Part 16 (1/2)
”Do you think it is a big problem?”
”Not now.”
”Well, if it becomes a big problem, you should leave the job. That can be a very bad situation.”
”I know,” she said. ”I don't think that will be necessary. But it is not such a good job, and if I have to leave, I will.”
ONE OF TEACHER KONG'S DISTANT COUSINS had been kidnapped and sold into marriage in Anhui province. The woman wasn't a close relative of Teacher Kong, but they shared the same family name. We talked about her during a tutorial in which we discussed had been kidnapped and sold into marriage in Anhui province. The woman wasn't a close relative of Teacher Kong, but they shared the same family name. We talked about her during a tutorial in which we discussed fanmai renkou fanmai renkou, people who were bought and sold for money.
I asked if the woman had been able to escape her husband, and Teacher Kong said that they still lived together. She had been sold in the mid-1980s; now they had been married for more than a decade.
”She was relatively satisfied,” Teacher Kong said. ”Her husband had money.”
To a certain degree this struck me as obvious-after all, he had purchased the woman. But apart from finances, wasn't she angry about the violation?
”I'm not sure, because I don't know her well,” Teacher Kong said. ”But I think she wanted to leave Fengdu. She was from a very poor part of the countryside, and you know that it is difficult for a woman to leave a place like that. Usually they aren't taken by force-they're tricked. Somebody might promise them a job somewhere else, and once they arrive they're sold as a bride. They're far from home and there's nothing they can do. I think that's what happened to my cousin.”
”So she never came back?”
”After about five years she did. At first she was very ashamed-too ashamed to write. But after a while she got back in contact, and finally she made a visit home. Now she's been back a few times. She likes her husband. Quite a few of them turn out like that, if the women are from very poor places like my cousin. The only serious problems are with the women who are sold to idiots, or cripples, or old men. They're not happy if they have a husband like that, of course. That's when there's trouble, but as long as there's enough money most of the women aren't too upset.”
”Usually they're taken far from home?”
”Yes, and sometimes that's a problem-the husband will live in a very remote area, and the women are watched so they can't get away. Some of them are illiterate and can't write home, or they don't know how to travel back. Does that happen much in America?”
”No,” I said. ”That doesn't happen very much in America. I've never known anybody who was bought or sold.”
”It's not so common anymore in China, either. It was more common in the 1980s, just after the Reform and Opening started. Now it doesn't happen so much, but in the remote areas I've heard that sometimes it's still a problem.”
EVERY YEAR AT THE BEGINNING of the American section of my literature course, we read the Declaration of Independence, which was in the textbooks. The Chinese publisher had included the Declaration because it smacked of revolution, which was always an appropriate subject for Chinese students. They never would have included the American Const.i.tution or the Bill of Rights. of the American section of my literature course, we read the Declaration of Independence, which was in the textbooks. The Chinese publisher had included the Declaration because it smacked of revolution, which was always an appropriate subject for Chinese students. They never would have included the American Const.i.tution or the Bill of Rights.
I a.s.signed the chapter, and then I asked the students to write their own Declarations, a.s.serting independence from something that limited them. Nearly all of the boys declared independence from the college, although a few responses were different. Marx, who was true to his name, declared independence from Money: We are slaves of the money, all of us, this is the case. But we all know clearly that money is only the thing that people create. We want our food, coat, car, and all of the things not controled by the money. We don't want to fight against money, because at least money has given us some convenience. But its harm is much bigger than the remittance. We must get rid of money. Money is the tyrant of our society. We must throw it off.
None of the girls wrote about money, and few of them declared independence from the college. Many wanted to be free from their parents-they wrote about how their mothers read their diaries and prevented them from choosing their friends freely, especially their boyfriends. Quite a few of the girls declared independence from men entirely. One student wrote: The laws and G.o.d give each man equality. They give us freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of loving, and so on. However, my boyfriend almost abolishes the freedom of my speech and deed, the freedom of my loving.He is an all-controlling person. He and I are open-minded. He could speak with anyone he would like to. He could play with his ”little sisters.” He could also laugh and laugh with them. I don't know around him, how many ”little sisters” he has. But he hates my doing these. Before our love, I had had many friends. I liked to chat with them, to go for an outing, to have a joke with them, etc. At that time, I don't know what's the meaning of mental pain. I was like a happy bird. Now, when he saws me talk with boys, he must snap at me. Even more, he doesn't show due respect for my feelings. I lost my friends. I am so alone that my characteristic also changes. Sometimes for trifles, I might fly into a rage. I can't find own original image. I can't bear his rudeness. So I decide to leave him forever. When he knows my idea, he threatens me. He says, ”If you leave me, I will kill you.” My dear! What can I do?I still believe laws and G.o.d give each man equality. Now I'll declare loudly that I must be independent! Freedom and independence are more important than anything else in the world, including love!
NOT LONG AFTER my telephone conversation with Anne, she wrote in a letter that the Hong Kong man had cooled in his pursuit of her. She was satisfied with the job, and now a former cla.s.smate from Fuling was coming to Shenzhen to try her luck. They were to live together, along with Anne's older sister. my telephone conversation with Anne, she wrote in a letter that the Hong Kong man had cooled in his pursuit of her. She was satisfied with the job, and now a former cla.s.smate from Fuling was coming to Shenzhen to try her luck. They were to live together, along with Anne's older sister.
Anne was always concerned about her sister, who had a tendency to bounce from job to job. The last time Adam had spoken with her, she had described her sister's current job, which sounded more or less like part of a pyramid scheme. Those scams were very common in Shenzhen, as well as many other places in China, and Anne's sister had naturally found a position toward the bottom of the pyramid. Adam and I both suggested as tactfully as possible that Anne should encourage her sister to find a different line of work-pyramids were collapsing all over China, and the government was currently cracking down on them. Anne gave me an update in her letter: My sister's situation is getting better now. Frankly, she is more capable than me. What she lacks most is luck. Although these days, she has done very bad in getting money, she is successful making friends and having experience, which we think will be good for whatever job she may have in future. But my parents, especially my mother doesn't think so. They are getting worried about her, because she is already twenty-five years old now, but still has neither a stable job nor a boyfriend. It's a very funny situation-when they got know that I had a boyfriend, they were so upset, even became angry. As I was still a little girl in their eyes-three or four years makes so big a difference!I have read every letter (two total) from you for many times; it has been a great pleasure to ”talk” with an elder man who can always come up with wise ideas. My father may be a wise man, but I'd rather act like a spoiled child before him; we seldom talk seriously.
A couple of weeks later Anne called from work. I asked her about the Hong Kong man, and she laughed.
”He likes all women he sees,” she said. ”Because of that he is not such a problem.”
She told me her job was going well, and I asked how her sister was doing.
”She is fine.”
”Does she have a new job?”
”Yes. She answers the telephone.”
”What do you mean by that?”
”People call her,” Anne explained, ”and she talks to them.”
”She has conversations with them?”
”Yes.”
”Do many people call?”
”Yes.”
”What do they talk about?”
”About troubles.”
”What kind of troubles?”
”About affections!” She giggled after saying this and there was a pause.
”Does your sister like the job?”
”I think she likes it.”
”How is the salary?”
”She makes six hundred a month,” said Anne. ”But if more people call, she makes more money.”
”Who calls-are they men or women?”
”I think half are men, half are women. There are many people who call.”
”Why do they call?”
”Everyone here in Shenzhen has many troubles.”
”Why is that?”