The Five Chinese Brothers Book Analysis HD 25

The Five Chinese Brothers written by Claire Huchet Bishop  and illustrated by Kurt Wiese

 

You could say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about the deep bond of love between brothers. You could also say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about deception and literally getting away with murder. It is an entertaining story that contradicts its own charm.

Coined as “an ancient folk tale”, The Five Chinese Brothers is based on a Chinese legend The Ten Brothers, known to be written around the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 “) and retold in Huchet-Bishop’s book published in 1938. (Retrieved October 8, 2013, Wikipedia)

 

The tale is that of 5 brothers who “look exactly alike”, although each possesses their own unique gift or supernatural power, if you will. Our story begins with the first brother showing off his gift of having the ability to swallow the sea to a child who begs to go fishing with him.  After the brother swallows the entire sea, the ill-fated victim goes off collect fish and ocean treasures. Unfortunately the disobedient child would not return on command and the brother, so full of the sea, could no longer hold it and returns it to the sand engulfing the child. The child drowns.

The sea-swallowing brother is sentenced by the judge to be put to death by having his head cut off. But before he does, he asks the judge for one last request, to see his mother to say goodbye. The kind-hearted judge grants his request.

Unknowingly to the judge, the one who returns for his death sentence is not the first brother, but the second brother who happens to have an iron neck and his head cannot be cut off. Everyone in the crowd was angry he could not be killed and decided he should be drowned.  The second brother asks a second time to bid his mother goodbye, and the kind-hearted judge grants his request again.
We witness the same scenario again and again, with the third and fourth and finally the fifth brother, each defeating death with their uniquely amazing supernatural powers and each time making the switch thanks to the judge granting them the opportunity to bid their mother goodbye.
Finally, the exasperated judge rules that because the Chinese brother has defeated death he must be innocent and lets him return home to live happily ever after with his mother, and his other 4 brothers, of course.

This book has been historically criticized for its’ stereotypically yellow and slant-eyed depiction of the Asian people. In fact, the Chinese in the book do have many similar characteristics, as so do any race of people we meet in their own country.  We do have to remember this is a children’s book, written in 1938. Ethnic diversity wasn’t much strived for in that time period. Reading the text, without the pictures, you wouldn’t catch a hint of stereotyping but the illustrations by Kurt Wiese is what took The Five Chinese Brothers off of the shelves of at least one educational institution. (Banned at Salem Public Library because the racial stereotypes were demeaning to Chinese people (1990). (Retrieved October 12, 2013

http://epl.bibliocommons.com/list/show/69128707_wendylibrarian/70680896_banned_and_challenged_picture_books#sthash.KXxK3fnB.dpuf)

According to epl.bibliocommons.com, The Five Chinese Brothers was also challenged in a California school because of the violent plots to execute the brothers (1998).  I do remember reading this book as a child. I remember my wild imagining and wonder as the brother swallowed the sea, and held and held it in, until he could no longer hold it. I remember marveling at the brother who could stretch and stretch legs above the water so far that he could not drown. I remembered thinking how heroic each of them seemed as they stood in front of the judge and all the people and defeated death. I remember feeling a sense of relief that none had died those terrible sentenced deaths and somehow, what I do not remember is the violence.

 

Even as an adult and rereading the book, I was stunned by how much violence is actually implied. I was surprised by the other four brothers quick response in coming to the rescue of the first brother, and really surprised by the fact that there appeared to be no remorse by the brother whatsoever in the terrible drowning, or “disappearance” of the poor child on the beach.  This book teaches brotherly love on one hand, but also teaches us that if you have the right resources, it is good to get away with murder; this will lead to a life led “happily ever after.”

Another thing the book teaches the young reader is that authority apparently has no power whatsoever. Our good and kind-hearted judge grants our first brother, not one, not two, but 4 times to say goodbye to his mother.  You would think after the 2^nd or 3^rd time of death being defeated that he would realize something was amiss with these frequent mother goodbye visits. Then at the end, our dear judge, just throws up his hands, shrugs his shoulders and gives up. What I found mostly discerning was that the problems in the book were solved with deception. Not a great lesson to teach an elementary school child.

 

But here we are reading, somehow gleefully rooting each of them on. As a child I was enchanted, enthralled. And even now as an adult, I found the book wildly oddly entertaining. I imagined the swordsman’s tool coming down in a fierce thump and the Chinese brother triumphantly unharmed. I was mesmerized by the next brothers ability to withstand fire, and  I applauded the wit of the fifth Chinese brother as he exited the suffocating oven full of whipped cream after a long night and said “My, that was a good night’s sleep!” 

 

I found the other characters in the story including the mother, the judge, the sword-yielding head chopper and the people in the crowd all very much similar looking, which would lead you to believe that all Chinese people look the same. They all have very yellow skin, and black hair, usually pulled back into either a ponytail or a bun.  And apparently, there is only one woman in all of China, our much revered mother. She has no voice in the story whatsoever. But she is the true hero of the story. Not the brother who got away with murder, or the four accomplices.  Definitely not the innocent child, or the dimwitted judge. The mother, she comes out on top. She gets to be with her boys, happy, together, forever. And she gets to be the only woman in China. We can only hope she doesn’t ask her first son to take her fishing. She doesn’t move very fast these days.

 

I enjoyed this review of the story:

 (Rating by Sonky, reviewer; Retrieved October  10, 2013 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65217.The_Five_Chinese_Brothers)

“This book is a disgusting example of Orientalism in action in the educational system of the United States during the 20th Century. The cover alone should warn you of the prejudicial and stereotyped contents.

I love this book dearly. “

I would recommend this book to children. Just not my own children.