Sinking by Yu Ta Fu

Question

1. While the narrator in “Sinking” yearns to return to the “Peach Blossom Spring,” he also expresses the desire of being his “Eve” in the “Garden of Eden.”  

a. If these “two” pastoral realms can be merged into “one,” what would the “combined” pastoral garden look like? 

The narrator is talking about a chinese utopian 

b. If “Peach Blossom Spring” represents the Chinese paradise, and the “Garden of Eden” the western one, what kinds of modern “political” visions does the narrator project for China as a nation, or national community? 

Answer 1

Integrating the "Peach Blossom Spring" and the "Garden of Eden" into one, create a unique utopia that combines Eastern and Western cultural and spiritual elements. This combined garden might embody the serenity, natural beauty, and harmony of the Peach Blossom Land, as well as the concepts of beginnings, innocence, and divine existence symbolized by the Garden of Eden. Landscapes may feature lush, untamed vegetation and tranquil waterways, reflecting the idyllic hidden valleys of Peach Blossom Land, alongside lush fruit trees, including the symbolic Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden. This fused realm would represent a perfect, timeless place where nature and human happiness coexist, free from the pain of the outside world, embodying the ideals of purity, peace and spiritual fulfillment.

Answer 2

He seems to be expressing a desire to be a part of a China that has adapted some western thinking into the political structure. A nation or national community that holds to custom, while at the same time allowing new ones to grow.