In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’

-Ian Johnson
Q1- The rural culture in China is under threat due to urbanization, at
a rapid rate. As the traditional culture of china is based in villages the
villages as well as the culture is under threat. In 2000 the total
number of villages in china was 3.7 million and in 2010 the number
of villages came down to 2.6 million which is a loss of about 300
villages per day according to the article.
Q2- The writer has used many literary devices such as:
Allusion- The writer has included two stories one of the musicians in
the start and then of the rural village. These two stores latter merge
making the reader understand the context. This adds context and
depth to the passage as the musicians of the rural area is being used
as an example.
Mood- The mood of the passage is concerning and indicative as the
passage is mainly third person and there are quote of Lei Peng in
which he talks about how his rural area was removed.
Q3- The tone of the passage is very informative as the author is
describing the events which took place in a direct way. The author is
staying on point and telling the events as this passage is in a form of
a news article.
Q4- The musicians and there in the passage is being used as a
metaphor as in a village the culture which can be seen in the cultural
iceberg one of thee main component is music and the writer wanted
to convey the tradition by displaying a key component of culture
“music” as a metaphor.

Aarav Gupta
9B