Lesson 23
All ForSon
Text A
The desire forsonheircommonall mankind. In our country, especially,have as many male descendents as possible has always been regarded asgreatest blessinglife. The failureproducemale heir was consideredmost unfilialall unfilial crimes. A man was justifiedcast awaywifetake another if she failedbear himson. Forrich,problem could be solved by takingconcubine or several concubines.
All traditional ideas die hard. The desireasonas strong as ever,the problem has been aggravated by our onechild family planning policy. Hencenumerous tragediescomedies we hearread so often. There are fathers who drop downa faint when they hear their wives have given birthdaughters. There are "guerrilla" couples who roam from placeplace dodging family planning officialsgive one birth after another until they finally haveson.
But more often we heartragedieswives being ill treated by their husbandsby their parents-in-law because they failedgive birthsons. RecentlysawphotographYangcheng Evening showingwoman withbabyher arms appealingpassers-bythe street. The caption says shetelling peopleher plightbeing thrown out intostreet with her baby girl by her husband'sfamily, all because she has given birtha daughter insteada son.remember some time ago reading aboutman pushingthree-year-old daughter downwell.
Fortunatelygirl was saved by someone who happanedpass by. The man only gotyear andhalf imprisonmentattempted murder. To my mind , he was just as guilty as ifgirl had really drowned.
By comparison,storyZhou Chenghu, an ordinary farmerChangning CountySichuan Province arouses more ridicule than indignation.
Zhou's parents had died when he was still young,he wasonly soncarrythe family line. He had married early when he was only twenty. The first child wasgirl, so he tried again,the second child bornfollowing year was alsogirl. Zhou was vexed but still not unduly worried, but whenthird birth turned outbegirl too, he could sit tight no more. He beganconsult doctors, quacks, witches,fortune-tellers.
One geomancer told him thatancestral graves were wrongly located, so he dug upmother's gravehad her remains reburied. But that didn't seemhelp him as he hadfourth daughter. Now really desperate he disturbeddead againhadfather reburied this time. Butseemed nothing could help,the fifth was stilldaughter. Inmeantime he had incurred upon himself heavy finesviolating family planning laws.
Another geomancer told him thatgods would help him if he hadtemple archway built. What would he not do as long as he could getson? So no expenses were sparedhe did asgeomancer told him. Butgods remained unmovedgave him another girl. Asnewborn baby uttered her first cry upon entering this world, her father beganwail most miserably.
He was nowbitterly disappointedbroken man. He becameheavy drinker. He habitually beat upwifedaughtersno reasons at all. He had nothinglive for. He felt he could not look peoplethe face because he had no son. Whenwhole village had electric lights installed, he hadgo without because he had no rnoney. In fact,debts ranfour figureshe could see no wayrepaying them.
Then one day early this year, after loading himself heavy with drink, Zhou Chenghu endedown miserable life atageforty. Perhaps he was not as guilty asman who trieddrownown daughter, butleavewifesix daughtersfendthemselves, though no crime was certainly not excusable. And all because he had no son!
Text B
After ignoring family planning policiessiring three girls Zhang, who livesa villageHenan Province, finally gotson he was waitingthis year.
Despiteheavy fines exactedbreakingregulationsfamily planning, Zhang was overjoyed.
The honestsimple peasant does not hesitate when asked why he so much desiredson. "Why? Who'll support me whenget old?"
Actually there are some homesold folksthe villagenearby. But though he supposes they live well there, Zhang still does not believeold folks are happy.
"It's just so-so there. Wlio knows what it'll be like over there whenget old. It's betterhaveson," Zhang said.
Andson-in-law cannot be depended onsupport him, says Zhang.
A son-in-law who lives withwife's familylooked downbycommunity. He cannot be expectedreplacenaturalson.
A family nearby ha's four sons. Life became very hard whentwo older sons got married. However.,third son says he would rather bebachelorlife than risk havingtakesome daywife's aged parents.
As China's family planning programme enters990s, traditional ideasfamily life are posingmajor barrierslimiting China's population.
These ideas have formed over thousandsyears.
The concept"more sons, more happiness" still existssome rural areas , especiallypoorremote ones.
For some families,presenceseveral sons gives parentsfeelingprotection. Families with no boys , or few boys, may feel intimidated by families with many sons.
Another problemcountry must faceearly marriages. A surveya townZhecheng County shows young people marrying earlier thanlaw prescribes.
Some are engaged byage5. Parents dreamgrandchildren,
and sometimes they encourage early marriages, ignoringgovernment's call"marriage at mature ages ".
Changing these ideashard as tensmillionspeasants are illiterate.
Additional Information
Wanga school teacherShimeneast Sichuan. At 36 he was stilllonely bachelorwas likelyremain one until one day towardsend988 he happenedreadthe matrimonial columna magazine an advertisement which read; Yang,woman3 whoa family planning officera certain townshipsouth Sichuan, seeksreliableunderstanding man forspouse having been disappointedher first love affair byman she has lost her heart. . . '
Somehow this advertisement appealedWang greatly. After much thought he plucked upcouragewrotethis woman Yang. It was first love letter he had writtenhis life. Tosurprisegreat joy he gotvery warm response. Things went so smoothlyfact that very soonwoman appeared before himfleshblood, withdivorce certificateher 6andprove that she wasfree womanwas sincere.
her desiremarry him. Wang could hardly believehis own luck,so with great haste he said good-byehis bachelor life. Onwedding night , however, he gotgreat shock when he discovered thatbride was already three months pregnant. But he wasreasonable man,insteadblaming her he didbestconsole her, assuring her that nothing could alterloveher.
And he was as good aswords , sonewly-wed couple livedharmonybliss until halfyear later when Yang gave birtha lovely plump son. Wang caredthe motherchild as if he wasreal father.
Thenthe daythe full monththe baby, Wang came home from schoolfind thatwife had preparedsmall feast.Overjoyedteuched by this showaffection,he nevertheless admonished herovertiring herself while secretly congratulating himselfhaving found suchconsiderateloving wife.
Then, before he had finished eatingwithwine still warmhis heart , Yang suddenly saidhim : "Happily we got together, now let us gladly part!" Wang could hardly believeears. "Please don't talk such nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense. We havedivorce. To be quite honest,don't findeasy leaving you like this, andfeel very sad having cheated you. You arevery good man. Butwashappily married woman withlovely daughter. Our only regret was having no son. What were wedo?couldn't very well givesecond birth, especially asamfamily planning officer.
So my husband andworked out this plan ...We agreeddivorce temporarily after having made surewas prcgnant again.had secretly goneseedoctorhe had given me hope thatwas likely goingbeboy,so we went ahead with our plan. Afterput out fhe advertisement,got many offers We pickedyoutwo reasons. First, you areteachertherefore are likelybereasonable manwould not make things difficultme. Secondly, you are no longer so youngwould not be too choosytherefore would readily take me ... Now you know all. Say whatever you like. Curse me, call me names ... Allaskthat you forgive melet me go backmy former husband."
Wang was dumb-founded. In vain he triedpleadremonstrate,begged herstay. But Yang was adamant. "I still love my former husband.
Our divorce was notrealthe first place. If you don't let me go. you can only keep my body, but you can't keep my heart.had madeit clearmy advertisement thathad lost my heartmy first love!"
Inendgood, honest Wang hadagreedivorce hcrlet her go. Left alone again, Wang thought not onlythe injury donehimself,butdeceittrickerythe partthe coupledodgelaw,the woman was supposedbe some sortofficerthe law too. Could suchmonstrous thing be allowed? Wasforcefeudal ideas so much stronger thanforcelaw?
We may well asksame questions.
All ForSon
Text A
The desire forsonheircommonall mankind. In our country, especially,have as many male descendents as possible has always been regarded asgreatest blessinglife. The failureproducemale heir was consideredmost unfilialall unfilial crimes. A man was justifiedcast awaywifetake another if she failedbear himson. Forrich,problem could be solved by takingconcubine or several concubines.
All traditional ideas die hard. The desireasonas strong as ever,the problem has been aggravated by our onechild family planning policy. Hencenumerous tragediescomedies we hearread so often. There are fathers who drop downa faint when they hear their wives have given birthdaughters. There are "guerrilla" couples who roam from placeplace dodging family planning officialsgive one birth after another until they finally haveson.
But more often we heartragedieswives being ill treated by their husbandsby their parents-in-law because they failedgive birthsons. RecentlysawphotographYangcheng Evening showingwoman withbabyher arms appealingpassers-bythe street. The caption says shetelling peopleher plightbeing thrown out intostreet with her baby girl by her husband'sfamily, all because she has given birtha daughter insteada son.remember some time ago reading aboutman pushingthree-year-old daughter downwell.
Fortunatelygirl was saved by someone who happanedpass by. The man only gotyear andhalf imprisonmentattempted murder. To my mind , he was just as guilty as ifgirl had really drowned.
By comparison,storyZhou Chenghu, an ordinary farmerChangning CountySichuan Province arouses more ridicule than indignation.
Zhou's parents had died when he was still young,he wasonly soncarrythe family line. He had married early when he was only twenty. The first child wasgirl, so he tried again,the second child bornfollowing year was alsogirl. Zhou was vexed but still not unduly worried, but whenthird birth turned outbegirl too, he could sit tight no more. He beganconsult doctors, quacks, witches,fortune-tellers.
One geomancer told him thatancestral graves were wrongly located, so he dug upmother's gravehad her remains reburied. But that didn't seemhelp him as he hadfourth daughter. Now really desperate he disturbeddead againhadfather reburied this time. Butseemed nothing could help,the fifth was stilldaughter. Inmeantime he had incurred upon himself heavy finesviolating family planning laws.
Another geomancer told him thatgods would help him if he hadtemple archway built. What would he not do as long as he could getson? So no expenses were sparedhe did asgeomancer told him. Butgods remained unmovedgave him another girl. Asnewborn baby uttered her first cry upon entering this world, her father beganwail most miserably.
He was nowbitterly disappointedbroken man. He becameheavy drinker. He habitually beat upwifedaughtersno reasons at all. He had nothinglive for. He felt he could not look peoplethe face because he had no son. Whenwhole village had electric lights installed, he hadgo without because he had no rnoney. In fact,debts ranfour figureshe could see no wayrepaying them.
Then one day early this year, after loading himself heavy with drink, Zhou Chenghu endedown miserable life atageforty. Perhaps he was not as guilty asman who trieddrownown daughter, butleavewifesix daughtersfendthemselves, though no crime was certainly not excusable. And all because he had no son!
Text B
After ignoring family planning policiessiring three girls Zhang, who livesa villageHenan Province, finally gotson he was waitingthis year.
Despiteheavy fines exactedbreakingregulationsfamily planning, Zhang was overjoyed.
The honestsimple peasant does not hesitate when asked why he so much desiredson. "Why? Who'll support me whenget old?"
Actually there are some homesold folksthe villagenearby. But though he supposes they live well there, Zhang still does not believeold folks are happy.
"It's just so-so there. Wlio knows what it'll be like over there whenget old. It's betterhaveson," Zhang said.
Andson-in-law cannot be depended onsupport him, says Zhang.
A son-in-law who lives withwife's familylooked downbycommunity. He cannot be expectedreplacenaturalson.
A family nearby ha's four sons. Life became very hard whentwo older sons got married. However.,third son says he would rather bebachelorlife than risk havingtakesome daywife's aged parents.
As China's family planning programme enters990s, traditional ideasfamily life are posingmajor barrierslimiting China's population.
These ideas have formed over thousandsyears.
The concept"more sons, more happiness" still existssome rural areas , especiallypoorremote ones.
For some families,presenceseveral sons gives parentsfeelingprotection. Families with no boys , or few boys, may feel intimidated by families with many sons.
Another problemcountry must faceearly marriages. A surveya townZhecheng County shows young people marrying earlier thanlaw prescribes.
Some are engaged byage5. Parents dreamgrandchildren,
and sometimes they encourage early marriages, ignoringgovernment's call"marriage at mature ages ".
Changing these ideashard as tensmillionspeasants are illiterate.
Additional Information
Wanga school teacherShimeneast Sichuan. At 36 he was stilllonely bachelorwas likelyremain one until one day towardsend988 he happenedreadthe matrimonial columna magazine an advertisement which read; Yang,woman3 whoa family planning officera certain townshipsouth Sichuan, seeksreliableunderstanding man forspouse having been disappointedher first love affair byman she has lost her heart. . . '
Somehow this advertisement appealedWang greatly. After much thought he plucked upcouragewrotethis woman Yang. It was first love letter he had writtenhis life. Tosurprisegreat joy he gotvery warm response. Things went so smoothlyfact that very soonwoman appeared before himfleshblood, withdivorce certificateher 6andprove that she wasfree womanwas sincere.
her desiremarry him. Wang could hardly believehis own luck,so with great haste he said good-byehis bachelor life. Onwedding night , however, he gotgreat shock when he discovered thatbride was already three months pregnant. But he wasreasonable man,insteadblaming her he didbestconsole her, assuring her that nothing could alterloveher.
And he was as good aswords , sonewly-wed couple livedharmonybliss until halfyear later when Yang gave birtha lovely plump son. Wang caredthe motherchild as if he wasreal father.
Thenthe daythe full monththe baby, Wang came home from schoolfind thatwife had preparedsmall feast.Overjoyedteuched by this showaffection,he nevertheless admonished herovertiring herself while secretly congratulating himselfhaving found suchconsiderateloving wife.
Then, before he had finished eatingwithwine still warmhis heart , Yang suddenly saidhim : "Happily we got together, now let us gladly part!" Wang could hardly believeears. "Please don't talk such nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense. We havedivorce. To be quite honest,don't findeasy leaving you like this, andfeel very sad having cheated you. You arevery good man. Butwashappily married woman withlovely daughter. Our only regret was having no son. What were wedo?couldn't very well givesecond birth, especially asamfamily planning officer.
So my husband andworked out this plan ...We agreeddivorce temporarily after having made surewas prcgnant again.had secretly goneseedoctorhe had given me hope thatwas likely goingbeboy,so we went ahead with our plan. Afterput out fhe advertisement,got many offers We pickedyoutwo reasons. First, you areteachertherefore are likelybereasonable manwould not make things difficultme. Secondly, you are no longer so youngwould not be too choosytherefore would readily take me ... Now you know all. Say whatever you like. Curse me, call me names ... Allaskthat you forgive melet me go backmy former husband."
Wang was dumb-founded. In vain he triedpleadremonstrate,begged herstay. But Yang was adamant. "I still love my former husband.
Our divorce was notrealthe first place. If you don't let me go. you can only keep my body, but you can't keep my heart.had madeit clearmy advertisement thathad lost my heartmy first love!"
Inendgood, honest Wang hadagreedivorce hcrlet her go. Left alone again, Wang thought not onlythe injury donehimself,butdeceittrickerythe partthe coupledodgelaw,the woman was supposedbe some sortofficerthe law too. Could suchmonstrous thing be allowed? Wasforcefeudal ideas so much stronger thanforcelaw?
We may well asksame questions.