Today I saw a barbaric incident in Henan that made me furious, to be continued.
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If you can’t even prepare your child’s burial as a parent, what’s the point of taking bride price?!
In a private property society, there is indeed oppression within families. Previously, I saw a female user on Xiaohongshu saying that foreign women can also ask for bride price, and below, an Australian woman commented that asking for bride price is essentially prostitution. This example should illustrate the nature of bride price.
This idiot parent doesn’t even bother pretending anymore. When alive, they definitely act hypocritically, lying to her that the bride price is all for you; claiming the bride price is for your own good. After death, they don’t even care about the body.
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In fact, this incident fully exposes the true nature of bride price. For the bride’s family, the daughter cannot inherit private property, so her entire role is to be sold once she reaches marriageable age, to become a household slave and sexual tool in the husband’s family. Collecting bride price is essentially paying for the daughter. For the husband’s family, bride price is the cost of purchasing a household slave. No one is willing to take the corpse to handle the funeral for the deceased, and there are profound reasons for this. For the bride’s family, once the girl is married out, she is no longer part of the family; they have already received the bride price and achieved their goal. For the husband’s family, the girl has died; in fact, they haven’t obtained a household slave and do not want to take the corpse, but hope the bride’s family refunds the bride price. This incident fully reveals the economic interests hidden behind family relationships. Deep down, they all essentially see the deceased as insignificant. This woman is also very tragic; as seen from her Moments (social media posts), she clearly understands what marriage means for women, so she does everything she can to avoid marriage. However, she was still persecuted by a patriarchal society, forced into marriage, and ultimately ended her young life.
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Actually, I also feel that the girl’s suicide was also forced. It’s really a pity.
Actually, there is also a “subtle” character in this story, which is his younger brother. He is in middle school, and even during the pandemic, even for a middle school student, cooking to fill his stomach was more than enough (but to be honest, there is too little material, so we cannot know if anyone had special circumstances).
Therefore, over the long term, it can be said that this younger brother has also been completely parasitic on his sister, just like his parents, relying on his sister to have a job to support his life.
This also reflects that their family has a feudal mindset, placing money above life.
The follow-up to this news was reported today by Lianhe Zaobao.
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She has an older brother and a younger brother, basically being treated as a blood bag. She has been resisting marriage, but her parents threaten her with death. The day before the wedding, she even posted on social media saying the wedding was canceled and she would refund her friends’ gifts, but her parents refused to return the bride price and forced her to marry. On the wedding day, she borrowed the excuse of changing clothes and jumped from the upstairs. In her last words, she wrote that there was a yard on the first floor, and she felt very sorry, but there was no other way. After her death, her parents and the groom both refused to claim the body. The residents on the first floor thought it was unlucky that she died by falling in their house, planned to ask her parents for compensation, and refused to move her body, showing extreme indifference.
A few days ago, someone sent me an article, supposedly a commentary by Chairman Mao published in November 1919 about the Zhao Wuzhen suicide incident. I don’t know if it’s true, but I find it very similar to this incident, so I want to share it.
(On November 14, 1919, Zhao Wuzhen, the 21-year-old daughter of Zhao’s family from Nanyang Street eyewear workshop, was forced by her parents to marry Wu Fenglin, a much older and unattractive rich merchant’s young boss, to become a concubine. Dissatisfied with her parents’ arranged marriage and after multiple protests with no results, feeling hopeless, she committed suicide by slitting her throat with a razor on her wedding day in the bridal sedan.)
01 Criticism of Ms. Zhao’s Suicide
(November 16, 1919)
An event in society should not be underestimated. Behind every event, there are overlapping causes. For example, “death” can be explained in two ways: one is physiological and physical, such as “dying of old age”; the other is anti-physiological and anti-physical, such as “untimely death” or “sudden death.” Zhao Wuzhen’s death was a suicide, a sudden death, belonging to the latter category.
A person’s suicide is entirely determined by their environment. Was Zhao Wuzhen’s intention to seek death? No, it was to seek life. But she ended up seeking death because her environment forced her. Her environment consisted of: (1) Chinese society, (2) Zhao’s family in Nanyang Street, Changsha, and (3) her unwilling in-laws’ family in Ganziyuan, Changsha. These three form a triangular iron net. Imagine a triangular device, with Zhao trapped inside—no matter how she seeks life, there is no way out. Life faces death; thus, Zhao died.
If one of these three elements were not an iron net, or if the net were open, Zhao would not have died. (1) If her parents had not forced her and respected her free will, she would not have died. (2) If her parents’ coercion was aimed at helping her achieve her wishes in her in-laws’ family, and her in-laws also respected her freedom, she would not have died. (3) Even if her parents and in-laws could not tolerate her free will, if society had a strong public opinion supporting her escape—recognizing her fleeing as an act of honor rather than shame—she would not have died. Now that Zhao is truly dead, it is because she was surrounded by three iron nets (society, her natal family, her in-laws), unable to seek life, only able to seek death.
Last year, in Tokyo, Japan, a countess and her chauffeur, after a love affair, both committed suicide. The Tokyo newspapers published special editions, and many writers and scholars discussed the incident for months. Yesterday’s event is a major incident. Behind it lies the corruption of the marriage system, the darkness of social institutions, and the inability to think independently or love freely. We should discuss various theories based on real events. Mr. Tianlai and Mr. Jian Gong have already set the stage; I wish to add some opinions. I hope enthusiastic discussions will arise, especially from those who see this young woman’s sacrifice of love and freedom as wrongful, and advocate for her justice. (Details in yesterday’s newspaper)
02 The Issue of Zhao Wuzhen’s Personality
(November 18, 1919)
Two days ago, I wrote a critique stating that Zhao Wuzhen’s death was determined by her environment, specifically by her society and her two families. Now I want to discuss her personality.
Someone asked me: Does Zhao Wuzhen have personality? I have two answers: one is that Zhao Wuzhen has no personality; the other is that she does.
How can I say she has no personality? If she had personality, she wouldn’t have died. Why? Because personality depends on respect from others. The prerequisite is free will. Was Zhao’s will free? No, it was not. Why not? Because she had parents. In Western society, a person’s parents do not influence their free will. Western family systems recognize children’s free will. But in China, it’s different: parents’ commands and children’s wills are completely incompatible. Zhao’s parents clearly forced her to love someone she did not want to love. Does she have free will in her expression? No. If she does not want to love someone, but her parents force her to, that’s a form of rape. This is “direct rape.” If her daughter does not want to love someone, but her parents force her, that’s “indirect rape.” Chinese parents are all engaging in indirect rape of their children. This conclusion is based on China’s family system (patriarchal and matriarchal) and marriage system (parents’ policies). If Zhao had personality, she would have free will; if she had free will, her parents would respect her. If her parents could respect her and allow her, she wouldn’t have committed suicide in that cage-like bridal sedan. But the fact is she did. Therefore, my answer is: (1) Zhao Wuzhen has no personality.
How can I say she has personality? That refers to Zhao herself. Although she was only twenty-one and living in a family that did not allow her personality, and her parents did not recognize her personality for twenty-one years, in her last moment, her personality suddenly emerged. Alas! No freedom, no choice but death. Her blood stained the snowy blade, and her blood soaked the dust of Ganziyuan’s dirty street, transforming into a solemn celestial path. Zhao’s personality then burst forth, shining brightly. So my answer is: (2) Zhao Wuzhen has personality.
My conscience compels me to say two more things:
(1) All the parents like Zhao’s parents should be imprisoned.
(2) I wish everyone in the world would shout together: “Long live Zhao Wuzhen!”
06 “Society’s Evil” and Zhao Wuzhen
(November 21, 1919)
My friend Mr. Yin Bai published his commentary in the newspaper the day before yesterday, criticizing my “Criticism of Zhao Wuzhen’s Suicide.” He said I was unjustly blaming society and downplaying Zhao’s own role. That’s not true. He said: “Zhao’s behavior was weak and passive. Such behavior should never be promoted.” I fully agree with Mr. Yin Bai’s vigorous stance. Regarding Zhao’s suicide, I initially planned to divide my critique into several sections. One of those was “not suicide.” Mr. Yin Bai’s views and mine are not contradictory.
But I cannot ignore “society.” No matter how weak Zhao’s act was, it cannot be said to be “without reason.” The reason for her death must include factors outside herself—namely, society. Society contains causes that can make Zhao die. Society can also cause women like Ms. Qian, Ms. Sun, and Ms. Li to die; it can cause “women” to die, and “men” to die. There are still many of us alive now, so we must prevent this dangerous thing from giving us fatal wounds at any time. We must loudly cry out, alert our peers, and shout “Society’s Evil!”
I believe there are three aspects that drove Zhao to death: her natal family, her in-laws, and society. In fact, her natal family and her in-laws are parts of society. They are all components of society. We must recognize that their evil deeds originate from society. Their sins are partly their own making, but most are caused by society. Moreover, if society were good, they would have no opportunity to commit evil. For example, when Zhao’s family heard about Wu’s family’s bad reputation, the matchmaker, Madam She Si, insisted it was false. In Western society, there would be no such forced matchmaking or deceitful talk. Also, when Zhao refused to get into the sedan, her father slapped her. In Western society, she could file a lawsuit or resist in self-defense. When Zhao wanted Wu’s family to reschedule, Wu’s siblings and in-laws had the right to “refuse,” and she couldn’t oppose that. These are all tricks that occur in our very evil Chinese society.
Mr. Yin Bai believes Zhao should escape and says it’s possible. I agree, but I will first raise some questions, then clarify my point.
(1) Why are there over forty foreign goods carriers in Changsha? My Shaoshan Township, less than thirty miles away, also has seven or eight. Why?
(2) Why are there only men’s toilets in Changsha, with no women’s?
(3) Why do barbershops not have women?
(4) Why are there no women living alone in inns?
(5) Why do tea houses not have women drinking tea?
(6) Why do silk shops like Taihe Feng and foreign goods shops like Yu Taihua only have men as customers?
(7) Why are all the car drivers in the city men, with no women?
(8) Why are there no female students at the First Normal School outside the South Gate? Why are there no male students at the Gu Daotian First Normal School?If someone can answer these questions, they will understand why Zhao cannot escape. These questions are not difficult; the answer is “extreme separation of men and women,” meaning society does not allow women’s presence. In such a society, where women have no place, where can Zhao run to?
If the world has many examples of escape, I will admit it. For example: “In Shaoshan Township, there is a smart and beautiful girl named Mao, eighteen years old, who married a very stupid and ugly man surnamed Zhong. She disliked it very much, and finally abandoned her husband to run away with a neighbor’s son surnamed Li, and went to pursue free love.”
You might think this is very good. But,
“Within two days, she was surrounded by others, and her family was informed. Her family then sent people to catch her.”
Just being caught is not a big deal.
“When caught, she was severely beaten, locked in a room, and still forced into the ‘proper’ conjugal relationship with her foolish husband.”
That’s not the worst.
“Zhang San said, ‘This beating is good; she is shameless for running away.’”
“Zhang Si also said, ‘If she doesn’t get beaten, when will it end? Such a woman is truly the disgrace of the entire family.’”
This Ms. Mao was an active advocate, fighting bravely against evil and hardship. But what did she get in return? I only see three things: “being caught,” “being beaten,” and “being scolded.”
From this, how could Zhao not have committed suicide? Alas! Zhao Wuzhen! Alas! Society’s Evil!
After finishing this article, I saw your comments, Mr. Rilin, which also emphasized society, aligning with my view. But regarding Zhao Wuzhen, are there other methods that could have fulfilled her free will? How do their values compare? I will discuss this next time. Also, if anyone can tell me Zhao Wuzhen’s “name,” “graduated from which school,” or “Tianzu Xiaozu,” I welcome it.
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