The Death of Woman Wang: A Historical Microcosm of China - Book Report/Review Example

The Death of Woman Wang: A Historical Microcosm of China 1 Spence, J.D. The Death of Woman Wang. Penguin Books. 1979. pp. A review essay by Your Name. While China is known historically as the birthplace of many a religious, technological, and social breakthroughs, much is still not known to the modern world or outside of China about its history as a nation and the historical culture of its people. Jonathan D. Spence, better known as the author J.D. Spence, a British historian and Sterling professor who had a keen interest in Chinese history and culture, wrote the 1979 book “The Death of Woman Wang” to serve as an insider look into the social culture and mindset of 17th century China. Contrary to what the title will lead you believe, the story is not about a woman named Wang. Rather, the book is about a series of characters and relationships whose stories take place in the T'an Ch'eng area of rural North-Eastern China. There are a number of themes running through the book that a reader must take into account in order to develop a better understanding of the way the book was written. Chapter 1 sets the tone for the book with a history of the T'an Ch'eng area and the introduction of the magistrate Huang Liu-huang and the peasant view from the opinion of P'u Sung. Chapter 2 then shows us the extent of agricultural life in the area and the effect of the tax system on the people and the story of Liu-T'ing-yuan. Chapter 3 is where he begins to deal with the title of the book through the death of Woman P'eng. Chapter 4 shows the reader the nitty gritty truth about the justice system of the era as applied to females, families and how the magistrate tried to protect those, specifically the women, whom he knew to be innocent of crimes they were accused of. The epilogue of the story is a wishful view of how justice could have been served durign that 2 time by having the gods punish the worthless husbands of the women whose tales were shaed in the earlier part of the novel. Spence has managed to write a book that presents a gripping account of the lives of peasant farmers in a country where men are king and women, did not have an actual role, recognition, or position in society. Covering a span of 20 years story-wise in the area, the stories do not focus on a particular character or characters. Rather it tells the various stories of fictional people from the area. His stories are based on historical facts about the region stemming from the death of the Chinese at the hands of the Manchu, a period of famine, and the White Lotus uprising to name but a few of the historical incidents represented in the story-lines of each character. It is important to note that while the people that he wrote about in the book are fictional, Spence, being a Chinese history buff, knew better than to fictionalize historical details of the era. Rather than make up social situations, he instead used China's own interesting history in the crafting of the story-lines and actual places in 17th century China as the backdrop or settings for his stories. He based his book on the research results of his readings about the local history of the area and information from the local magistrate. The combination of a complex world history lesson, alongside his interesting writing style resulted in a very well researched, well written, and engaging tale of life's successes and failures in a fledgling society. The first chapter of the book alone was enough to encourage the reader to proceed with gusto to the next parts of the book. Any person with a keen interest in Asian history will 3 find himself drawn to the written pages as Spence begins to explain why people should take an interest in the Ta'n Ch'eng area history. Perhaps it was because of his melancholy experiences in T'an-ch'eng that in the brief essays with which he introduced several of the economic sections in the " Local History" Feng wrote so frankly about the miseries of the area, the poverty of its people, and the general inability of the local gentry to help alleviate that misery (p. 3) Even the so-called local history of China is deeply embedded in its Imperial Chinese history. That is perhaps why the combination of fact and fiction, as represented in the book, offers the readers an opportunity to read about stories that delve on the real-life issues of the era alongside a historical event. The stories blend well with each other as Spence expertly showcases the Chinese ancient beliefs about ghosts and magic, with factual accounts of thievery, poverty, and hunger among the people of the area. Indeed, Spence believed that Chinese people of the 17th century were simple people ho believed in witchcraft and magic as a part of their daily lives. However, he balanced this belief out and reminded the readers that the Chinese religions and schools of thought were all based upon the social context of these simple beliefs. ... the world of ghosts and nightmares remained a part of T'an Ch'eng. The Local History mentioned how unusually superstitious the people were: over half of them believed in ghosts and magical arts; they venerated woman mediums who could conjure up the spirit of the world as if they were gods; when ill they would never take medicine but consulted the local shamans instead; neighbors would gather 4 in groups and waste thousands of copper coins (which they could not afford) in making offerings as they prayed through the night (p. 16) While mostly a historical account of the life and times of various people in the province, the title of the book does still hold some truth to it. Although I would personally consider this title a misrepresentation of the major contents of the book, the truth is that Spence did actually tell stories of Chinese women in the book. Spence decided that the best way to give a historical representation of the lives of Chinese women from the 17th century was to portray them in stories that depicted the outcome of their lives based upon the virtue, or lack therof of the women. A woman with virtue and the respect of her peers could be considered almost goddess like in treatment. While a woman of questionable character and virtue would definitely end up being killed for the way she lived her life. The Death of Woman Wang in the title does not represent just a single woman from the T'an Ch'eng era. Instead, it represents the methods by which a woman could emotionally, physically, morally, and spiritually die in a country where the man was considered king. Spence showcased the life of women in 17th century China by offering an insight into how they lived their lives as married women, single parent's due to the death of their husbands, and how they had to balance their own method of raising a family with the “advice” of their deceased husband's family. In the context of the writings, it would seem that a Chinese woman of the time did not have any way to escape their marriages. Not even if a woman became a widow. 5 Accurately representing the way that women were treated in what was then Imperial China was a very important part of the information that Spence shared with his readers. The fact that he related a woman's social class with the method by which society viewed and treated the woman. While we have all come to know about the history of China through its philosophical sages such as Confucius, and its imperial dynasties, we rarely see or read about the history of the social development of the nation. Which is what Spence tried to provide in this book in a highly successful way. He chose not to gloss over the development of women's rights or lack of it during a time when China was embroiled in poverty and famine in order to show that a patriarch based system is not always a good thing. Though the area of T'an Ch'eng was composed mostly of peasants, they too had their own set of morals and laws that each peasant was expected to adhere to or face dire results for violating the rule of law. This is an aspect of Chinese history that is little known to us in modern times, and we would have continued to live without its knowledge if not for the work of authors such as Spence, who took the time to introduce the dark side of an interesting country and its culture to his readers. The title of the book is often a disappointment to the readers, including me, because it connotes a suspense filled story line, then turns out to be a history lesson instead. The choice of title is understandable though as it generates a buzz for the book. Title disappointment aside though, the story is sure to grip any reader with an interest in ancient Asian history. Works Cited Spence, J.D. The Death of Woman Wang. City of Westminster, London: Penguin Books, 1979. Print. Read More