The death of woman Wang - Essay Example

The Death of Woman Wang Jonathan Spence, of the book “The Death of Woman Wang,” summons from the past the lives of the forgotten, ordinary, and poor men and women (Spence, xii). He explores the lives of the people during the beginning of the Ch’ing dynasty in a murky province called Shantung T’an-ch’eng. His materials are mostly gathered from three main sources. His first source is the handbook for magistrates by Huang Liu-hung. Huang served as T’an-ch’eng’s magistrate from 1670-1672 (Entenmann and Spence 268). The handbook provides valuable information on the administrative procedures and examples regarding the law from Huang’s first-hand experiences. It is a widely used and valuable source of information on the local government of the early Ch’ing dynasty. There were also published texts in 1673, 1763, and 1810 on the local history of the county (Cass and Spence 550). Additionally, Spence utilizes P’u Sung-ling’s text entitled “Strange Stories from the Liao Studio” in creative and unconventional ways. The data are all used to depict common superstitions and values and to draw the picture of “loneliness, sensuality, and dreams” (Spence xiv). The first part, “The Observers,” talks about the catastrophes that struck the region, focusing on the earthquake in 1668 that wiped out a big part of the population. Additionally, people were stricken with the White Lotus revolt in 1622, plagues in 1640, Machu invasion in 1643, coupled with famine, floods, and raids in the 1650s. In a matter of fifty years, the region’s population of 200,000 dropped to merely 60,000. It is obvious here that the T’an-ch’eng people faced survival crisis, misery, and demoralization during that period. Suicide was so common that a proclamation has to be issued to dissuade it. In Huang’s text, he mentions that when he was serving in T’an-ch’eng, he observed that people view themselves worthless due to the poverty, hunger, and several other sufferings they go through. He added that people then do not have any idea of a happy life and the joys of living (Spence 14). The moral situation of the people hit an all-time low, causing conflicts to erupt within the family units, breaking down of social orders, and abandonment of moral restraints (Cass and Spence 551). The second part, “The Land,” explores the situation of the tax payments, quotas, and labor system. As the population fell, these established systems became more burdensome for the people, particularly the quota system. Registered lands dropped, showing the abuses in tax collections and the measures used by land owners to avoid paying the exorbitant taxes. Obviously, the established system in the land pushes the poor people more into poverty, giving them lesser and lesser hope --- which was not much to start with --- to be alleviated from their circumstances (Entenmann and Spence 269-70). The third part, “The Widow,” begins to explore the situation of the women in that region during that time. Historically, China’s view on women has been that of oppression, and they are merely treated with respect if they follow the conventional societal rules on the roles of women in the society (Cass and Spence 550). Spence here describes the burdens placed on widows, particularly by the legal code discouraging remarriage after the husband’s death. Remarriage would cause the widow to lose any inheritance from the husband to the husband’s family. However, instead of achieving the desired effect of proving the wife’s loyalty to the late husband, it merely prompted the husband’s family to put pressure on the widow to remarry. Spence however relates the story of a woman who resisted this pressure, which unfortunately resulted in the murder of her only son by her late husband’s family. The murdered was punished, but a part of the late husband’s family became the widow’s heir (Entenmann and Spence 270). In the fourth part, “The Feud,” Spence talks about a local family who runs a group of bandits. They were charged with several cases of homicide and the magistrate decided to end the powers of the family. The magistrate himself led a raid against the family and succeeded in suppressing the group of bandits. However, the leader was never captured (Entenmann and Spence 271). In the final part, “The Woman Who Ran Away,” centers on the Woman Wang mentioned in the title of the book. Wang is a married woman who ran away from her husband into the arms of her lover. After some time, her lover abandoned her and left her on the side of a road. Her husband found her and took her home, only to murder her after. The Woman Wang is not really the focus of this chapter, as Spence merely made slight narrations to her life. The captivating part of this story is its link to the overall idea of the book. Poverty and unhappiness drove people to act inappropriately during that oppressive era (Cass and Spence 552). This account of T’an-ch’eng begins with a catastrophic earthquake and ends with a murder. These are metaphors that the author uses to paint the miserable picture of the circumstances of the poor in late imperial China. The stories narrated in all the five chapters of the book are atypical in a society. Even the depiction of the Huang’s abilities as a magistrate is very unusual, and P’u’s texts do not represent ordinary events. Even the title of the book shows the peculiarity of the topic, and Spence clearly turn from factual to fictional sources to even add to the blurry distinction between imagination and reality. The author wants to convey a powerful message in the book. He obviously chose a depiction of ordinary lives in an almost unknown region at its worst time. It can successfully evoke an emotional response from the readers; however, the danger lies on the target reader of the author. If this literature is aimed at the general reader, it may contribute to a negative opinion about China (Entenmann and Spence 271). The author chooses an almost indifferent method of narrating details of events and circumstances. Additionally, at first glance, one may think that the chapters are not connected to each other. Towards the end of the book, it is easy to realize that the parts are the bits and pieces of the economic and labor situation experienced by the people during that time. Slowly, it uncovers to the readers the piercing sufferings that the diminishing population goes through. The individual stories are not really the focus, but an emphasis of the mental, physical, and emotional reactions of the people towards poverty. From the disasters that struck the region, to the exploitation of the rulers of the land, to the miserable situation that is almost impossible to fix, it is hard to feel bad about anyone, even to Woman Wang. As humans, it is inherent for us to try everything for the sake of survival. It is also human nature to seek happiness, security, and reasons for living. These are almost non-existent in rural T’an-ch’eng during the Ch’ing dynasty. And since even in normally thriving societies, women are oppressed, it is not surprising to see women in this part of the world more oppressed, more miserable, and more disillusioned. Overall, the book provides strong message on how misery, sufferings, and hunger (Spence 14), degrades the morality of people that could break down even the strongest possible relationship in a society (Entenmann and Spence 272). Works Cited Cass, Victoria B, and Jonathan Spence. "Review of the Death of Woman Wang." The Journal of Asian Studies. 39.3 (1980): 550-552. Print. Entenmann, Robert, and Jonathan D. Spence. "Review of the Death of Woman Wang." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 40.1 (1980): 268-272. Print. Spence, Jonathan D. The Death of Woman Wang. London: Quercus, 2008. Print. Read More