Ah Ching brought forward my chair and we sat down together, smiling at each other, letting our gestures speak for us. Finally she stretched forth4 her right hand, palm down, measuring the height of a small child from the floor, inclining her head towards me, her eyebrows5 up in a question. I made a pillow of my two hands, laid my head upon it, eyes closed, and then pointed6 up. We were both delighted at this simple pantomime. The elderly man—her cousin—looked pleased in sympathy and even the three solemn servants smiled a little. She asked me in gestures where my husband was. I waved widely and comprehensively towards the street, in the general direction of the city. She nodded, settling back a trifle, drawing a long breath. We had reached the end of our power to converse7 without the aid of an interpreter.
When I heard Chan-King's ring at the gate, I hurried out to meet him with the[Pg 99] news. He was even more excited than I was and hastened ahead of me to the house. I walked very slowly in order that they might have their first greeting undisturbed, and, when I arrived, they were beaming upon each other and talking the South Province dialect over a very sleepy and cherubic infant, whom Chan-King, with paternal8 pride, had ordered down to greet his grandmother at once.
The retinue9 settled, Chan-King informed me that our mother would remain with us for six weeks. During this time, I learned the art of pantomime beyond anything I had ever hoped for in one of my undemonstrative nature. My Chinese mother and I conversed10 with eyebrows, hands, smiles, noddings and shakings of the head, much turning of the eyes. I had an instant affection and admiration11 for her, and she adopted towards me a gently confidential12 attitude that pleased me very much.
She had brought presents for us, in the[Pg 100] Chinese way: for me, a delicately wrought13 chain of Chinese gold in a box of carved sandalwood; for Wilfred, a dozen suits of Chinese clothes in the bright patterns worn by children of the Orient, and so becoming to the proud, wee man that, arrayed in them, he seemed already to be coming into his heritage. She also brought great hampers14 of fresh fruits—pomeloes, lichees and dragon's-eyes—and countless15 jars of preserved fish and meats and vegetables, which had been Chan-King's favourites when he was a boy at home.
Madame Liang had the Chinese woman's love for shopping. Accompanied by her cousin and the servants, we went from silk merchant to porcelain16 dealer17, and from brass18 worker to rug weaver19, gathering20 treasures. Though she carried on most of her negotiations21 through her cousin, she bargained with a firmness and a sense of values that I admired very much. In the silk shops she bought marvellous brocaded[Pg 101] satins and embroidered22 silks and she made me select the pattern I wanted for myself. Though she preserved most carefully the distinctive23 features of the dress of her own province, she was much interested in Shanghai styles and examined my wardrobe critically, noting the short sleeves with tight-fitting undersleeves and the skirts with seven plaits—not five, as in Canton, for example—at each side.
Notwithstanding the popular Western fancy that fashions never change in China, the Chinese woman is painstakingly25 particular as to the exact length and fullness—or scantiness—of her coats, skirts and trousers. She is carefully precise about the width of bias26 bands or braid or lace that she uses for trimming, the number and arrangement of fastenings, the shape and height of her collar. All of these details vary as tyrannically from season to season—under Shanghai guidance—as certain style features do with us under the leadership of[Pg 102] New York or Paris. Moreover, as against our four seasons, the fashion devotee of China takes account of eight, each with its appropriate style and weight of clothing.
At home Mother sewed a great deal, using her hands gracefully27 and very competently in spite of the long curved fingernails on her left hand. My American sewing-machine fascinated her. She had an excellent hand-power machine at home, Chan-King explained, but mine worked with a treadle and she wished to try it. I took the tiny, brightly shod feet in my hands and set one forward and one backward on the iron trellis. And she moved them very well, alternately, and ran several seams with energy.
Chan-King, his mother and I went to Chinese cafés together and Madame Liang was pleased and amused to see that I not only used chopsticks with ease but had a real taste for Chinese food. We used to treat ourselves to all sorts of epicurean dishes:[Pg 103] spiced chicken and duck, sharks' fins28, bird's-nest soup with pigeon eggs (my favourite delicacy29), seaweed and bamboo shoots, candied persimmons, lotus-seeds and millet30 pudding with almond tea.
Once, in a roof-garden café, where I was wearing American clothes, my use of chopsticks aroused considerable interest among neighbouring groups of diners, and stray comments reached us, for the Chinese are always pleased to see foreigners familiar with their customs. "No doubt she is a missionary31 lady," a young woman remarked in my husband's native dialect. Hearing and understanding, Mother immediately said, in clear, gracious tones, "My son, perhaps your wife would like to have some American food now." Chan-King translated for me both comment and suggestion, and I felt pleased to learn that, at any rate, my Chinese mother was not ashamed, in a public place, to acknowledge her American daughter.
Mother was fond of the drama and, since Shanghai had some excellent theatres, we made up several parties during her stay.
The great semicircular stage on which a famous old historical play that we saw was acted was hung with gorgeous embroideries33, laid with a thick Peking rug of immense size and brilliantly lighted by electricity—as was the entire theatre. The actors wore the magnificent official and military robes of an early dynasty. As on the Elizabethan stage, women's parts were taken by men, who achieved by cleverly constructed shoes the effect of bound feet. I found the deafening34 drums and gongs a little trying, at moments, and the crude property makeshifts somewhat incongruous with the wonderfully elaborate hangings and costumes. But, being familiar with the story, I understood the action and so evidently enjoyed it that Mother was surprised anew, as Chan-King afterwards told me. We sat in our balcony box, above the vague tiers of[Pg 105] lower seats packed with a restless audience of men, women and many children in the arms of their amahs. On the wide front rail of our box was the inevitable35 pot of tea, with room also for such fruits, sugar-cane, melon-seeds, or meat-and-rice dishes as we wished to purchase from the endless variety offered by eager boys in round caps and blue cotton gowns. Now and then an attendant came with a huge teakettle to refill our teapot, and once he offered us the usual steaming hot towels for sticky fingers. Chan-King waved these away energetically. "Awful custom," he said to me. "Unhygienic. How can they do it?" And he added something of the kind to his mother in Chinese. She regarded him with comprehension, a tiny gleam of superior wisdom in her eyes. But she made no reply.
She had taken a fancy to Wilfred, who by this time had a fair vocabulary of Chinese, which he always used in talking to his amah. He was a handsome child,[Pg 106] typically Chinese, very charming in his manner, very fond of his amah and his indulgent grandmother. Madame Liang would take his chin in her hands and study his features intently, nodding her head with approval. Then she would stroke his round black poll and give him melon-seeds or almonds from her pocket. Wilfred used a weird36 mixture of dialects—a confusion of Mandarin37 and the Shanghai vernacular38, with a dash of Cantonese from his amah. Madame Liang set out patiently to teach him her own dialect as well.
When her visit was ended, our mother said to Chan-King, "This is a Chinese house, with a Chinese wife in it. Everything is Chinese. I could never have believed it without seeing, for I thought your wife was a Western woman. I am happy." And she told him again that we must come and visit her, for she needed us.
Chan-King's father, a member of an old,[Pg 107] established firm in the import and export trade in the Philippines, was away, looking after his business or exchanging visits with friends of his own age and rank. His home-comings were in the nature of a vacation. The management of the household depended on Madame Liang.
As she talked, I realized by her face, by Chan-King's answers, by all that I knew of Chinese family life, that we were a part of that clan39 and should be so always. A hint of the solidarity40 I now feel with my husband's family came to me. We were not separate from them; nor should we be.
After our mother was gone, Chan-King said something of this sort to me, quoting what she had said about my not being Western. "But I love you to be Western in this sense," he told me, "that you and I have companionship and freedom and equality in our love. That is what makes me happiest."
Before Chan-King and I closed the house[Pg 108] in Shanghai to depart for the southern hills, our second son, Alfred, was born. An American woman asked me, when he was about six weeks old, if I did not feel a sense of alienation41 at the sight of the wee, Oriental face at my breast. Quite simply and truthfully I answered no. My husband was not in any way alien to me. How, then, could our child be so?
His coming provided me with a welcome excuse to remain at home quietly for a short while. I now attempted to learn, at the same time, both Mandarin and the dialect of Chan-King's province—a method of study that hampered42 me constantly at first. But my husband was an encouraging teacher, and I began uncertainly to use my new knowledge, trying it mostly on my young son Wilfred, who was the real linguist43 of the family. He took my Chinese very seriously. I cannot say so much for Chan-King, who was greatly amused at my inflection.
Towards the close of the year, I decided44 to take a place as teacher of English and history in a Chinese girls' high school. Chan-King was surprised when I told him that I wished to teach, but he offered no objection, and watched with interest my progress through the year. I loved my teaching. Still more I loved the girls in my classes. Collectively and individually I found them supremely45 worth while in spirit and mind. I cannot say how lovely the young womanhood of China seemed to me. I began to yearn46 for a daughter, and when, towards the close of the second term, I found that I might, perhaps, have my heart's desire, I realized that my husband shared it.
In the early autumn, our mother wrote and asked us to come south for the cold season. She also expressed the hope that the coming grandchild might be born in her own province. Chan-King had been encouragingly strong for over a year, but he had[Pg 110] always found the northern winters hard. We decided that the time had come to fulfil our promise of visiting the ancestral home. Chan-King secured six months' leave of absence.
Within ten days we had closed our affairs temporarily, dismissed the servants, with the exception of the amah and the faithful Ah Ching, got our boxes together and bidden our friends farewell. The leaves were falling in the avenue; the plants were shrivelled at the edges in the sun porch; the winds blew ominously47 shrill48 under the eaves. Chan-King grew pale and began to cough again. Out of the teeth of the terrible Shanghai winter we fled into the hospitable49 softness of the South.
By a large steamship50 we started out on what was ordinarily a brief journey. But, by those war-time schedules, changes and delays were the invariable rule. After three unforeseen changes and as many[Pg 111] delays we reached a port just over the line in my husband's province. There we stopped, intending to go on three days later by the little, battered51, tramp steamer that puffed52 noisily at the dock, putting off dried fruits and dyes, taking on rice and cloth and sandalwood. But we did not go on, as it happened. Instead, a tiny, smiling, competent woman physician, wearing the southern costume and possessed53 of a curious fund of practical wisdom in medical matters, attended me in her native hospital at the birth of our daughter Alicia.
On a vaguely54 grey, gently stimulating55 winter morning, ten days later, our bouncing little ship—for I had cajoled Chan-King into allowing me to travel—stood to, out from port, and sampans came to meet us. Like giant fish, bobbing and dipping and swaying upon the waves, these sampans with their great eyes painted on each side of the prow56 and their curious, up-curved sterns, came towards us in a [Pg 112]gala-fleet, rowed by lean, over-muscled men in faded blue cotton garments. I was very gay and much exhilarated by the soft sunshine that broke through the mist as I climbed down with Chan-King's help into one of these boats.
The harbour was busy with small craft—flat-bottomed gigs or baggage-boats besides the junks, whose square brown sails swung creaking in the wind. Two Chinese men-of-war rose over us, their vast, bulky sides painted battle-ship grey.
Out and beyond, an island not more than a mile long turned its irregular profile towards us, a long mass of huge grey boulders57 jutting58 abruptly59 from a sparkling sea. As we were being rowed in to the mainland, we were near enough to the island to see quite plainly the tile-roofed houses surrounded by arched verandas60, repeated again and again in long, undulating lines that gave a pleasantly lacy effect. The island was shaded with trees in winter[Pg 113] foliage61, not the brilliant green of summer, but the sage-green and pale tan of November. Through this intermittent62 curtain the walls of the houses shone in dull blue and coral pink and clear grey. Jagged cacti63 shot up among the bulbous rocks and everywhere the scarlet64 poinsettia set the hills aglow65 with patches of brilliant colour. I loved this island instantly. I said to Chan-King, "This is our Island of the Blest, where we shall live when we are old."
At the jetty, Ah Ching went up to hail sedan-chair bearers, and soon I was borne rapidly along a few yards ahead of my husband's chair.
I was filled with a delicious elation66 at being in Chan-King's province, so near to the very village that he knew as a little boy. With enormous curiosity, I peeped through the curtain-flaps, which were transparent67 from within. We were passing through the town that lay along the water's edge—a bright, open little place, where[Pg 114] the small houses, with curved tiled roofs, hugged the ground. We went through the crooked68 streets, which were really nothing more than broad paths, at a steady pace. We left the ragged69 edges of the town and began to ascend70 the hills. I raised my curtains a trifle and ventured to look out freely. Emotion surged up in me. I wished to cry for joy in this home-coming, for it was our real home-coming together, and I felt a secret share in all the life my husband had known here.
Up the narrow, twisting path we wound, toward the hills, which were covered with a smoky, amber71 mist. Scattered72 closely along the upward road, apart from the dwellings73, were small terraces enclosing plots of cultivated ground, filled with growing things. Wherever the folk could find a lush, flat place on the stony74 hills, robbed by deforestation of all but grass, they had planted their vegetables. These little patches of colour, coaxed75 by thrifty[Pg 115] gardeners out of the soil washed into the hill-pockets, added a festive76, humorous note to the winter landscape, otherwise so brown and sear. I thought frivolously77 of a solemn giant wearing his party nosegays. The hills billowed away immensely, until they were silhouettes78 against the dull orange and ashy purple of the morning sun struggling through the clouds. Solid, steeply curved, narrow bridges of stone made us a path over the frequent streams that rushed downward to the valley.
Here we came full upon the ancestral village of my husband's family. It lay, compact and many-roofed, upon the side of a hill, as intricately woven and inevitable-looking as a colony of birds' nests, as naturally a part of the earth as though it had sprung from planted seeds. Rows of walls ran along the main thoroughfare. There were few people astir yet and the doors were closed in all the low-eaved plaster and stone houses.
Our chairs were set down before a tall, hooded79 gate in a wall of stone-grey. Ah Ching knocked. The gates were opened, and servants came hurrying out, accompanied by three leaping black Chow-dogs, which barked in frantic80 challenge till Chan-King spoke81 to them and changed their menace into joyous82 welcome.
We entered a spacious83 courtyard and crossed an exquisite84 garden, one of the most beautiful I saw in China. An artificial lake rippled85 placidly86, disturbed only by the darting87 goldfish. Laurel- and magnolia-trees darkened the paths. A thicket88 of bamboo wavered and cast its reflection in the water at the edge of the lake.
Chan-King helped me from the chair and together we passed into the main hall through the wide-flung doors. Madame Liang, early apprised89 of our arrival, was standing24 there, and my first sight of her gave me a renewed sense of home-coming. I was dimly aware of a large hall, at the[Pg 117] back of which stood a high altar, with wreaths of sweet-smelling smoke rising in straight columns before lettered tablets and brilliant images under glass cases. The glitter of golden and scarlet embroideries against the wall splintered the dimness with rays of light like sunshine through a prism. Heavily carved blackwood chairs with tea-tables and also marble-topped stools with gay, brocaded cushions were ranged about the room.
We passed through this main hall into the apartment of Madame Liang, where I was given a chair, and I sat down, suddenly remembering that I was very tired.
Other members of the family, distant relatives and first cousins, and guests, all women, came in and I was presented to them. Madame Springtime, wife of the second son, did first honours for the family. She was so very youthful—only seventeen—and so wistfully other-worldly that among those mature housewives, clever and [Pg 118]practical managers of their households and husbands' estates, she seemed like a branch of peach-bloom. In festal garb90 of jade-green and lavender, embroidered shoes on her tiny feet and an embroidered head-dress crowning her shining black hair and framing the oval of her shy, smiling face, with its sloe-black eyes, she came bearing a lacquered tray and presenting to each of us sweet tea, in cups of finest porcelain with standards and covers of silver and with tiny silver spoons having flower-shaped bowls.
The pretty little tea ceremony was then repeated by various members of the family, while the small sons were given hot milk and cakes. An eager group gathered about the tiny new daughter, still sleeping peacefully.
A bubbling, busy little lady, about the age of Madame Liang, leaned over me, with a quizzical smile, and bobbed her gay, pretty head emphatically at me when my mother introduced her as Madame[Pg 119] Chau. Elaborately dressed in rich colours, in direct contrast to my soberly garbed91 mother, she was as merry as Madame Liang was grave and she tripped about on her almost invisible "golden lily" feet with an energy that yet did not destroy the grace of her "willow92 walk."
But the many-coloured costumes, the great curtained bed on one side, the voices—all suddenly seemed far away. And, as I wavered, smiling determinedly93, I heard my husband's voice. "Mother thinks you are tired; so this woman will show you to your room, where you must lie down and rest."
Some time later, as I lay resting—with Alicia sleeping on my arm—on the bed, which had purple curtains and soft white blankets, Chan-King stepped quietly into the room.
"Feel as comfortable as you look?" he asked and, when I nodded drowsily94, he touched a box of cakes.
"These were brought to you by Madame Chau, the busy little lady out there. You know"—he hesitated a moment—"she would have been my mother-in-law, if I hadn't insisted on your mother instead!" and he gave my cheek a gentle pinch.
I was now wide-awake. "The little bird-lady out there—mother of Li-Ying?" I asked. "Where is Li-Ying, then?"
"They didn't tell me anything directly," Chan-King answered. "But I gather from several pointed conversations carried on in my hearing that Madame Chau has just returned from her daughter's house in Singapore. Just imagine: little Li-Ying is married too, and also has three children—two girls and a boy. I think," said my Chinese husband, with charming complacence, putting a hand over mine and stooping to kiss Alicia's pink, sleeping face, "our arrangement is much better. Sons should be older; then daughters are properly appreciated!"
At noon, after an hour's quiet sleep, I was again aroused by Chan-King, who stood beside a maidservant with a tray.
I sat up. "I expected to be out for luncheon," I said, preparing to rise.
Chan-King looked perturbed95. "Stay where you are," he warned. "My mother has just been scolding me for allowing you to travel with a ten-days-old baby. 'As if I could do anything about it!' I told her, blaming it all on Eve in the most approved Christian96 fashion! She admires your spirit, but thinks that, for your health's sake, you should rest two weeks longer at least!"
I lay down meekly97. "Very well," I said. "Obedience99 is my watchword!"
And for the prescribed time I lay in my pretty room—all my senses deeply responsive to the life going on in a Chinese household: the clang of small gongs that summoned the servants; much laughter coming in faintly or clearly as my doors were opened or shut; the tap of lily feet along[Pg 122] the passage; the glimmer100 of Madame Springtime's radiant pink or blue robes as she entered to inquire after my welfare or bring some new delicacy that had been procured101 for me; the smoke of incense102 from the altar floating into the room at intervals103, with a pungent104 sweetness that roused vague memories and emotions. Everything in the house—hangings, clothes, furnishings—was saturated105 with this aroma106. Mingled with a bitter smell, which is distilled107 by immense age, and touched with the irritative quality of dust, this odour now means China to me and it is more precious than all other perfumes in the world.
"But, Chan-King, life is nothing but food!" I protested, about the third day, when my fourth meal had been served to me early in the afternoon.
"But the quantities are small," he answered. "Much better way, don't you think, than taking great meals many hours apart?"
Early in the morning, the young maid assigned to me would bring in a bowl of hot milk and biscuit. In our apartment, at half-past eight, she would serve breakfast, consisting of soft-boiled rice—congee108—with various kinds of salty, sweet and sour preparations. At eleven o'clock there was turtle soup or chicken broth109. At noon came tiffin, which consisted of substantial meat and vegetable dishes, fish and soup, and dry-boiled rice. Our mid-afternoon refreshment110 was noodles of wheat or bean-flour, or perhaps a variety of fancy cakes. Tea, kept hot by a basket-cosy, was always on hand in every room. At seven the family dined, and, after the two weeks were up, I joined them, sitting at the first table with Mother and my husband. Dinner was an elaborate meal, in courses, with rice at the close. At bedtime came hot milk again, or sweet congee or perhaps tea, brewed111 from lotus-seed or almonds. I was continually nibbling112. I[Pg 124] thought Chinese food delicious, particularly in my husband's province, noted113 for its delicious "crunchy" fried things.
But Chan-King had yearnings for American dishes. I gave the head cook minute instructions for preparing fricasseed chicken, fresh salads, beefsteak with Spanish sauce—even American hot cakes, and he enjoyed the American canned goods, with butter, cheese, jams and bread, which were brought in frequently from the port.
An episode that caused much merriment was Chan-King's initiation114 of his family into the mystery—and history—of chop suey. The rich joke of that "made-in-America" Chinese dish is penetrating115 to every household where the returned student is found. In Shanghai we had heard with amusement how the bewildered chef of the Y.M.C.A. café had gone down to one of the great trans-Pacific liners lying in port, to learn from the head cook on board just what this "chop suey," which all his[Pg 125] returned student patrons were demanding, might be. Now, with memories of old college club activities prompting us, and with a skilful116 cook to carry out our directions, Chan-King and I introduced into the ancestral home that most misunderstood dish in all the world. The family agreed that, though vaguely familiar, it was unlike anything they had ever tried before, and they decided without dissenting117 vote that it was superior to fricasseed chicken, Spanish steak or hot cakes.
At this time, my husband's brother, Lin-King, came home for a brief stay. I decided from photographs that he resembled his father, who was still away. Lin-King and Madame Springtime seemed well-suited to each other and happy, although the marriage had been arranged by their families and they had never seen each other before the ceremony. I decided that the old custom had much merit, after all—for other people—and said so to my[Pg 126] husband, adding, "When our children are grown, we must have them all marry Chinese." Chan-King looked at me long in silence and then, sighing humorously, he asked, "What of their father's example my dear?"
Since my Chinese was still bookish and unpractised in the all-important matters of tone and local idiom, I could not converse with the family, and at the dinner-table and in my mother's apartment I was as silent and meek98 and pleasant of manner as Madame Springtime herself. Madame Springtime served formal tea to our many guests in absolute silence, with a sweet, fixed118 smile at the corners of her red mouth. I watched her with consuming interest, for she was acting119 as first daughter-in-law in my stead.
The machinery120 of life ran with the smoothness of long habit and complete discipline. The meals were served, the apartments kept in exquisite order and the[Pg 127] children cared for by a corps121 of servants trained in minuti? by an exacting122 mistress, who knew precisely123 what she wanted. Our days were left free for the practice of small courtesies, the exchange of pretty attentions and the care of the ancestral altar.
From the ceremonies that took place before this altar at various times, my husband kept himself, his wife and children sedulously124 aloof125. It was neither asked nor expected that he would do otherwise, just as our attendance at the little mission church was accepted without question. At other times, however, I had ample opportunity to study the altar and to enjoy the beauty of its massive carvings126, its elaborate incense-burners and candlesticks, its exquisitely127 wrought embroideries. A porcelain image of the Buddhistic128 Goddess of Mercy in her character of Son-Giver, set within a large glass case, fascinated me by its remarkable129 resemblance to certain Catholic images. But the ancestral tablets [Pg 128]interested me more, and the respect that I have always accorded objects sacred to others was in this instance mingled with profoundly personal feelings: the inter-blended characteristics of those men and women so many years dead and gone lived on in the man who was my husband; their life currents pulsed warmly in the veins130 of my children; perhaps some deep insight gained beyond the grave enabled them to know how truly I acknowledged my debt to them, how earnestly I hoped those children might not prove unworthy of their heritage.
With the help of Chan-King's coaching and my personal observations, I soon learned the gracious routine of the house. At ten o'clock every morning I presented myself at the door of Madame Liang's apartment and sat with her for several hours, often over tiffin, even till tea-time, if she signified a desire for my company. If the weather was fair, we would walk in the garden,[Pg 129] she leaning lightly on my arm, her cane tapping on the flagstones. At times, also, tea was served here, with the small children joining us for hot milk and sweet cakes.
I was several days in getting the members of the household identified in their proper relations, for there were thirty persons gathered in that big, low-roofed, rambling131 compound behind the high, enveloping132 wall. They were nearly all women, and two-thirds of them servants. The quiet, soft-mannered woman relatives spent nearly all of their time in their own apartments. Madame Liang's powerful personality, silent and compelling, paled the colours of nearly all the temperaments133 around her. Her friend, Madame Chau, was immensely comforting to her, for she could not be persuaded to take anything very seriously. Madame Liang laughed with her more than with anyone else. While they busily embroidered, they gossiped, and I listened to their musical speech[Pg 130] with its soft southern accents and chiming, many-toned cadences134.
I used to think, as I sat in a deep-cushioned chair, nursing the small Alicia, with a pot of tea at my elbow, that Madame Liang, in her gorgeous, heavily carved, black-and-orange bed, enclosed on three sides by panels of painted silk and draped over the front with silk curtains held back by tasselled brocaded bands, was a link in the Chain of Everlasting135 Things. She had come into the house exactly as "new women" had done century after century, and she had lived out her life unquestioningly according to their precepts136 and example. There was a monumental, timeless dignity about her as she sewed and talked of simple matters. In her presence, I felt young and facile and terribly unanchored.
I talked these things over with Chan-King in the dark of the night, when all the household was silent. He was [Pg 131]interested in my reactions, knowing they were the outcome of a profound personal love for his family and sympathy with everybody in it. Spiritually, Chan-King also was in sympathy with his family. Practically—well, as I have said, there were moments when he longed for American food, and his first deed in the house was to order the bed curtains removed from our apartment.
They were removed, and nothing was said. A wonderful spirit of courtesy and toleration prevailed in the family life, with a complete absence of that criss-cross of personal criticism that our Western freedom of speech permits. Not that there were not undercurrents, intimate antagonisms137 here and there, personal sacrifices and sorrows. But they were not recognized, for in Chinese life individual claims are eternally relinquished138 in the interest of clan peace and well-being139. There was one authority, and it was vested in Madame[Pg 132] Liang. Such a system makes for harmony and preserves the institution of the family, on which all China is founded.
Making no conscious effort, I myself yet became so imbued140 with this spirit that, when the Government summons came for Chan-King to report in Peking early in the new year, I choked down my anguish141 and said, "How splendid for us all, Chan-King! When are you going?"
We were in the last week of the old year, and at Madame Liang's earnest entreaty142 my husband delayed his departure (as the summons permitted), that, in the midst of his family, he might celebrate the most delightful143 of all holidays. Delicious cooking odours now drifted about everywhere, new clothes for every one were made ready, and faces took on a shining happiness.
One evening after a visit to his mother, Chan-King came to me, laughing heartily144. "Mother reminds me," he said, "that for[Pg 133] three days it is customary for the maids, when sweeping145 the floor, to pile the dust carefully in a corner instead of throwing it out, lest the family good fortune should be thrown out with it. But she says of course it is only an old superstition146 and if you like you may tell the maid to remove the sweepings147 as usual." I laughed too. Then I said, "Tell Mother we shall do our part towards keeping good fortune in the family." "For three days, also," continued Chan-King, "no harsh or scolding word is to be spoken by anyone. And therefore," he went on sonorously148, "your tyrannical Chinese husband will cease to lecture his American wife—who is certain to need it, though." I looked into his eyes, bright with irrepressible gaiety, and suddenly I kissed them shut, my own eyes misty149. "Oh, my dearest," I whispered, "you are just a little boy at home again, in spite of the silver threads." And I smoothed the black locks, already sprinkled[Pg 134] with grey. "Chan, I love the Chinese New Year!" I said.
Even now I see it all again. My husband was wearing a long, dignified150 gown of dark green satin—unfigured, as is customary for officials—dark green trousers, short brown jacket, lined with soft fur, black satin cap and black boots. Wilfred was quite a young gentleman in long gown of blue-green silk, braid-trimmed jacket of dark green, blue trousers and red-tufted cap. Chubby151 Alfred was dressed in lavender jacket, scarlet trousers, a tiger-face apron152 of red, white and black, embroidered shoes and a gay little knitted cap. Alicia, whom the whole family loved best in her frilled white American dresses, added now a pink silk jacket and an adorable little pink and black cap, which gave an Oriental grace to her features. I wore my latest Shanghai creation, in pale lilac-and-black figured satin. Guests came and went incessantly153, and we made[Pg 135] our calls in the village. The air was filled with odours of spice, molasses, roasted meats, seed-cakes and millet candy and with sounds of fire-crackers, gongs and happy voices.
But it was over at last. The time for my husband's departure had come.
With silent expertness, Ah Ching set about packing. In three days Chan-King was ready to go. He was coaching me in the household phrases I should need most in making myself understood without his help. Madame Liang decided that, during my husband's absence, I should assume my position as first daughter-in-law. I had no apprehension in regard to the minute, exacting duties that would devolve upon me as a right-hand companion to my husband's mother, for I loved her, but I was not sure of my tact154 or my deftness155, and I felt strung up painfully at the thought of my immediate32 future.
After the hourly companionship of[Pg 136] months, parting from Chan-King was very terrible indeed. He was in and out of our apartment, moving about the house with restless energy, arranging final details. At last he came and stood beside me. "Say good-bye now, dearest," he whispered. "Afterwards—out there—we shall have no opportunity." He drew me close and we kissed with deep feeling, the tears in my eyes refusing to be suppressed any longer.
"Don't cry," he begged, with unaccustomed emotion. "Don't cry, or I can't leave you!" Then he held my face up and dried my tears with his handkerchief and said solemnly, "Smile at me!" And I smiled.
We went across to his mother's apartment, and she came out, the tears on her cheeks not stanched156. Joined by the rest of the family, we accompanied him to the entrance and then to the gate, which stood open, almost blocked by the waiting[Pg 137] sedan-chair. Chan-King was in Chinese dress, and as he stood there—profile towards me—among the group of servants, giving his final directions, he seemed more Oriental, more absorbed into his country, than I remembered ever to have seen him.
He made a profound bow to his mother, with formal words of leave-taking, and gave me a grave little nod. Then, without looking back, he stepped into the chair, the curtains were drawn157, and the coolies trotted158 off down the steep path, followed a little way by the bounding black dogs.
Mother and I stood together, after the others had gone, and watched his chair jostling down the narrow, paved way. Then we turned and looked at each other—rueful smiles on our mouths, tears in our eyes. We shook our heads at each other. I half raised a hand to my heart, then let it fall. I think both of us found our lack of mutual159 language a welcome excuse for silence.
Madame Liang turned toward the house. The gates closed behind us. I gave her my arm in support until we reached the doorway160; then I stepped a pace behind her as she entered. Without speaking, I waited until she had knelt at the altar, and the incense was rising in clouds before the imperturbable161 images under their glass cases. Then I attended her to her own apartment. My life as a real Chinese daughter-in-law had begun.
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1
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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6
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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16
porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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17
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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18
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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19
weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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20
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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21
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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22
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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23
distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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24
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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painstakingly
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| adv. 费力地 苦心地 | |
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bias
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| n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见 | |
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27
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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28
fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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29
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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30
millet
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| n.小米，谷子 | |
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31
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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embroideries
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| 刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 )； 刺绣品； 刺绣法 | |
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34
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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35
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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Mandarin
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| n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的 | |
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38
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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39
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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40
solidarity
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| n.团结；休戚相关 | |
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41
alienation
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| n.疏远；离间；异化 | |
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42
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
linguist
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| n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者 | |
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44
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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45
supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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46
yearn
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| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
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47
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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48
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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49
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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50
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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51
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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52
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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53
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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54
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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55
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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56
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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57
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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58
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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59
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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60
verandas
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| 阳台，走廊( veranda的名词复数 ) | |
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61
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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62
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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63
cacti
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| n.（复）仙人掌 | |
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64
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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65
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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66
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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67
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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68
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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69
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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70
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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71
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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72
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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73
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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74
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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75
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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76
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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77
frivolously
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| adv.轻浮地，愚昧地 | |
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78
silhouettes
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| 轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影 | |
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79
hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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80
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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81
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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82
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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83
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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84
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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85
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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86
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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87
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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88
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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89
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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90
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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91
garbed
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| v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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93
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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94
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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95
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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97
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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98
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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99
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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100
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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101
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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102
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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103
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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104
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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105
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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106
aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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107
distilled
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| adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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108
congee
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| vi.告别，鞠躬；n.稀饭 | |
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109
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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110
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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111
brewed
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| 调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡） | |
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112
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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113
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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114
initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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115
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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116
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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117
dissenting
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| adj.不同意的 | |
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118
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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sedulously
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| ad.孜孜不倦地 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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126
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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Buddhistic
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| adj.佛陀的，佛教的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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temperaments
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| 性格( temperament的名词复数 )； （人或动物的）气质； 易冲动； （性情）暴躁 | |
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cadences
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| n.（声音的）抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 )；节奏；韵律；调子 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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antagonisms
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| 对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 ) | |
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relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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139
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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143
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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sweepings
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| n.笼统的( sweeping的名词复数 )；（在投票等中的）大胜；影响广泛的；包罗万象的 | |
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sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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150
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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151
chubby
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| adj.丰满的，圆胖的 | |
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152
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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154
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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155
deftness
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156
stanched
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| v.使（伤口）止血( stanch的过去式 )；止（血）；使不漏；使不流失 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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161
imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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