Old Servant Hsu Critique - Essay Example

Old Servant Hsu is an interesting story from ancient Chinese folklore that chronicles differences in social class and how they influenced relationships in society. The narrative opens with a dedicated errand runner who cannot afford to abandon his master despite the latter’s humble life, infamy and anti-social behaviour towards him. Contrary to the traditional belief that individuals with the status of ‘master’ are generally better-endowed and highly respected in society, the life of the master in this story is shrouded in profound paradoxes. This irony contributes to the structure of the story about ancient Chinese history. This paper critically analyses the characterization of the story and how it contributes to the overall themes of Old Servant Hsu.

The story begins with a faithful servant whose human heart can only be attributed to the spirit of Confucianism in him. The theme is also arguably evident in the master who despite being the beneficiary of dedicated service, treats the servant in a way that contradicts the major tenets of Confucianism in the first place. By remarking that “rank is an empty show and wealth stinks” (Lau, 21), the servant is exercising the Confucian spirit gentleness (Chun-Tzu) in his perception of his master. This is so irrespective of the negative treatment he gets back from the boss. The master’s unwelcome attitude sinks the mood in the story.

Interestingly, the servant proceeds to question the importance of material wealth to human life, if all it can do is ferment mistrust among members of a society, arguably through social class differences. With the argument, the servant highlights the master’s Confucian attribute of Li or concrete offering of solutions to human interactions with nature and attributes it all to his sound knowledge. Lau noted that the servant argues that his master has tremendous capacities, which he owes to the extensive learning that he went through (23). As such, he then asserts that the master can construct vital stories out of nature, more so where other people can see none. These qualities arguably project society as more concerned with wisdom than money.

At this point, the author intertwines Confucian values with interests in material wealth in a way that leaves the readers split between the two rather conflicting issues. A deeper look into the conflict reveals that Confucian ideals reign supreme over money (Lau, 25). The supremacy of Confucianism, for instance, guides a well-intentioned associate to the servant to persuade him that his boss was up to no good, so the best favour he should do to himself is to resign from the job. But in what depicts the servant as a stickler of Confucian ideals of benevolence, he chooses to remain focused on the service of his master. Perhaps, out of the need to remain righteous and free from the spirit of vengeance or self-preservation, the servant sacrifices his own life by enduring maltreatment to a tragic death. This brief preamble depicts a Confucian worker at his highest commitment to the values of the religion, which only a few individuals can bear.

Apart from adherence to Confucianism, the narrator’s account of Ming servants in the story highlights the resulting double lives lived by members of the society. The disproportional treatment is the basis for the theme of exploitation of the servants. A-chi is another servant whose life is shrouded in more mystery than the earlier servant (Lau, 30). His too over-religious makes him a soft target for hostility from his employer. A-chi is said to have single-handedly initiated a reliable business activity from a few pennies to sustain the surviving kin of his deceased master, only to be found having no property to his name upon his death.

Despite his old age, A-chi managed to summon his business prowess for the service of his master’s widow and her children. A-chi noticed that she was in dire need of his help, but the family quickly capitalized on his benevolence and self-sacrifice to exploit him to death by taking all the profits generated by the business (Lau, 34). The story of A-chi generates a feeling of hope in the wake of adversities, judging by the delicate transactions and business dealings he engaged in, but ends tragically when his exploitation comes to bear upon his death. By limiting his business deals to only activities that would generate profits and having nothing to his name, it is plausible to argue that A-chi was a victim of exploitation by the widow. This is especially true because he could not get the chance to use part of the proceeds from the business to improve his welfare.

The story of "Old Servant Hsu” depicts servants in ancient Chinese society as truly Confucian in the sense that they show overwhelming sacrifice during their service. The spirit of sacrifice is especially evidenced in the way they show human heartedness to their respective masters. In addition, the characters are ever obedient to their masters or proxies; they maintain social order by remaining focused on service delivery, rather than resigning or protesting, and; they show high reverence irrespective of the negative treatment they receive during their service.