Chieftains In Red Poppies

Towards the end of World War II, social changes in different countries, such as China were occurring. China, which had originally been ruled by an emperor, transitioned into a Communist state, and promoted the idea that everyone was equal to each other. However, in Tibet, the social changes took a slower route out of serfdom. Eventually, the Communist state of China came to Tibet and forcefully pushed them towards becoming a more modern society, which faced backlash. Alai’s novel Red Poppies is set around this time period and not only follows the development of the main character from adolescence to adulthood, it also shows the development of conflict as the push for a more modern society arises. This conflict is seen through the relationship between the Chieftains and their people or servants by portraying them as an owner and their product. The way that the Chieftains treated their servants demonstrated the class gap within the society which China sees as a reason for a social revolution. However, despite the need for the social revolution, it is demonstrated that China is not needed for Tibet’s transition.
In Red Poppies, the older Chieftains tend to view their servants as lower class animals, rather than …show more content…
One type of relationship portrays the older Chieftains as being selfish and also thinking of their servants as animals. The other relationship, involving the Idiot, is more humble and is built on friendship as well as a goal to liberate their servants. The relationships are portrayed in this format so that Alai could contrast the two different types of societies; an older serfdom society and a more modern society. This is done to counter the idea that the Chinese were needed in Tibet to help transition into a modern society, since the Tibetans, or at least the Tibetans along the border, were already going through the change