In Chengs King of Chess, the theme of yin and yang is very prevalent in the characters attitudes and actions
by
yuliyaboyalska2 (student)
Yuliya Boyalskaya
Reflective Statement: King of Chess
In Cheng’s King of Chess, the theme of yin and yang is very prevalent in the characters’ attitudes and actions. The narrator and Wang Yisheng are two very different people when they first meet each other, yet they are drawn to each other in the need to balance themselves out.
After the Cultural Revolution, many changes take place which heavily influence both the narrator and Wang Yisheng’s lives. The narrator loses his family, and worries about getting enough food and shelter—yet he receives ample help from his friends and ends up getting a job so he could get paid and eat. The narrator has no other hobbies or special interests, yet seems lonely and is looking for a friend. Wang is a foil to the narrator because while he has lived in poverty his whole life and is obsessed with food and chess, he doesn’t need anything else to keep him happy. The narrator, in the beginning, understands why they call him “Chess Fool”: because he doesn’t care about anything except chess and is too socially awkward to be accepted anywhere.
