Death of Woman Wang, The

Rating:
Summary: Imperfect, but Worthwhile
Review: A little hard to follow sometimes, and the author could have artfully trimmed it in a couple of places -- after all, it was written for a lay audience, so an excess of historical details can be distracting. Still, it provides a glimpse into a little-known portion of history, and it's comprehensible to a general audience. As I say, imperfect, but worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Women in 17th Century Chinese Society
Review: In The Death of Woman Wang, Jonathan A. Spence wrote about a rural place in China named T'an-ch'eng. Using the compilations of The Local History of T'an-ch'eng, the memoirs from a scholar official, and third, the works of an essayist known as P'u Sung-ling, Spence informs us about the ways of the government (or lack thereof), agriculture, circumstances and situations of several characters, and most evident, the portrayal of women in China at the time. Indeed women were considered of lesser value than men, but there is much more to be found in that belief. There were certain elements that made a woman "virtuous and honourable," along with many other things expected from them . To be considered a success in her feminine role, a woman would have to do many things; if she was unable to surpass such challenges, the laws and customs of Chinese society were enacted.

Although the women in 17th century China were considered inferior to men, some women were also thought to be superior to other women. The superior woman, or ideal woman, was she who was "virtuous and honourable." The correct female behaviour included the virtues of "chastity, courage, tenacity, and unquestioning acceptance of the prevailing hierarchy - unto death if necessary" (pg. 100). First there was great emphasis on the loyalty of the wife, before marriage and even after the husband's death. Before a couple was married, the girl would have to live at her future in-law's house, which would give an extra helping hand. On the other hand, should a woman lose her husband, she is encouraged to remarry. Many women were quite loyal to their first, and so refused to remarry. Women would commonly run away, disfigure their face, or even commit suicide in order not to be disloyal to their first husband. Women were expected never to commit adultery, and could be severely punished. Men, however, were not shunned as women were. A wife's body was sacred to her marriage; along with not committing adultery, a woman was also expected to use her intelligence to outwit the "voracious soldiers" and bandits from taking and raping her body (pg. 104). Intelligence was also part of being an honourable woman, such as when a young widow leaves her own son with husband's family to return to her won widowed mother and bring up her brothers (pg. 62).

To be considered prevailing at her feminine role, a Chinese woman was expected to overcome many obstacles. With a deceased husband, the husband's family would encourage the widow to remarry so that they could regain his possessions. Relatives would sometimes "strip her home and family to the bones" (pg. 70). Despite the challenge of greedy relatives, some women, like woman Kao (pg.71) were able to overcome it. Woman Kao certainly struggled, but the harder things were the more upright she was; her son in turn was also brought up principled like her. Raising her children was another challenge by not having the father to bring in not only income, but also to bring up the sons to learn how to run the family's business affairs and to help them pass the examinations. In bringing up her boys, one a step-son, Hsi-liu was a determined wife as well as a determined mother. So that her boys would learn from their mistakes she gave up her reputation. Public opinion was weighed heavy on many women, and the people around Hsi-liu thought of her as cruel. Her boys turned out quite disciplined in the end (pg. 68-70).

Chinese society placed customs and laws to punish women if they were not successful at overcoming such obstacles. Despite not being content in a marriage, women were expected to remain loyal to the husband and to stay with him. Should the wife run away, like Woman Wang, she would automatically be considered a criminal, she "was classified as a fugitive and subject to a punishment of one hundred blows" (pg. 120). A husband was also considered justified if he was to kill his wife or the adulterer if he caught them in the act. If he waited and did not kill them immediately, the husband was not justified. If the wife returned after running away, the husband was to entitled to keep her. In the case of Woman Wang, her husband Jen took her back, but brutally killed her. Because Chinese society placed so much power in the hands of one gender at the expense of another, tragedies like the cruel death of Woman Wang were inevitable. An illegitimate child was greatly shunned, as much as adultery. In the story of the girl Tou and her father's friend Nan, Nan falls for her and swears his eternal faithfulness to her. Since she was a peasant and Nan was offered a rich wife, he took his words back. Tou became pregnant, but Nan denied to her father that it was his. Her father beat her and kicked her out of the house. Betraying her, Nan didn't let her into his house, so she died with her baby at his gate (pg. 107-109). Lastly, should a woman commit suicide because she cannot overcome her challenges, she was believed to be cursed in becoming a ghost, hence being an unpeaceful spirit.

The Death of Woman Wang painted a picture of life in rural China, connected with the death of a woman who ran away from her husband, was returned to him and then was killed by him. The story of the many female characters and Woman Wang serve as an illustration of the place of women in this society, the nature of the law of the time, and the social structure which allowed such things to happen.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Bag
Review: Woman Wang is a piece of work that one can read to get a sense of life for women in China during this time period. However, one should take this book with a grain of salt, since women were not always as powerless as Spence tries to argue. (In fact Woman Wang does display some of her power simply by breaking the "rules"). While factual in presenting more of the well-known facets of Confucian-ruled society and its effects on women, including the legal system, much of this book is speculative and sentimental. It often reads more as historical fiction than a work by a professor of Chinese History at a prestigious university. It does not flow smoothly, pulling the reader jerkily from third person narrative of woman wang to analysis of documents and explanations from a historical/sociological perspective and back to narrative again. For an advanced student of Chinese culture, history, etc., if this book did not get a glance in her/his early years, it will not provide much insight. He has performed better in later works. Still, it remains a neat, compact work for a neophyte, and to this day retains its use in introductory classes on Chinese history.