Analysis of Death of Woman Wang Historical Novel by Jonathan Spence - Essay Example

The fascinating structure of the book consists majorly on the observation on the people having to do work on the land, their social conflicts and, their family structures. . 2 In his quest to escape the challenges and the fact of being dismissed, he was not happy to go back to his home in Shao-wu, Fukien, out of fear of disgrace, this instead compelled him into an absolute poverty3. His attempt, after finishing the local history, culminated further into more sorrow. His return to Fukien was accompanied by the Rebellion of the feudatory.

Since he was amongst the many literati and former officials, he got ordered to take up bureaucratic "office", it was upon refusing to resume the office that Feng retreated to the Fukien mountains, where the constant exposure in 'bitter weather led to his death. Another key actor aforementioned is Huang who was also a magistrate in the County, stationed in the county’s city. A Chinese imperial official, who had gone past the Confucian examinations and was posted in T'an-ch'eng. Upon coming to realizing T'an-ch'eng as a very poor area, in which, almost the whole population had been decimated.

In his attempt, to alleviate the poverty by campaigning for tax cuts, particularly in areas where farming had ceased to operate as usual, taxes collection could help, not only from the rich landowners but also from the poor farmers. He came across a lot of challenges and concerns; one such was the superstitions, most of the residents committing suicides out of the hard life and a series of natural disasters. Though he is compassionate, Huang can safely be considered a product of the unsuccessful Chinese major system Confucian ethics and ideas, overwhelmed by the arrogance and the corruption of the rich and the degeneracy and despair of the poor.