Understanding Families in Times of Stress

1
Understanding Families in Times of Stress

• Widows and Family Feuds

2
The Story of Hsi-liu

• Kao and Hsi-liu marry. She is 19 he is 20.
• Their children
• Chang-fu, Kaos son, aged 5, from former
  marriage
• Chang-hu, born one year after marriage.
• Hsi-liu takes on the management of the house.
• At age 25, Kao falls from horse and dies.
• .

3
Hsi-lius Life as a Widow

• Her dilemma to raise her sons to adulthood and
  provide economically for the family.
• Her problem
• Chang-fu, aged 10, neglected his studies.
• Chang-hu was incredibly stupid.

4
How Hsi-liu Raised her Sons Chang-fu

• Chang-fu rebels and refuses to study. She has
  him beaten and sends him to work at hard labor.
  Neighbors gossip, but she does not relent.
• After months, Chang-fu returns and begs to be
  taken back into the household and to be able to
  study again.
• She agrees he returns to his studies and does
  well on his exams and receives the Governors
  favor.

5
How Hsi-liu Raised her Sons Chang-hu

• Chang-hu is stupid and also rebels, and he works
  poorly at farming. She has him beaten. He asks
  to become a merchant. He gambles away his
  capital.
• Chang-hu asks to join a group of traveling
  merchants. She provides him capital and fake
  gold, believing he will again get in trouble.
• Chang-hu spends the gold on a prostitute. He is
  thrown in jail and beaten when the fake is
  discovered.
• His-liu sends Chang-fu to save Chang-hu.

6
How Hsi-liu Raised her Sons

• Chang-hu and Chang-fu return home.
• Chang-hu repents and becomes a successful
  merchant.
• Chang-fu passes the provincial and metropolitan
  exams.
• His-liu is honored for bringing up her sons
  successfully.

7
The Dilemma of Woman Peng

• Woman Peng is a widow. Her Family
• Her son, Lien
• Her sons second cousins Chen Kuo-lin Chen
  Kuo-hsiang, and Chen Kuo-lien.
• The cousins want her property and harass her.

8
Legal Code of the Ching

• Provisions on widows...
• If a widow remarries, her husbands property, as
  well as the dowry that she originally brought
  with her, shall become the property of her former
  husbands family (Spence, p. 72)
• A woman whose husband dies shall inherit his
  property when there is no son to receive it but
  in such cases the clan head must choose an heir
  to inherit the property in accordance with the
  degrees of family relationship(Spence, p. 73)

9
Legal Code, cont.

• If a grandparent or parent is killed by an
  assailant, and the son or grandson, without
  reporting the matter to the authorities, acts on
  his own initiative and kills the murderer, he
  shall be beaten sixty strokes if he kills the
  murderer immediately, he shall receive no
  punishment(Spence, p. 74)

10
Legal Code, cont.

• Murder in the family
• Whenever a grandparent or parent is being
  attacked by an assailant, and the grandson or son
  immediately intervenes to protect him and attacks
  the assailant in return, if the son or grandson
  causes no injury, he shall receive no punishment
  if he causes injury, he shall be punished in
  accordance with the laws on assault, lessened by
  three degrees if he causes death, he shall be
  punished as in regular cases of homicide.
  (Spence, p. 74)

11
The Dilemma of Woman Peng

• Her Family
• Her son, Lien
• Her sons second cousins Chen Kuo-lin Chen
  Kuo-hsiang, and Chen Kuo-lien
• The cousins kill Lien
• They claim revenge on their father
• The claim is rejected and the cousin is convicted
  and sentenced to death.

12
The Dilemma of Woman Peng

• Woman Peng lost her property and heir through
  her husbands family. The clan head named an
  heir from a different branch of the Chen family.
  

13
Family Feuds The Wangs and the Lis

• Family Head Wang San, known to be a bandit and
  gang leader
• Son, Wang Ko-hsi marries Chiangs daughter
  receives 60 acres of land

• Family Head Li Tung-chen
• Son Li Yuan (in separate house)
• Six sons in family compound
• The Lis wanted the land

14
The Provocations

• Lis pigs feed on Wangs land
• Wang Ko-hsi kills the pig and curses Li
  Tung-chen
• Li Tung-chen curses Wang
• Wang kills Li Tung-chen and sons 5,6,7.

15
Proceeding by Indirection

• Lis accuse Chiang of the crime
• Wang San vouches for Chiang and frees him
• Li Yuan refiles the charge with no accused
  identified
• Huang summons Kuan Ming-yu and Kuan Ming Pao who
  also have had a relative killed by Wang San

16
Devising A Military Strategy

• Huang
• assembles a military force
• enlists Kuan to divert Wang San
• marches to Wang Sans compound
• Wang
• Wang and his followers run for the border
• Huang and Kuan pursue
• Wang San and Wang Ko-hsi captured

17
Resolution

• The Wangs confess Wang San dies Wang Ko-hsi
  jailed.
• Lis attempt to claim Wangs property. But the
  property has transferred to a degree holder, Chu,
  in Kiangsu.