Wang's Wife

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.1

Word count: 326 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In the Bingchen year, Wang Guanchen, a brigade commander of the National Army stationed at Weixian, robbed many households and was shot in the provincial capital. His wife was somewhat attractive, and after returning to Weixian she had illicit relations with frivolous young men. There was a certain Guo Qi who admired her beauty and repeatedly made advances. Wang's wife disliked his heavy beard and firmly refused him. Guo Qi was wealthy, so he rented a house in the same courtyard as Wang's wife, hoping to tempt her with money. He also hired actors to perform plays, many of them lewd scripts. I heard of it and said: "This is the same as the matter of Prime Minister Ziyuan trying to bewitch the lady of the Marquis of Xi." Men of letters who study textual criticism all say that the lady of the Marquis of Wen was Lady Xi, extraordinarily beautiful, and that is why Prime Minister Ziyuan wanted to bewitch her. A Tang dynasty writer has a "Rhapsody on Lady Xi's Silence," which tradition says contains the line "the lady heard it and wept, saying"—and thereafter the text argues volubly. Since the lady came to Chu, she first explained to the lord of Chu the reason for her silence, and here she weeps and speaks again; that is, she spoke twice. The Tang writer's rhapsody says, "Flower-like as peach and plum, though she bore fruit she remained silent." But in this world, can there be one who shares bed and mat, bears sons and daughters, and remains forever silent?

Editor's review

This note begins with the scandal of Wang Guanchen's wife's illicit affairs; the first half is local social news from Weixian: a brigade commander who robbed many households is shot, his wife returns to Weixian and consorts with frivolous young men, and the wealthy Guo Qi, admiring her beauty, rents a house in the same courtyard and hires actors to perform lewd plays in order to tempt her. The second half turns abruptly: from Guo Qi's conduct the author thinks of Prime Minister Ziyuan bewitching the lady of the Marquis of Wen, then examines whether the lady of the Marquis of Wen was Lady Xi, and questions the Tang writer's rhapsody on "silence"—arguing that if she shared bed and mat with the lord of Chu and bore sons and daughters, how could she remain forever silent? The whole piece moves from street gossip to classical textual criticism and then to refuting literati's strained interpretations, embodying the traditional note genre's characteristic of "miscellaneous records of things seen and heard, with textual criticism appended." Its value lies in showing how a scholar could be prompted by a local disturbance to reflect on classical narratives, and it also preserves local society's complex attitudes toward women, wealth, and desire. Readers may note the author's leap of thought from the vulgar to the refined, and the common-sense judgment revealed in his textual criticism.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the note genre and scholars' everyday habits of thought
Literature and history enthusiasts studying the circulation and reception history of the story of Lady Xi
Readers who enjoy the approach of moving from social news to classical textual criticism
Historians and teachers needing materials on modern local social customs

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete plotted novel or biography
Beginning readers impatient with classical textual criticism and classical Chinese paraphrase
Readers hoping for systematic analysis of women's history

Reading tips

First distinguish the two layers—the social observations in the first half and the classical textual criticism in the second—then appreciate how the author moves from one to the other.
Consult the relevant records about Lady Xi in the Zuo Commentary and compare them with the author's questioning of the Tang "Rhapsody on Lady Xi's Silence."
Excerpt the passage about Guo Qi renting a house and hiring actors as historical material on local entertainment and the display of wealth.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
王妻

FAQ

What social event does the first half of the note recount?

Wang Guanchen, a brigade commander stationed at Weixian, robbed many households and was shot in the provincial capital; his wife, somewhat attractive, returned to Weixian and had illicit relations with frivolous young men. The wealthy Guo Qi, admiring her beauty, rented a house in the same courtyard and hired actors to perform lewd plays, intending to tempt her with money.

What classical allusion does the author associate with Guo Qi's conduct?

He thinks of Prime Minister Ziyuan's attempt to bewitch the lady of the Marquis of Wen, and along with it discusses the scholarly claim that "the lady of the Marquis of Wen was Lady Xi," as well as the reasonableness of the Tang writer's rhapsody on her "silence."

What doubts does the author raise about the "Rhapsody on Lady Xi's Silence"?

The author holds that after Lady Xi came to Chu she first explained to the lord of Chu the reason for her silence and later wept and spoke again—that is, she spoke twice; and since she shared bed and mat with the lord of Chu and bore sons and daughters, she could not have remained forever silent. Thus the rhapsody's claim that "she bore fruit yet remained silent" cannot hold.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.