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Kaydee Mueller
Family
In the early years of the twentieth century Chinese society was on the brink of
collapse. A cultural civil war was being waged between traditional Confucian values and
the new age youth who were urging modernization. Large cities like Shanghai and
Beijing played host to student demonstrations, boycotts of foreign goods, and labor
strikes. These events were a result of The May Fourth Movement (1915-1922) which
produced a prolific amount of student discussion and publications. While these works
spread revolutionary ideas along the Chinese interior Pa Chin was busy creating the
politically and socially charged Family which, although finished in 1931, was not
published until 1958 (v). Family focuses on the trials and tribulations of the Kao family,
through which Pa Chin personifies the trials and tribulations that divided China
throughout the 1920s and 30s. The conflict between tradition and change and between
new and old comes to a head within the walls of the Kao family compound as the
members of the younger generation resist the traditions of the old, yet as suffocating and
controlling as the traditional relationships might seem, Pa Chin also emphasizes the
strengths of a strong family.
The Confucian belief system was one of the most influential factors in shaping
Chinese culture and society. The belief system is focused on a strong adherence to filial
piety, respect and loyalty. Age, gender and social position determine the level of respect
one is to give and receive. Older men were considered the most able, and the first born
son always became the head of the family. Because maleness and age also denoted
wisdom, all decisions pertaining to the action of individual family members were subject
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to review, especially events such as marriage, education and employment. It was exactly
these beliefs that, though, that led to the May Fourth Movement. The subjugation of
women and the lack of independence among the youth of China created unrest and
eventually led to the attempts to transform Chinese culture. Women, despite age or social
station, were forced to acquiesce to the demands of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and
even the men who purchased them as a concubine. Young girls who were employed by a
family as a bondmaid were often sold to an older man as a concubine, and the sale was
accepted by family members as the events of fate. In a similar manner, all members of the
younger generation of a family were subject to the decisions of the elders. Where a
person studied, lived and worked was often dictated by a superior member of the family,
and this loss of independence contributed to the unrest that caused the youth of China to
demand serious changes within society. Although it was not the only contributor to the
unrest that emerged within the borders of China, traditional Confucian values created
serious animosity between the traditionalist and the reactionary youth as well as between
the members of Chinese families throughout the nation.
As a typical Chinese family the Kao clan strictly adhered to the Confucian system
of beliefs. It is because many of these beliefs led to the cultural strife that Pa Chin uses
the fictional Kao family to emphasize the problems caused by Confucian beliefs. The
Kao patriarch, Venerable Master Kao commands complete respect and is responsible for
every major or minor decision made within the family. No member of the Kao family can
question his decisions and even non-relatives were forced to bend to his wishes. Pa Chin
demonstrates the power of the family patriarch through the story of Ming-feng, a
bondmaid and the love interest of Master Kao’s third grandson, Chuen-hui. As was
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tradition in China, a bondmaid served an aristocratic family for a certain number of years
and was then either wed or sold to another man. At sixteen years, Ming-feng was sold to
the Venerable Master Feng, a close friend of Master Kao, to serve as his concubine.
Although Ming-feng sought help from Chuen-hui, the third grandson of Master Kao, she
eventually realized that she was faced with two choices—become the mistress of a man
over fifty years her senior or end her own life. “She was going to…be cast into the arms
of a lecherous old man. In the long years ahead there would be only endless pain and
misery. Why should she cling to a life like that? In the seventeen years of her existence
she had known nothing but blows, curses, tears and toil in the service of others. That plus
a love for which she now must perish. Life had brought much less happiness to her than
to others; but now, despite her youth, she would leave the world first.” (215) The
Venerable Master Kao had control over the destiny of every relative and servant residing
within the walls of the Kao compound. Not one person, despite their heartbreak over
sending Ming-feng into a horrible situation, thought to disobey Master Kao. Madam
Chou, the second wife of Master Kao’s deceased first son and therefore a lady of the
house, was overwhelmed with pity for Ming-fend as she broke the news of the young
girl’s new employment, yet the older woman was still unwilling to question to decision of
Master Kao.
“Madam Chou’s maternal instincts were seldom aroused, but Ming-feng’s
impassioned pleas struck a responsive chord. ‘I was afraid you would be
willing…But that’s what our Venerable Master has decided. I mist obey
him….To tell the truth, I’m against your going to the Feng family. But our
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Venerable Master has already promised…I’m only his daughter-in-law. I don’t
dare oppose him.” (205-206)
The unquestionable control which the older generation exerted over the youth of China
removed any trace of self-determinism and individual decisions. One could not marry for
love or seek higher education if it interfered with the goals of the family, and as the youth
discussed the problems within their society, many began to believe that this traditional
way of thinking could not co-exist with their new, modern ideas.
Although China was in the middle of a period of significant transition many
people still depended heavily on family connections and the close relationship that
existed within the walls of the family residence. Despite the strict belief in filial piety, Pa
Chin also highlights the love that often existed with a family. Chuen-min, the second
grandson of Master Kao, fell in love with his cousin Chin, and when he learns of an
arranged marriage to a different women, decides to flee the compound and the control of
the Venerable Master. For almost a month Master Kao threatened to disown his grandson
and it is only on his death bed that Master Kao acquiesced to his grandson’s wishes. In an
uncharacteristic display of affection, he cancels the match despite the social consequence
so he might see his grandson once more. “Bring your second Brother back. Tell him I’ll
say no more about the match with the Fend family. I’m afraid I won’t live much longer. I
want to see him again. (289) Although not all patriarchs were so forgiving, it is clear that
the family is the most important relationship within Chinese society and love within the
family was often more important than one’s reputation. Chuen-hui, the third grandson of
Master Kao and the most active within the New Cultural Movement, constantly criticized
the traditional beliefs and hypocrisy of the older generation. When his Uncle Ke-ting
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organizes a traditional dragon dance to celebrate the Chinese New Year the Kao family is
unperturbed by Ke-ting’s abusive treatment of the hired dancers. Only Chuen-hui
vocalizes his disgust at the actual event as well as his family’s passive acceptance of the
abuse—“Do you really think enjoyment should be based on other’s pain? Do you think
just paying money entitles you to sear a man’s flesh?” (140) With the death of his sisterin-law at the hands of an ancient Chinese belief which called for the moving of the
pregnant women to an unsanitary home away from her husband and family, Chuen-hui
decides he has had his fill of a traditional Chinese family. He decides to leave for a city
where he can actively participate in the political and social protests, yet as he prepares to
leave Chuen-hui is deeply upset at the prospect of leaving his family and those who truly
care for him. His eldest brother displays a rare desire to protect is younger brother by
ensuring money and even forcing Chuen-hui to take extra food for the journey. His last
lecture is rife with suppressed feelings of sadness—“‘You’ll be on your own after this.
Dress warmly and eat properly. You’re often neglectful about such things.’…Chueh-shin
could not go on. Burying his head, he wept quietly. (324) The love felt between these two
brothers is what enabled the Confucian focus on family to exist for thousands of years
despite its faults.
Although Confucian values were severely outdated by the turn of the twentieth
century, many traditionalists refused to consider changing the customs of Chinese past.
This refusal to change forced the Chinese youth to rebel against traditional society for
many years. During these years Pa Chin weaves a clever tale of the conflict which
plagued Chinese society and uses the Kao family to symbolize the disunity on two levels,
that which existed with many Chinese families and that which existed between the older
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and younger generations as a whole. Master Kao demonstrates how traditionalist beliefs
clashed with new reactionary ideas, and how by 1930 these beliefs were the cause of
many of China’s most significant problems. Yet, while Pa manages to demonstrate that
the family must be changed and that the Chinese people deserve independence and the
right to make certain decisions, he also suggests that the family provides love and
stability that no other entity can bestow. The connection between relatives will always
exist and, despite any social changes that lay in China’s future, the family unit will
always provide shelter and support. While Family embodies the strife within Chinese
society and suggests a desperate need for change, it also recognizes the deeply embedded
social dependence on the family as the center of Chinese life.
I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic
work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code.