Explore Chapter 6 of "Divorce" with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
With a large bundle of fruit, four scenic photographs, a central scroll and matching couplets bearing no dedications, and half a dozen pairs of foreign socks, Sister-in-law Zhang arrived fully equipped for her visit to Mrs. Li. In the eyes of this worthy sister-in-law, Mrs. Li was the very best, a perfect one-hundred-percent country woman. Sister-in-law Zhang felt twelve parts of forgiveness and compassion for country folk, especially the women, and was willing to exert every effort to help and guide them. From the moment she crossed the threshold, her tongue began to flow like a river, talking until Mrs. Li’s mind spun like a crazed phonograph record, leaving her only able to gape and gasp for air. Yet Sister-in-law Zhang was not insincere, nor was she in the least bit prideful. As for the term ‘country woman,’ she paid more attention to the latter half-‘woman.’ All women were women, but the modifier ‘country’ merely indicated a rustic accent, a lack of sophistication in all things, yet also honesty and directness. And this, once she received Sister-in-law Zhang’s guidance, a country woman would soon become a perfect, pretty young wife. This was confidence, not pride.
Ying and Ling were a pair of little treasures. Sister-in-law Zhang immediately insisted on taking Ling as her goddaughter, and at once remembered that in the cupboard at home there was still a pair of painted lacquer wooden bowls, and in the third drawer on the west side, one with a silver locket tied with a bright red beaded cord-she simply had to have a goddaughter! With the ready-made wooden bowls and silver locket, the ready-made Ling, and the ready-made sister-in-law, why not bring them all together?
Mrs. Li thought it over. After all, the daughter was her own; Old Li had certainly never suffered the pains of childbirth. She immediately told Ling to kowtow. Ling put her thumb in her mouth, blinked her eyes, and pondered for a moment. Coming to no clear decision, she carelessly knocked her head on the floor a few times. Having kowtowed, her mind seemed to clear a little. She felt nothing else but a certain pride, at least a pride she could hold over Ying, because Ying had no godmother. She went over and took hold of one of her godmother’s fingers. Her godmother’s face was indeed all puckered up with laughter, like a baked apple, red and full of wrinkles.
Ying pouted, wanting to practice kowtowing too, but found no opportunity. Sister-in-law Zhang said with a smile, “I don’t want a boy. Boys are naughty. See how well-behaved my goddaughter is! But you wait, Ying. One of these days I’ll find you a little bride. Shall we fetch her by sedan chair or by motorcar?” “By train?” Ying hadn’t forgotten the train journey from the countryside to Peiping. If a bride could be fetched by train, there would surely be no need to acquire a godmother, so Ying stopped pouting.
Having mentioned boys’ naughtiness, Sister-in-law Zhang launched into a breathless account of that son’s entire history, from how they celebrated his first full month to how they failed to settle the match with the Qi family’s daughter who lived near the Imperial Stud Office, turning heaven and earth upside down in her telling. Finally, she concluded, “Let me tell you, sister, these days raising children is truly no easy task! Especially boys-utterly wicked! Sister, you must keep an eye on that Old Li of yours. Men, from sixteen to sixty-six, you never know when they might go astray! Watch him, I say, watch him! Don’t take offense, sister. You’re from the countryside, you don’t yet know the evils of the big city! Countless, endless evils! Men and women alike are all fox-spirits, out to tempt and seduce! The men lure the women, the women lure the men, a few words exchanged, and bam!-they’re hooked! Us old-fashioned women must stay vigilant with them!”
Mrs. Li seemed to have known this all along, but before hearing Sister-in-law Zhang’s exposition, she hadn’t dared believe it firmly, nor had she dared make any arrangements concerning Old Li. Now, having listened to the sister-in-law-who was, moreover, Ling’s godmother-she felt a new determination stir within her. Yes, here in Peiping, she and her husband were on equal footing. Old Li was the master of the household; even if she couldn’t conveniently deny that fact, her eyes would have to keep a close watch on this master of the household! But she merely nodded, offering no opinion of her own. When it came to needlework and cooking, she was proficient, but how to manage a husband in the big city was not something to rush into headlong. Besides, how could she know Sister-in-law Zhang wasn’t testing her? Best to be careful. Did they think country folk were such fools?
“I must come again in a couple of days, but I really should be off now! A whole pile of things awaits at home!” Sister-in-law Zhang made no move to stand up. “Goddaughter, come see your godmother tomorrow! Remember, Tangzi Lane, Number Nine! Tangzi Lane, Number Nine! Hee-hee-hee!” “Walk to Tangzi Lane?” Ling had no inkling what manner of creature this was. “Stay for supper, sister-in-law!” Mrs. Li had prepared this line ever since the day they moved in, but had forgotten to say it to Elder Brother Zhang and Second Uncle Ding, causing her husband to frown in displeasure; now she had the chance to make up for it. “Another day, another day! So much to do at home! I really must be off!” Sister-in-law Zhang drank another bowl of tea.
Finally, Sister-in-law Zhang stood up. “Goddaughter, in a couple of days your godmother will bring the wooden bowls and the locket.” She sat down again, because, “Ah, I must bring some plaything for Ying too! Isn’t that right, Ying?” “I want a-” Ying thought for a moment. “A wooden bowl, Godmother!” “The godmother is Ling’s!” “See how fierce this little goddaughter is! Ah, I really must go!”
Sister-in-law Zhang walked out into the courtyard, where the old lady from the west room was tending the stove. Sister-in-law Zhang felt she ought to entrust Mrs. Li to her care, though she didn’t know the old lady herself. “Tending the fire, ma’am?” “Oh, please don’t address me so! I’m still young, only sixty-five! Do come sit inside!” The old lady’s fire-tending was partly an excuse to eavesdrop in the courtyard, and she was only too eager for a chance to join the conversation. “And what is your surname?” “Zhang.” “Ah, the gentleman who rented the place the other day-” “That’s right. He and Mr. Li here are colleagues, good friends. Please do keep an eye out for them.” Sister-in-law Zhang held Ling’s hand and looked meaningfully at Mrs. Li. “No need to ask. Close neighbors are better than distant kin! The young mistress is truly good, never raising her voice all day.” The old lady also looked at Mrs. Li. “And such well-behaved children! I say, Ying, where’s your ox?” Not waiting for Ying’s answer, she continued, “I do love a sturdy, likable child. Look at Ling’s plump little face, what a delight!” “And do you have any-” “Don’t mention it. A son and a daughter. The daughter married and went off to Nanjing with her husband. It’s been ten years in a flash, and not once has she returned. As for the son, ah!” The old lady lowered her voice. “Ah, best not speak of it. He’s already married-” She pointed toward the east room. “Ah, to put it plainly-ah, he’s married such a presentable, sensible young wife! And yet, and yet, and yet he’s off outside-no need to say more! Hasn’t been home for three or four months! To get such retribution in my old age, who knows what sin I committed in a past life! Such a fine young wife, so youthful, how can my heart not burn with anxiety watching her? And no children! Ling, you’re the lucky one, adopting a godmother?” The old lady had likely overheard at least half of the conversation between the two Mrs. Zhangs and Lis.
Ling smiled, boldly putting her index finger in her mouth as well. “We’ll talk another day, ma’am. We mothers, each of us has a bellyful of grievances!” “Please don’t call me that, you are the elder!” “I am the younger, only forty-nine. I quite forgot to ask, what is your surname?” “Ma. Won’t you come in for a bowl of tea?” “Another day. I shall come another day specifically to see you.”
Old Li, having left his office, went to Elder Brother Zhang’s place to fetch the couplets. He had not the slightest desire to go, but since Elder Brother Zhang had mentioned it, not going would seem impolite. Old Li hated nothing more than following convention, yet he dreaded above all causing a friend to lose face. Best to oblige, then. When he arrived at the Zhangs’, Sister-in-law Zhang had just returned from the Lis’. “Ah, our in-law is here!” Old Li was taken aback, wondering how he had been promoted to in-law. Sister-in-law Zhang recounted the adoption of the goddaughter from start to finish, adding branches and leaves to her narration. Old Li felt somewhat pleased. Since Sister-in-law Zhang was willing to take Ling as her goddaughter, Ling must be exceptionally adorable, possessing many lovely qualities he himself had probably overlooked. “And younger sister is truly a pretty little wife, everything just as it should be, so steady and honest!” Having finished her speech about the goddaughter, Sister-in-law Zhang began extolling the goddaughter’s mother; and from the mother, her thoughts turned to the father: “Old Li-dear in-law, you really shouldn’t be dissatisfied! What more could you want in a wife? Clean and honest, that’s enough! And besides, you have such a pair of lively little treasures. Set aside the greed of you young fellows, take what you have, and live happily. That’s better than anything. Look at that Old Mrs. Ma-” “Which Old Mrs. Ma?” “Your neighbor in the west room. That old lady’s fate is truly bitter. She brought in a young wife fresh as a flower, and her son-for three, four months-three-four-months, hasn’t been home! If I were Old Mrs. Ma, I’d give that son of hers a good biting, that I would!” Just as she said this, Elder Brother Zhang entered. “Who are you biting?” He seemed to think they were talking behind his back. She laughed. “Don’t worry, no one’s biting your flesh-it stinks! We’re talking about that business with the Ma family!” Elder Brother Zhang naturally knew about the Ma family affair. He hurriedly lit his pipe, closed his left eye, and took over the narration: “The place Old Li rents belongs to Old Mrs. Ma. She bought it not long ago-got a bad deal. The wooden frame is poor, the workmanship shoddy. What decent thing can an old lady buy?” Elder Brother Zhang thereby confirmed that women-Sister-in-law Zhang included-couldn’t handle affairs properly. “After buying it, the Ma family lived there themselves. Not long after moving in, they held the wedding; probably bought in a rush because of the happy event, and because they rushed, they overpaid-which really shouldn’t count as an excuse for being cheated,” he added, glancing at Sister-in-law Zhang again. “Old Mrs. Ma’s son was, at that time, teaching in a middle school. He married a girl who’d graduated from higher primary school, maiden name Huang, very beautiful. Less than half a year after the wedding-” Elder Brother Zhang’s eye closed completely. “Mr. Ma got involved with a colleague, a music teacher. First they lived together outside, then ran off to the south together.” “Three or four months not back? He might not be back in three years!” Elder Brother Zhang concluded the account. “The scales of fate are crooked!” Because the son had run off, the old lady had let out the main room for a little income; with that and her modest savings, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could just about scrape by. Knowing that Sister-in-law Zhang had already delivered the couplets and that Elder Brother Zhang’s speech had concluded, Old Li took his leave. Sister-in-law Zhang did not press him to stay for supper. “Ah, hurry on home! Next time you come with Mrs. Li, I’ll make you something to eat. Tell Ling her godmother will bring the wooden bowls in a couple of days. Don’t forget!” The image of the woman in red in Old Li’s mind now had a fixed outline: surname Huang, very beautiful, an abandoned wife, a pitiful creature. Love was the hottest, yet also the coldest of things. Suppose Old Li were to run off with-who? Anyone-what misery would his wife and children fall into? He dared not think. Elder Brother Zhang was right. Vulgar and commonplace, yet he could use common sense to kill romance and rescue those consumed by its fire. Looked at another way, though, common sense killed romance, and also killed ideals and revolution. Old Li found himself in another dead end, no road forward, yet retreat felt equally uncomfortable. Ling, that little slip of a girl, adorable, Sister-in-law Zhang’s goddaughter-vulgar! He arrived home. “Dad!” The dark little boy was waiting for him at the door. “Dad, Ling has a godmother, Sister-in-law Zhang. She’s bringing wooden bowls and a silver locket in a couple of days. What about me? I’ll just adopt Mom as my godmother! You give Mom some money, tell her to buy me wooden bowls. Not the silver locket, but two leather horses! The one you gave me, I didn’t even play with it hard, but somehow it got a hole. No matter how I blow, it won’t inflate!” Old Li seemed never to have laughed so hard in his life. “Dad, the auntie in the east room even tried blowing it for me for ages, and it still didn’t work. Auntie is so nice, so pretty. Big eyes, like two, two-” Ying rolled his eyes, “two little moons! And her hands, so soft and fine, much finer than Mom’s. Mom’s hands are good for scratching my itches, but they’re all rough and calloused.” “If Mom hears that, she’ll spank you!” Old Li stopped laughing.
Sunday. Old Li took the whole family to the Dong’an Market, determined to enjoy a full day out, with both breakfast and supper eaten on the town. Ying had been right; his mother’s hands were calloused. Tending the stove, cooking, washing clothes all day-how could they not be? They ought to hire a servant. It wasn’t about putting on airs; a wife shouldn’t have to toil so. But would she know how to manage a servant? Well then, let’s not be picky about food or drink; everyone would make do. Using the money for a servant to treat her to a couple of outings each month might be a better idea. They decided on the market. Mrs. Li didn’t know what to wear. From home she had brought only the short padded jacket and lined skirt from her wedding days. There was just one long padded gown, made in a frantic, day-and-night rush before their departure-blue, without any trim, and too loose. “You actually brought that skirt? At Tianqiao they go for a dollar a pair, nobody wants them!” She didn’t know where Tianqiao was, but she understood: if skirts in Peiping sold for a dollar a pair, they were naturally of little value. She decided to wear the one and only long blue padded gown, without trim and too loose. Old Li pulled out all the children’s clothes. No matter how he dressed them, they looked awkward. Sweat broke out on his palms again. Using clothing as an advertisement for a happy family-how bourgeois! But children were, after all, children. They must be clean and pleasing, just as flowers must be bright and fresh. Old Li most disliked bourgeois maternal manuals, yet he wanted to display a love of beauty through his children-to cover a little the shame of his own Western clothes clinging awkwardly to him. Not go? That would be too cowardly. They must go, no matter what. But how to feel even slightly more at ease and avoid inviting silly, derisive glances? Following his lifelong ideal of beauty, working with the materials at hand, he fussed with the two children until they were nearly worn out, yet they still didn’t look right. Go! Old Li mustered his bullheaded stubbornness from the depths of his soul. Go! He bid farewell to Old Mrs. Ma, entrusting her to keep an eye on things. “Oh, I say, Ling,” the old lady rubbed her eyes. “All dressed up, you’re even prettier! Walk carefully in these little tiger shoes. Don’t get them dirty. Hear me? Come, Ling, Ying, Granny here still has ten big coppers, five each. Here, put them in your little pockets to buy peanuts on the street.” Ten large coppers, still warm, dropped into their pockets. Old Li felt somewhat relieved. He hadn’t betrayed his lifelong ideal of beauty. Once out on the street, his eyes darted over the passersby. Were they paying any attention? No. Peiping could criticize everything, yet also accept everything. Peiping had no preconceptions. Peiping had nothing hard except the wind. Peiping made everyone feel a sense of pride. That was why Elder Brother Zhang felt particularly proud. Old Li’s breathing grew less hurried. He glanced back. Ying and his mother were walking right in the middle of the road, like some newly arrived country queen and crown prince. Old Li stopped. “If you want to get yourselves killed, then by all means don’t move to the side!” Mrs. Li stared around, but there was nothing. “Pull Ying over here!” She pulled Ying to the side, her face flushing. Her husband’s words must have been heard by people on the road. In the countryside, you could walk however you pleased; she swallowed her anger-her husband meant well. But why did he have to be so frantic and harsh? She felt in her heart: “It’ll be a wonder if we enjoy ourselves today!” At the mouth of the lane, the rickshaw men greeted them as usual, showing no slight toward Mrs. Li because of her padded gown. Well then, since the pullers had hailed them, it would be impolite not to ride. Ordinarily, Old Li decided whether to take a rickshaw the moment he stepped out the door: if he decided not to, he would manage to dodge the rickshaws; refusing a puller was an awkward affair. If he decided to ride, he always paid generously. Whenever Elder Brother Zhang walked out with Old Li, Elder Brother Zhang never hailed a rickshaw. Ying and his mother took one rickshaw, Ling followed her father. Along the way, Ying’s questions came thick and fast: the Xian Gate, Beihai, the Forbidden City… each capped with an enormous question mark. Old Li feared his wife would turn and ask him, but she said nothing, and Ying’s questions were all answered by the rickshaw puller. Old Li also feared she might strike up a conversation with the puller, but she did not. He thought to himself: “Fool, did you think women truly have no wits about them? Women are the preservers of social custom.” At this thought, he gave an uncomfortable smile: “Old Li, you are still Elder Brother Zhang’s second, unable to rise above the common run!” The moment they entered the market gate, both Ling and Ying demanded apples. Old Li was in a fix: buying too many would be hard to carry; buying only two might invite the fruit seller’s disdain. Not buying, and the children would not be appeased. “Go buy them over there, Ling!” His wife, at least, had an idea. Old Li’s brows seemed addicted to frowning: there were plenty more fruit stalls over there. If you buy, you buy; if you don’t, you don’t. Why deceive a child? The husband bourgeois, the wife casually lying to the child-charming! But the problem solved itself. Ling, gazing at the toy stalls, seemed as if she wouldn’t want another apple even if offered. “There are better ones over there!” Another lie. And lying actually managed to solve problems. The further in they went, the more goods there were. The children seemed utterly dazzled, unable to decide what they wanted anymore. Old Li stole glances at his wife, feeling a touch of that “Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden” terror. His wife’s eyes seemed to work separately: one closely watching the children, the other absorbing all the various objects and colors; when necessary, both eyes attended to the children, sacrificing all those items that tempted a woman’s very soul. Old Li was moved. The modern men and women-the men carrying things and handbags for the women, their faces perennially wreathed in smiles, even their heels light and springy as if they too were laughing. The moment a woman’s lashes glanced toward the fruit, the man’s feet would laughingly dash to the stall, picking only those wrapped in fine crepe paper stamped with foreign letters and blue seals, never asking the price. Old Li dared not look at his own wife again: no scarf, no handbag, no snap-button padded shoes; just a padded gown, without trim and too loose! He felt somewhat wronged her. He decided to buy her these treasures. Not being bourgeois himself was one thing; his wife must be bourgeois-that was another. Buy! Must buy shoes for the children too, little woolen caps. “Choose for yourself!” he commanded, his heart full of good intentions, yet his words sounded exceedingly harsh. They entered a general store. His wife first set about choosing a scarf. The red was too gaudy, the green too drab, the yellow of course wouldn’t do, the blue was nice, but too short-Old Li said directly to Ling, “Wait. When Mama has finished choosing, we’ll try on leather shoes!” This probably served to lessen the annoyance of everyone in the shop somewhat. Had Old Li been the shop assistant, he would have pushed his wife out long ago. Nearly all the scarves were brought out before his wife finally asked, “Which one do you think is best?” To have no opinion even on this-women! Couldn’t even tell what color looked good! Old Li stepped over and picked a blue one. “Blue is very much in fashion, sir!” The assistant seemed never to have cried in his life, and the older he grew, the more he loved to smile. Old Li put down the blue and picked up a purple one. “Rose purple-just right for the madam, no?” The assistant’s smile intensified. Old Li’s face grew somewhat warm. He picked up the blue one again. “This one is still better, sir. The color is proper, the nap is long.” The smile on the assistant’s face seemed ready to leap up and kiss someone. “You choose for yourself!” Old Li resigned. The assistant’s smiling face turned toward the wife. She chose the most unremarkable grayish-blue one, which in sunlight would surely retain only the gray, not a hint of blue. Still, a purchase was finally made. Now for other things. “Please have a seat, sir. Will you smoke?” The assistants bustled about. Old Li neither smoked nor would he sit down, fearing that if he sat, his wife might think they could comfortably stay a day or two. Mrs. Li wanted children’s bibs, men’s thermal underwear-all things Old Li hadn’t thought of. But bibs were indeed more urgent than leather shoes. He himself had no winter thermal wear. Women were women, after all; they possessed the instinct to protect life. Then she bought colored thread, foreign needles, small scissors-this further took Old Li by surprise. There were needle-and-thread sellers right at their doorstep; why buy them at the market? But his wife had not a single coin on her, and thus couldn’t buy any sundries at the doorstep. His mistake. He ought to give his wife some money. She wasn’t a servant. She had her own necessary items. They bought a large bundle, which added up to only fifteen dollars and twenty-seven cents. A receipt was written out, with stamps duly affixed. How to carry it all? The assistant had an idea. “Leave it here. Come back for it after you’ve finished your stroll!” Amiable, resourceful, skilled at attracting customers-all for just over fifteen dollars. Old Li felt life ought to be whiled away on such minor matters. This was where human warmth lay, where interest resided. Those men carrying handbags and buying fruit for their women must feel tremendously happy inside! Circling around to the Dangui Market, Old Li planted himself before the bookstalls. Mrs. Li’s feet, after all the jostling, began to ache. She glanced at her husband several times. He was indeed planted there. Ying suddenly disappeared. Peering over the bookstalls, he saw him to the west, his face pressed against a glass window, looking at little clay figures! “Ying has gone over there.” His wife’s feet were truly giving out. “Ying!” Old Li put down his book with great dissatisfaction, stealing a moment to smile at the young assistant. By the time they returned home, it was almost time to light the lamps. Ling was asleep, wrapped in her new scarf. Ying was still bursting with energy. The moment they entered the courtyard he shouted, “Auntie! Look at my new hat!” The auntie from the east room did not come out, but called from inside, “Lovely!” “How do you find Peiping?” Old Li asked his wife. “Nothing much to it. Just big streets, and more big streets. Though the market is nice. How complete the selection of goods is!” Old Li decided against taking his wife to see the Temple of Heaven or the Confucius Temple or any such places.