Throughout the segment of this book, I discovered many projects that helped me develop a better understanding of the plot and how the different perspectives of the Chinese population were displayed through the characters, especially the hero. I was able to choose this topic as one of my research projects in which I examined texts from Confucius and read about filial piety in order to understand one of the many factors that influenced the characters: family. These family values ​​can be attributed to China's deeply rooted culture, the Four Ancients: Old Customs, Old Cultures, Old Habits and Old Ideas. Confucius' Classic of Filial Piety emphasizes the need for children to respect their parents, without blindly following their requests. This, however, contradicted the demands of the communist government of the time, which demanded total control over the youth. So it makes sense that he sends all the young people to work in the Down to the Countryside movement, which is the setting of the book. It is through these circumstances of being away from family and being allowed to develop their own opinions about the government and its policies that allow young people to confront divergent views on morality and the impacts of the Cultural Revolution. These cries, worries, and praises are all illustrated through each of the characters in the book, especially the heroes, who have the most difficulty relating to each other. Because of this difficulty, it would have been even more complicated to understand why Ah Cheng created such complex characters and motifs, without the research project we were assigned. The cultural significance of these values ​​helped me gain a deeper understanding of the middle of paper ......h stage of the Cultural Revolution about the characters in his short stories based on the setting of the book. By having an open path to each character's inner feelings about their situation in response to relationships and the political scene, the reader is able to fully engage in understanding the character and the Chinese mentality. Nor will the reader be completely convinced to support the base, nor the Communist Party. This is important because at the time of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese people were not bipolar on political issues either. Instead, many of them supported the Cultural Revolution, but over time they had more and more doubts. Cheng's ability to reflect this exact blend of positivism and skepticism onto his characters creates the perfect mood for this novel. Works Cited Cheng, Ah. The king of trees. New York: New Directions, 2010. Print.