A Concubine for the Family: A Family Saga in China

by Amy Kwei

  “Afternoon peace, M-ma.” Silver Bell bowed hastily. “M-ma, let me recite to you!” Words tumbled out of her mouth all in a rush:

  “Origin of man,

  Is always kind.

  Nature brings close,

  Habit channels away.

  Dogs don’t bark,

  Nature will change.”

  Everyone laughed. No one could resist the pun. “Gou boo chou” (Dogs don’t bark) sounded so close to “Cur boo chou” (If not taught).

  “Silver Bell, recite the last couplet to me again.”

  Silver Bell laughed with the others, but she obliged.

  “That’s better.”

  “M-ma, I’ve memorized your assignment. Now tell me how you first met Father.”

  “Ah, it was more than eighteen years ago!” She always began the same way. “It seems like a story I once read. But I did experience it. My dear little heart-and-liver, one day you will be betrothed and wonder how your husband looks too. It’s the moment all maidens live for.”

  “M-ma, you said no one is to see the betrothed until the wedding night!”

  “Yes, Silver Bell, but my family is famous in the silk trade, and my father was very modern in his way.”

  “So Father is just like Grandpa Chou.”

  “No, no, Silver Bell, Grandpa Chou was a merchant. Your father comes from generations of scholars. It is a much more noble family. That is why I, your poor mother, cannot understand his modern ideas.”

  Silver Bell was about to argue when Orchid whispered, “Tai-tai, tell us again how you first saw the master.”

  “Oh, yes,” Purple Jade began as she lay down her embroidery. “After I was betrothed, I heard how daring your father had been. He was a member of T’ung Meng Hui and helped Dr. Sun Yat-sen establish the first republican government in 1911. He was beaten and kicked unconscious when he demonstrated against foreign aggression during the May 4th movement in 1919. I wept whenever I thought I was betrothed to a ruffian.”

  “What’s the May 4th movement?”

  “Oh, let me tell you again! Both Japan and China helped the Allies during the First World War. After the war, the Allies gave the German concessions in our Shantung Province to Japan. That’s how Japan came to occupy our land in the north east and called it Manchuria.”

  “Oh . . .”

  “Yes, our last emperor was a Manchu. So your father was considered an outlaw against the emperor in the old days.”

  “Oh . . .” Silver Bell might have continued her query but Orchid whispered, “Tai-tai, tell us why your family pledged you to our lord anyway.”

  “We knew, of course, that he was the sole heir to the Huang family’s many bamboo mountains and fine acreage around West Lake. My parents assured me that he was a scholar. Still, I would not be pacified until I had seen him.”

  “How exciting!” Silver Bell clapped.

  “Yes, that was very daring at the time. My father arranged to reserve the whole second floor of the Louwailou Restaurant, and invited your father to tea. My mother, my personal maid and I went upstairs and peeked through the windows while my father met my master downstairs and toasted to the union of the two families.”

  “Did you see him?” Silver Bell asked.

  “Oh yes. He came to the restaurant riding on a white horse. He had already cut off his pigtail that marked him as a revolutionary because all Chinese men had to wear a pigtail under the Manchu rule. I found his Western haircut strangely attractive. He had prominent bright eyes. His back was so straight and his chin so square, I knew right away he was a scholar. Of course, I knew my parents wouldn’t betroth me to a ruffian, but after I saw him, I became a willing bride.”

  “Father is now in the legislative council!”

  “Yes, after the Nationalist government was formed.” Purple Jade smiled in contentment.

  “I’ll never marry anyone I don’t like, M-ma.”

  “Well, marriage brokers and spies can help us find out all about each other’s family background and smooth over the adjustments to each other’s habits.”

  “Will Golden Bell choose her own husband in Shanghai?”

  Purple Jade groaned, clutching her embroidery to still her agitation.

  “Don’t worry your mother with things that may never happen,” Orchid warned. “Our master will see to it that she makes a proper match.” Over the years, Orchid had acquired a measure of authority that added a certain grace to her natural candor. “Look, here comes our master now!”

  Everyone noticed Righteous Virtue’s rapid strut into the courtyard. He carried a wooden box in his right hand, while his left hand hoisted up the front panel of his blue silk gown. That freed him for his long strides.

  “Come everyone, come to the schoolroom.” He barely acknowledged the greetings from the women, marched straight past the courtyard and entered the schoolroom complex. Silver Bell and Peony followed. Orchid folded up the embroidery and helped Purple Jade to her feet. She offered her shoulder to support her mistress, as they toddled yards behind.

  When Purple Jade and Orchid finally reached the schoolroom, Golden Bell and Iris had already joined the crowd around the wooden box. Righteous Virtue had strung some wires around a metal pipe in the corner and attached another to the electric light. He turned the two black knobs on the wooden box. Crackling sounds came, and then a sweet soprano voice sang:

  “I love to whistle,

  Cause it makes me merry,

  Makes me feel so very.

  Wheo . . .eo . . .eo . . .eo . . .eo. . .”

  “Father, Father, let me see, let me see the little lady inside!” Silver Bell tried to pull the wooden box closer to her. She peered into the top section, which had small Gothic-style windows covered by a canvas.

  “You silly girl.” Golden Bell sneered. “No one so small can fit into this box and still sing in English.”

  “Can’t they make people grow small the way they bound Mother’s feet?”

  “No!” Golden Bell almost shouted. “Foreigners don’t do such cruel things.”

  “Peace, children.” Righteous Virtue waved his hand. “This is a short-wave radio. We’re tuning in to a station in Shanghai. Soon there will be a broadcast about the war.”

  “Hai . . . my lord, you’ve bought more magic from the foreign barbarians!”

  “M-ma, not all foreigners are barbarians,” Golden Bell said. “I can read in English now and I like their literature — especially Shakespeare.”

  “Be quiet,” her mother retorted. “Have you swallowed the foreign magic whole and forgotten who you are? I’m speaking to your father. You’ll answer when you’re spoken to.”

  Sulking, Golden Bell turned away. Silver Bell smiled and turned up the volume on the radio. The voice sang the refrain again.

  Righteous Virtue reached over to turn the volume very low. “I alone will handle this radio.” He glowered. “Golden Bell, you must realize the foreigners have been cruel in their own way. They forced us to import opium and plundered our country. They imposed huge indemnities because the ignorant Tui Zi empress ordered the slaughter of missionaries.”

  “Missionaries help us.” Golden Bell almost shouted.

  “Maybe,” her father said with a nod. “People like Miss Tyler are friends, but foreigners still collect our import and export taxes from the concessions they control. In effect, we’ve all been working for the foreign treasuries. Of course, we admire their firepower and their science, but we must not forget the bitterness we suffered. So, while I buy their new inventions, I dress and live like a Chinese.”

  “Wheo . . . Wheo . . . eo . . .eo” Silver Bell puckered her lips and whistled.

  “Oh, my lord, look what your foreign magic has done. What will people say when they see Silver Bell make these noises?”

  Righteous Virtue laughed. “Silver Bell, that is very good! Western children whistle when they’re happy.” He smiled. “Jade-mei, Silver Bell is very quick. You must allow her to go to the schoolroom to prepare for the Shanghai
schools.”

  “Oh, my lord.” Purple Jade reached for her silk handkerchief. Dabbing on her dry eyes, she prepared herself for the all-persuasive tears that would prevent Silver Bell from leaving her tutelage. “You’re asking too much of me. Golden Bell is only fifteen, but already she talks like a stranger to me. Now you want to turn Silver Bell into a boy also.”

  “Hai, these times are too trying for your gentle soul.” Righteous Virtue looked at his wife tenderly, but then quickly averted his eyes. It was crass to show his affection in public. “There is a war raging in the northeast.”

  “We’ve known war,” said Purple Jade. “Fortunately, the land around here is fruitful. When one warlord or another was given face and was paid off, there was still enough for all. I’ve long decided to ignore what I cannot control. I do my best to maintain the dignity of our family.”

  “Yes, yes.” Righteous Virtue turned up the volume again. “The news broadcast is on. Iris and Peony, take your young mistresses away. They won’t understand the chaos.”

  THE NEWS REPORT was in Chinese. However, listening to a disembodied voice was such a novel experience that Purple Jade could not understand what was being said. There was talk of Manchuria, the derision of the Japanese as the brown dwarfs of East Ocean, and something about death and rape. She covered her ears.

  “Oh my lord, people always exaggerate to stir up passions. Japan still hasn’t declared war. Why must we listen to such a devil’s voice?” Purple Jade pleaded.

  Righteous Virtue turned off the radio. The news was unbearable. “Ah, my poor country. The Japanese are ready to take over. What bitterness we’ve yet to endure.”

  “The wise sage said: ‘Let there be peace first in the household, then the nation will be at peace.’” Purple Jade watched her husband’s face closely, not wishing to sound flippant.

  “But our household is in peace, Jade-mei,” said Righteous Virtue. “Thanks to you. You always manage to smooth out the difficulties.”

  “You’re too kind, my lord.” With Orchid by her side, she felt competent. She decided to broach the problem that was uppermost in her mind. “Still, we have no son. Have you forgotten the ancient saying? ‘Of the unfilial acts, there are three: The first is having no son!’” She slapped her handkerchief down on her lap, rallying her courage. “You will have to take a concubine!” she blurted out in one breath, surprised by her own candor.

  Righteous Virtue stared at his wife.

  “Jade-mei,” he said finally, “you know the peace in this house will be shattered if I brought in a concubine. You are too gentle a soul. I have no heart for women when the country is in chaos.”

  Purple Jade knew her husband was right. A strange woman in the house — a mother to the heir of the Huang household — she could barely bring herself to imagine it. If the woman was brazen, she would have bitterness to swallow for the rest of her life. She blotted her forehead with her handkerchief. “My lord, I’ve been most unworthy. I have not given you a son. It is my filial duty to arrange an heir for this household.”

  “Jade-mei, I have told you often, it is not your fault we have no sons. Modern science offers no clear answers. At any rate, Golden Bell does very well in her studies, and you know how bright Silver Bell is.”

  “My girls are a joy to me also. But, my lord, once the girls are married into other households, who will perform the rites to honor our ancestors?”

  “Jade-mei, times have changed. You know the saying:

  Good man is not trained to be a soldier,

  Good iron is not shaped into nails!

  Today our country suffers for lack of good soldiers!” He stood up, held his hand behind his back, and paced.

  “But, my lord, are we to behave like barbarians? Our sons have learned to wield the brush instead of the sword; we are a nation of beautiful calligraphers! Is a life of the sword worth living?” Purple Jade straightened her shoulders. She knew they stood on common ground whenever she deferred to their ancient culture. “Do you choose to ignore what is written in the Tao Te Ching? ‘To think weapons lovely means to delight in them, and to delight in them means to delight in the slaughter of men. And he who delights in the slaughter of men will never obtain what he looks for from those that dwell under heaven.”

  “Hai, the Tao is certainly correct.”

  “You can pretend to educate the girls like your sons, but will a noble young man want to marry a Westernized girl and take on our name?”

  “So you will not permit Silver Bell to go to the schoolroom, ever?”

  “Never, I cannot. It is my duty to provide an heir for this family.” Purple Jade clasped her hands tightly to still her hectoring heart.

  “Jade-mei, you’re binding her soul as surely as the elders have bound your feet.”

  The mention of her bound feet brought her anguish. Was it possible that she had crippled her daughter? These were strange times. If Silver Bell became Westernized, and no one suitable would take the family name, there remained only one alternative: “To get a son — you must take a concubine!” Purple Jade repeated.

  Both of them paused to take a deep breath. Righteous Virtue’s body sagged. For sometime now he knew that he enjoyed a marriage of compatible minds. He and his wife had successfully built a poetic, almost lyrical rapport, eschewing physical pleasure. For too long, his passions had been caught up in his concerns for his country. He had worried about the coming war and plotted with Glorious Dragon to safeguard the family fortune. He had ignored the problems of the Huang family inheritance.

  “All right, all right!” Righteous Virtue turned to walk away. “Find me a gentle woman! I will not have cackling women quarrel in my house!” He pounded one fist into his hand.

  “Thank you, my lord, thank you . . . she will be your coming birthday gift!” Purple Jade gave no outward sign of her conflicting emotions. She excused herself, and Orchid helped her mistress back to their quarters.

  Orchid had heard the whole exchange in stunned silence. She marveled at her mistress’s valiant restraint.

  Golden Bell and Iris had been squatting under the schoolroom window. When Purple Jade emerged, they dodged. As soon as her mother was out of sight, Golden Bell burst into the schoolroom. “Father, how could you give in to Mother! This is barbaric! I can’t believe it!”

  Righteous Virtue had turned on the radio. He tuned the volume down. “Calm yourself, Golden Bell. So you’ve been eavesdropping?”

  “I crouched under the window because I wanted to hear some news.”

  “You might have asked to stay. Such clandestine activity is unbecoming in a young mistress of this house.”

  “So I’m sorry!” Tears of frustration flooded Golden Bell’s eyes. “But taking a concubine,” she shouted. “How can you do such a thing?”

  “Be quiet!” Her father raised his clenched fist, slamming the air in front of his chest. “How dare you raise your voice to me! You are too forward and brazen in a matter that is none of your concern. Kneel!”

  Golden Bell fell on her knees, crying copiously. “Forgive me, Father. I . . . I thought you . . . you’re modern and enlightened. You’re not like . . . other men.”

  “Modern, enlightened,” Righteous Virtue glanced ruefully at his daughter. “When I returned from Shanghai and learned I was to marry your mother, I felt offended because I was modern — enlightened.” He paced the room in fitful turns and stops, pouring out his turmoil. “Don’t you know the shame and degradation the foreigners foisted upon us? They forced us to sign treaties that divided our major cities into concessions. Haven’t you heard that the park in Shanghai had a sign at the gate: ‘NO DOGS OR CHINESE ALLOWED!’”

  “But Father,” Golden Bell cried, “I thought you admired Western science and literature.”

  “Hai, the Western colonists are not men of science and literature. They are mercenaries. They gave us opium, guns and cannons to beguile our youths. In exchange they took our finest silks, pottery, art and along with them — our self-respect.” Over
come with weariness, he paused. “Though I think Westernization is inevitable, I have no intention of becoming a foreign slave.” He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued pacing.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Look at your mother. Our old culture taught her grace and refinement in everything she does. Whether organizing a kite-flying party or sipping tea while watching the snow fall, she has cultivated it into an art.”

  He raised his daughter from the floor and motioned her to sit as he paced, distracted. “Whatever the circumstances, your mother has never failed to be civil, considerate, and courteous. Her kindness is not demonstrative, like those of the foreign missionaries, but inborn and cultivated over thousands of years!”

  “But the old culture also bound Mother’s feet!”

  He raised his voice. “We’re not perfect!” He clutched the back of an ebony chair, and his knuckles turned white as he tried to control his anger.

  “But what does all this have to do with your taking a concubine?”

  “Traditions change very slowly. We have no heir.”

  “I don’t understand how Mother . . . being a woman, you’d think . . . she would be soaked in vinegar.”

  “My parents chose a good wife for me. Your mother is virtuous beyond bounds; she subjugates her emotions to safeguard this family.” Righteous Virtue stabbed a hand in front of his daughter; his voice rose to a shout: “How can this family remain an upstanding member of this community without an heir? In this your mother and I have always agreed: the family is the foundation of our society!”

  “You’ve told me often that I am the future hope and pride of China. How will a son make a difference?”

  “One day I hope it won’t make any difference. Marriage does not guarantee you happiness. When I die, I will be comforted to know that you and Silver Bell have a strong family to stand behind you.”

  Sensing the charged atmosphere, Iris hesitated by the door. She took one step into the room and announced: “Mrs. Chen, the mother of the drowned girl, has arrived. Tai-tai has arranged to receive her in the third hall, owing to the delicacy of the matter.”