(SHORT STORIES) Chapter-6-The Chinese Statue - Jeffrey Archer(Workbook Questions)

Question- 1

How does the short story "The Chinese Statue" explore the theme of appearance versus reality?

Ans:- In the short story 'The Chinese Statue' , an old statue of Emperor Kung belonging to Ming Dynasty , is the main object of attraction around which the entire story revolves.
       
           The story begins with the process of auctioning an old statue of Emperor Kung - a masterpiece of Ming dynasty and ends with the startling revelation of the reality of the statue.
           
            Sir Alexander Heathcot had a deep passion for the art of the Ming dynasty. When he was appointed as an ambassador to China he had the opportunity to explore the overall details about Ming dynasty's artistic works.
         
            During one of his wanderings in the countryside he came by an old statue in an artists's workshop. After having completed his term in China, he brought the statue with him to London and kept it in his drawing room for all to see and admire its artistic beauty. In fact Sir Alexander was so enamoured of this wonderful piece of art that he wanted the statue to remain with his family.He made a provision that it should be passed on to the next generations and nobody would be able to sell it to the detriment of the family's honour.

             

             As such the statue remained with the descendants of Sir Alexander as an heirloom for over a hundred years.

             His latest descendants Alex Heathcote when faced with financial crisis, decided to sell the statue. He took it to Sotheby's auction house where it was discovered that the statue was fake -- a copy of the original. So the reality was totally different from the appearance. The Chinese Statue which had the semblance of reality turned out to be a mere imitation of the original.