The Chaste Maid

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.1

Word count: 296 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

My late mother, Lady Lang Tai, had two maids who came with her household, one named Tao'er and the other Manzi. When they grew up, both were married off. Tao'er married a tailor surnamed Zhang and bore children; she was warm and fed to the end of her days. Manzi married a man of a distant branch of the clan and also bore a son. This distant clansman joined the army and drew military pay for many years, then took leave and returned home. Just then the Hong-Yang uprising broke out, and his commanding officer ordered him south on campaign; shaken with fright, he lost his wits. With no way to make a living at home, Manzi came back into our household as a servant. One day she went on an errand outside the city; dusk was falling when a scoundrel, seeing her still handsome in middle age, followed her and teased her with lewd words. Manzi turned around and slapped him full across the face. The scoundrel fled with his head in his hands. When she came home she told me of it. I was then in my teens, and hearing it I cried out in delight, believing that such steadfast purity of character must surely have Heaven's blessing. Later her son made his living as a silversmith, and Manzi lived out her years in warmth and plenty.

Editor's review

"The Virtuous Maid" is a short character sketch about how two maids who came with a household met very different fates: Tao'er married and was fed and clothed for life, while Manzi lived through soldiers' havoc and her family's decline, returned to service in her old master's house, and when a street scoundrel accosted her, turned and dealt him a clean, sharp slap. The narrator was only in his teens at the time, yet cheered the deed and took it as proof that such fierce integrity must enjoy Heaven's protection. Without laying out any grand background, the piece brings in the Hong-Yang fighting, the livelihood and dignity of women at the bottom of society, and the bond between master and servant. Notably, the author's praise centers on "steadfast purity of character"; reading it today, one can both feel how hard it was for ordinary people to keep their dignity in a time of chaos and reflect on the moral expectations once placed on women. The prose is spare and clean, suited to slow reading with attention to gesture and tone in the details.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short biographical sketches and reminiscences of old times
Readers concerned with the lives of lower-class women in modern history
Language learners who need short texts for close-reading practice
Readers interested in traditional note-style narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking long plots and complex structures
Readers hoping for systematic historical verification
Those sensitive to old narratives of master-servant ethics

Reading tips

Read through once to sort out the relationships, then go back to the detail of Manzi slapping the scoundrel.
Set Tao'er's and Manzi's fates side by side to feel the author's purpose in the arrangement.
Note the narrator's teenage perspective and think about the emotional stance behind his cheering.
After reading, write a short comment of about a hundred words on how we should view the word "virtuous" today.

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.

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FAQ

Which maid does "the virtuous maid" refer to?

From the content, the "virtue" named in the title rests mainly on Manzi: when she was in service in middle age a scoundrel followed and teased her, and she turned and slapped him so that he fled with his head in his hands. Tao'er took the path of marriage, children, and a life of warmth and plenty; writing the two together brings out Manzi's fiercer side all the more.

What does "the Hong-Yang uprising" in the text refer to?

It is the old name for the Taiping Rebellion, so called after its leaders Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing. The text uses it to explain that Manzi's husband was conscripted for the southern campaign and lost his wits from fright, so the family lost its support—a key background for understanding why she returned to service in her old master's house.

Is this text suitable for close reading in class?

Yes. It is short, the characters are few, and the details are forceful, making it useful for practicing how to sort out relationships, analyze narrative perspective, and discuss old ethical ideas. Teachers can guide students to compare the two maids' different fates and then connect the discussion to the topic of dignity today.

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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.