollow. The Kao family, which ostensibly does everything "by the book," endures greater disharmony because they follow prescriptive roles.
Chueh-hui's Comparison to Ho Chu-ping (Verbal Irony)
In Chapter 3, Chueh-hui compares himself to Ho Chu-ping, a general of the Han dynasty, who refused the life of luxury that the emperor granted him to fight the Huns. Chueh-hui believes his "war" is with the arbitrary social conventions restricting his freedom. Chueh-hui feels he needs to fight back by getting involved in the New Culture Movement. This statement is ironic because soldiers frequently subject Chueh-hui's city to actual military violence. Eventually, General Chang takes over Chengdu. Moreover, Chueh-hui eagerly accepts a life of luxury and privilege until he escapes to Shanghai.
Mei's Prophecy (Dramatic Irony)
One reason that Mei and Chueh-hsin were not married was a prophecy that Mei would have died young if she and Chueh-hsin matched. This prophecy is ironic because the very fact that Chueh-hsin marries someone else is what kills Mei; despite being young, she loses the will to live because of her loss of her love and future.
