Page:The Galaxy, Volume 5.djvu/828

798 from their foreheads, we all know. But the strangeness now in question is a strangeness in disposition, in what they are, not in what they look like, an unlikeness to the rest of their sex, which to us, at this late period and at our advanced stage of civilization seems quite monstrous and incomprehensible. A passage in the "Chun Ka Po," one of the Confucian classics which was translated by Mr. Robert Thom, British Consul at Ning-po, and published in 1846, reveals to us "the female mind" in China as it was at that remote period, and gives us such a view of the relations of husband and wife in the Flowery Empire as enables us to see how greatly time and civilization and race and Christianity have modified, or, indeed, entirely changed all these matters. In the first place as to the expectations of husbands. The "Transmitted Family Pearls" (for this is the English of the title of the book before us), after counselling the man to be kind and generous and true to the woman, says: "Now, as the husband must certainly live harmoniously with his wife, so must the wife still more esteem her husband. You ought to know that the husband is the wife's heaven, and that to be mild and flexible is the most important duty of womankind. In every circumstance that may happen, you must submit meekly to your husband's commands; you may not rebelliously oppose him. Even should it happen that your husband is manifestly in the wrong, still you must restrain your feelings, and bear with patience only good-humoredly admonishing him; and by behaving so you will show yourself to be a good woman." Surely such monstrous, unreasonable, and unheard-of expectations on the part of men could only have prevailed among our antipodes, in a strange and inferior race, and at least two thousand years ago. The remoteness of all this from our natures is manifest the more when the author goes on to say: "I have constantly seen the women of the present time [i. e., two thousand years ago] cursed with dispositions harsh and violent, haughty and puffed up with self-importance; if anything occur that does not exactly jump with their humor, then they commence to speak loudly and to bawl out, going even to the length of cursing and abusing people." What a very peculiar and incomprehensible people the Chinese are, or were two hundred years before the Christian era! But the monstrosity of these Chinese women, their marvellous unlikeness in those remote ages to the women of our day and generation is most striking when the author comes to speak of the women of Yang-Chow, whom he knew well, he having been a native of that province. He says that they, as they "neither rear the silk-worm nor weave cloth"—that is, as they were not working-women—"allow the sun to be shining high in the heavens while they have not yet got out of bed." This is credible, because something like it happens now-a-days. But he goes on after this amazing fashion: "Out of a single head of hair," he says, "these women make the peony flower head-dress, and the pyrus-flower head-dress, the head-dress à la two dragons playing with the pearl, the head-dress à la two phœnixes threading the flowers, and a great many other names besides." Now see what a change has taken place. Our women make these head-dresses (we did not know the names of them before), but it would be a vile slander to say that they make them out of a single head of hair! What follows rises to the height of the incredible. "They comb themselves half the day, they look at themselves in the glass, and then [who will believe it?] take another look; till evening comes, and then they drink their wine and indulge in idle talk, and sit up for a length of time." What unaccountable behaviour! But the strangest is yet to come. "If their husbands have plenty of money, then they cut out handsome clothes and purchase showy head-gear; they know not in the slightest degree how to economize. If their husbands' funds be scanty, still they must have mellow wine and delicate eating. As regards their household affairs, they go not to look after them; they ask not how much or how little rice there may be in the store-room; they know not whether the price of fuel be high or low; with their whole hearts they care for nothing but listless ease and self-enjoyment, and only attend to what is before their very eyes!" And to cap the climax the author tells us that these strange Yang-Chow women were given up to a practice