Heather read the following book and reviewed it as an extra assignment, to make up for a family trip during which she missed class... Enjoy!!
The Death of Woman Wang
Jonathan D. Spence
Life during the 1600s in China’s T’an Ch’eng province was anything but happy. One might expect to find an equal balance of catastrophes and blessings in any area, “9 out of 10 events in T’an Ch’eng fell into the catastrophe category.” While the western world was living in the middle ages, citizens of T’an Ch’eng struggled through numerous assaults, pillaging and burning from rebel bandits, regular famine and flooding, plagues of locusts, earthquakes leaving over 10,000 dead, and a breakdown in social order so severe that for nearly 70 years, not a single student passed any examinations (that would be like everyone in the US failing their SATs from now until 2076). Even family ties were not to be relied on, one proverb of the time claimed that it would “make more sense to eat one’s father, elder brother, or husband so as to preserve one’s own life, rather than have the whole family die.” The fact that the relationship between T’an Ch’eng family members was so fragile shows what a dangerously desperate condition this society was in. Sometimes family members were sold as slaves or prostitutes in order to keep the family’s head alive and continue the family name.
The Death of Woman Wang discuses the total result of these situations throughout its chapters, focusing mostly on social customs, government, the social status of women, marriage and divorce, and finally Woman Wang. Although the novel largely focuses on the worst aspects of China’s provincial life, it does seem to portray the social customs and laws of the time realistically. The story of Woman Wang describes the events leading to her death. Woman Wang had an affair with a neighboring man who convinced her to leave her husband. Once they had run away, they realized they had no money, and none of the neighboring towns or cities were willing to let the couple in to beg. Because women had such low status in society, and could offer no form of income unless they turned to prostitution, Woman Wang was becoming a burdon on her illicit lover. When he abandoned her, she tried to return home and beg her husband for forgiveness. Instead, shamed by her desertion, and unwilling to share his food and shelter with her, he strangles Woman Wang in her sleep. The dreams that she has are complete fiction from the mind of Jonathan Spence, but still hold deep symbolic meaning which is discussed later in the novel. However, the most interesting part of this story—and the entire novel—is not the story of Woman Wang. Although the western and eastern world were not able to communicate as much in the 1600s as they are now, there were a surprisingly large number of similarities between life in the T’an Ch’eng province, and life in Europe at the current time.
Although the crops raised in Europe and China were different, agriculture maintained similar. Some animals were used to lighten the human work load, but only the higher class families were able to afford this much more efficient method. Instead, large families with plenty of children to work the fields were encouraged, just as during Europe’s agricultural revolutions. All crops were taxed, both by landlords and the government, like the feudal system of the western world, in which farmers owed both their lord and the king taxes every year. Many farmers lied, reporting an estimated average of 20% fewer crops produced than they had actually harvested. This made little difference in the T’an Ch’eng province, as only about one in every ten years produced a good harvest.
Just as in the western world, China’s leaders had also become corrupted after years of undisputed power. The taxes that farmers struggled to produce every year went to support the king and his officials in their extravagant lifestyles. A huge portion of the yearly tax income was used to buy lucky fighting crickets to entertain the royal court. Even those who were supported by the general public were untrustworthy, and unable to help the people they were supposed to protect. Just as in Europe, when times began to get really desperate, city officials had walls built around the city’s boarders, and those who had no legitimate reason to visit the city (i.e. they wanted to beg) were denied access.
Just as in Hammurabi’s codes, and the code of chivalry followed by the knights of the Middle Ages, China also had specific fight codes with very detailed rules, the Legal Code. Any person striking another with a hand or foot received thirty blows if he caused a wound, eighty blows for breaking a tooth or bone, and in cases where permanent injury was caused, the offender forfeited half his property. If a woman or servant was struck, the punishment would be less severe. And in cases in which a woman or servant was the attacker, the punishment would be infinitely more severe.
Suicide was viewed to be as much of a crime and sin in China as it was throughout Europe as well. One Chinese law stated, “Your bodies were bequeathed to you by your mothers and fathers, but you go so far as to destroy those bodies…” therefore suicide was considered to bring the greatest shame upon the one who killed himself and dishonored his family. The only exceptions in which suicide was condoned were offered to women only. If they killed themselves in order to avoid rape or remarriage after being widowed, they would be revered and honored for their notable purity and faithfulness to their husbands. Of course, it would seem more logical for a woman to commit suicide than live as a rape victim, unable to support herself and never being fit for marriage, even to the lowest class man.
In Europe, superstitions were so deeply embedded in the culture that they had become a way of life. The same was true in the T’an Ch’eng province. Lucky crickets were sold in every major town or city. Many people believed their fate could be predicted by specific numbers, and certain days of the month were especially lucky. This is almost exactly the same premises as astrology, which was treated as a valid science consistently throughout the middle ages. Finally, there was a firm belief that good works would save one’s life. Passing a beggar without offering some amount of change or food seriously was considered to bring the worst luck possible. Remarriage, whether after being widowed or divorced was never a favorable situation for a woman either. Remarriage was not often encouraged in this society, as a woman would lose everything she had if she left her husband. In order to avoid divorces, several laws were created to discourage remarriage. If she ever remarried, her children and possessions, including her original dowry, would remain with her husbands family.
Women were never able to earn great respect within the T’an Ch’eng culture. “An intelligent woman could never be the match for a stupid man,” boasts one text quoted in this novel. Another chapter in
The Death of Woman Wang highlights the unbalanced pressure placed on each gender by society. Although “the highest standards were demanded and claimed… this was truer for women than men.” The four greatest virtues of a wife were chastity, courage, tenacity, and the ability to accept the family hierarchy, in which she held no rights. Once a woman married, she left her family and became bonded to her husband’s clan. The only reasons for divorce were if a woman was not able to bear sons, lasciviousness, failure to serve her in-laws, talking too much, being thievish, over jealous, or if the wife contracted a serious illness (not exactly “for better or worse”). Just as in Europe, women were expected to grow up and become the perfect wife—nothing more. Once in awhile, a woman avoided marriage, and remained a virgin for life, her purity inspiring awe. Although women were considered to have almost no contribution to society, they were still considered highly valuable. High female infanticide rates occurred as families began to realize that a son was more valuable, as he would always remain in his family’s clan, and be able to work to support his family when they grew old. Add to that the fact that the rich who could afford two or more wives did so to flaunt their wealth, and it’s no wonder that the male to female ratio was largely off balance. Virtuous women could bring large amounts of money to their family when she was traded, just as one would trade property or animals, to her husband’s clan.
So, even though there was little communication between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, many of their intrinsic values remained the same. Families functioned in the same way, existing to support the parents in old age and helping to run the family farm in order to survive. Governments abused their power by placing high taxes on anything possible, especially food, in order to support their extravagant lifestyles. A fear of suicide and strong existing superstitions ruled the virtues of both Chinese and European life. And in both societies women were offered no respect, treated as objects rather than people. Women were not allowed the freedoms or opportunities available to men, and these privileges decreased as a woman’s social status also decreased. All of these similarities are remarkable, and it seems, at least in
The Death of Woman Wang, that the basic qualities of both societies are exactly the same, and there really was no difference between Europe and China during the Middle Ages.
