Reading 1001 discussion

Discuss the feudal marriage system and its effects, as described in the novel. Who are the victims? Why? Borrowed from CliffsNotes

Women were always the victims. I wonder about the term feudal. Does that apply to Chinese society, I wonder?

I struggled with an answer to this question yesterday for exactly that reason, Pip. "Feudal" does not seem an good word to describe either Chinese society in general or traditional Chinese marriage practices, though in casting about for a response to Diane's question I did find an article that claimed feudal had been applied to so many societies that it basically has come to mean "pre-modern social customs I don't like."

But if I may offer a friendly amendment, I will discuss Confucian marriage customs, or traditional marriage customs in a Confucian setting, as described in Story of the Stone. Confucian society is a web of interlocking duties. Children owe obedience and filial piety to the father and the father has a duty of support to his children. The same duty of obedience is owed by the father to the Emperor who owes duties of protection to his subjects. Order and harmony in society arise from everyone understanding their place in society. Advancement is achieved through education and service to the emperor.

Duties continue into the after life, with duties of reverence owed by the living to their ancestors, and the ancestors expected to do their part to ensure the continued prosperity of their descendants. In such a system, as a father, is it not my responsibility to ensure, to the extent possible, that my children make good marriage matches which will further the fortunes of the family? As a son, it is surely my responsibility to follow the wishes of my father in such matters, after all, he has lived much longer than me and hopefully has a broader view of life.

Of course, the Chinese, like human beings everywhere, are often much quicker to insist on their rights than to worry over their duties and this leads to problems, as detailed in the book.

But the individual desires of children simply don't enter into the question. Their duty is to obey. The parents' to make a good match.

I've avoided the concept of victimhood, as I generally think that outside the concept of crime it limits the ability to see nuance in society. In this context it also treats as sacrosanct modern Western ideas about the primacy of individual hopes, desires and wishes.

Sorry for the lecture, but I think this question raises really interesting ideas.

John wrote: "I struggled with an answer to this question yesterday for exactly that reason, Pip. "Feudal" does not seem an good word to describe either Chinese society in general or traditional Chinese marriage..."

Nicely done, John.