Zhu Ziwen’s eyes swept between the two of them, and he took up the thread with a smile. “Good need not be great good, and evil need not be great evil. Consider a starving beggar on the verge of death, kept alive by a mouthful of food given to him by a habitual swindler — a life-saving act of grace. Yet that mouthful of food had been snatched from someone else. When all is considered, was that act good or evil? I agree with what Brother Yu has said: in this world there is no absolute good, and no absolute evil.”
Chen Dayi, who had found the old feeling of a Hua family gathering returning to him, followed immediately. “The generations before us refined codes of morality over time, using them to distinguish good from evil. Yet rules are fixed, while people are not. Some break the rules out of laziness, others cut corners with a bit of cleverness. They observe the rules — but when no harm comes to their own interests, they have no objection to bending them a little for their own comfort. Is that evil? Not necessarily. I also agree with what Brother Yu has said: there is no absolute good in this world, and no absolute evil.”
The discussion within their pavilion was lively, and the scholars in the surrounding pavilions were all straining their ears. Those attending a Pure Discussion Gathering for the first time now had some sense of what it was actually meant to be. This — this was the proper shape of it.
When you thought about it, it made sense. A gathering for pure discussion — surely it wasn’t meant for talking about politics? If the gathering had no restraints at all, how would the Emperor ever have tolerated it?
With this realization, others began to join in. The debate on good and evil spread outward and the conversation truly took on the character of a Pure Discussion Gathering.
Hua Zhi, however, said nothing more. She continued her unhurried game of rolling that single longan back and forth.
When the topic turned to the saying “The benevolent use wealth to cultivate themselves; the unbenevolent use themselves to cultivate wealth,” someone called Hua Zhi’s name again. “I wonder what Miss Hua makes of this?”
Chen Dayi frowned. Here he couldn’t step in for her — a Pure Discussion Gathering permitted anyone to pose a question and to call on a particular person to answer. It was a way to test what one had learned. No one of any pride would want another to speak on their behalf; that was to diminish oneself.
Hua Zhi turned the saying over in her mind. The benevolent use wealth to cultivate themselves; the unbenevolent use themselves to cultivate wealth. Were they implying she was without benevolence?
“Whether one speaks of the benevolent who use wealth to cultivate themselves, or the unbenevolent who use themselves to cultivate wealth — the premise is that both are free of pressing needs. When a household of several hundred mouths can barely scrape together enough to eat, the first concern is how to fill those stomachs — how to live with dignity. And to preserve one’s dignity, the first requirement is to conduct oneself properly, to give no one grounds for reproach. In my humble view, compared to grand moral principles, this one point matters more. If everyone placed a higher value on dignity, the world would be more at peace.”
“By what Miss Hua implies, you see nothing wrong with using oneself to cultivate wealth if one lacks benevolence?”
“A single line yields a thousand interpretations. In my view, conducting oneself properly leaves nothing to find fault with.”
“…” With that one phrase — conducting oneself properly — Hua Zhi deflected whatever angle the questioner had intended. Someone else stepped in and shifted the topic, and the discussion moved on to something else.
Zhu Ziwen gave his cousin a thumbs up. She truly had a way of gripping people at the throat — leaving them no room to argue back.
Hua Ling, who had been sitting in silence, quietly smiled. Elder Sister really was remarkable — nothing could stump her. She herself had heard this quote as well, and if it had been directed at her, she probably couldn’t have gotten a single word out.
Yu Xiasheng, seated across from her, happened to catch her smiling and froze for a moment — then immediately flushed to the roots of his ears and turned his gaze away, not daring to look again.
Several more topics passed. Then someone said, “The ancient teaching of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues has always seemed rather harsh toward women, in this one’s view. What do the rest of you think?”
Hua Zhi’s idle movement paused. She took the longan she had been rolling — now warm from the heat of her hand — and peeled it slowly, popping it into her mouth. A bit of something sweet would do well — in case the words that were about to come out of her mouth were a little much for people to swallow.
“This one agrees. Setting aside the remarkable women of past dynasties who made contributions of all kinds — take Miss Hua alone. Were it not for her, the Hua family would likely have been the next Hua family to fall. Had she been constrained by the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, how would the Hua family have found any stability? In this one’s view, the teaching has its merit, but cannot be applied as a blanket rule.”
“Yet this one believes the Three Obediences and Four Virtues may be precisely a form of protection for women. Women are naturally weaker in strength than men — if women moved about unrestricted, what would become of them if they encountered ruffians? Consider the Hua family’s Third Young Miss: had she kept to her inner quarters, would she ever have been taken away and had that whole scandal come about? In this one’s view, the Three Obediences and Four Virtues have persisted to this day precisely because they have proven their value.”
Hua Ling went pale, but she held her head up stubbornly. Elder Sister had told her she had done nothing wrong — that it was Wei Chengxi who was in the wrong. So she was faultless.
Hua Zhi set down the small longan seed into her palm and placed it on the table, then stood and leaned against the railing, looking out. “If one is hit by a stone rolling down a mountain path, is it the traveler’s fault, or the stone’s? If a boat is robbed by river pirates and the passenger is plundered, is it the passenger’s fault, or the pirate’s? If someone is struck by a carriage in the road, is it the bystander’s fault, or the coachman’s? If someone is bitten by a dog without provocation, is it the passerby’s fault, or the dog owner’s?”
After a brief hush, a male voice responded: “If the traveler did nothing to provoke the harm, then naturally it is not their fault.”
“And if one travels in public and encounters someone with dishonorable intentions — is it the traveler’s fault, or the wrongdoer’s?”
“The wrongdoer’s, naturally.”
“If a young woman travels in public and encounters a wrongdoer, is it the woman’s fault, or the wrongdoer’s?”
“Had the young woman not gone out, she would not have encountered a wrongdoer.”
“When a man encounters a wrongdoer, it is the wrongdoer’s fault. When a woman encounters a wrongdoer, it somehow becomes the woman’s fault.” Hua Zhi laughed. “In my view, the sole purpose of the so-called Three Obediences and Four Virtues is to confine women to the inner quarters — to prevent them from competing with men for that space under heaven. When it comes down to it, what men fear is the possibility that one day women might grow capable enough to surpass them.”
“Miss Hua, your words have gone too far. One cannot determine the distinction between men and women on such a basis alone!”
“Oh? Where does this natural distinction between men and women actually lie? In strength, or in intelligence? If you speak of strength — yes, women are somewhat lacking, at most meaning that two women are needed to do what one man can do. As for intelligence — the strife within the inner quarters is no less fierce than anything in the court. If women took the skills they’ve sharpened in those struggles and turned them against you, the outcome would be far from certain.”
The same male voice again: “If Miss Hua is speaking of herself, this one concedes that Miss Hua has genuine ability. But if you speak in general terms, your claim goes too far. Furthermore, Miss Hua’s manner of appearing so openly in public will likely make it very difficult to find a husband — and beyond that, have you considered how your conduct reflects on those around you? I fear Third Young Miss may also find no one willing to seek her hand.”
“It is not that a husband would be difficult to find — it is that no man would dare marry me. Let us speak of earning a living: how far behind me does the entirety of the Great Qing fall? Let us speak of managing a household: the Hua family in its entirety is now in my hands. Let us speak of magnanimity: I would call myself someone who can hold an ocean. Let us speak of foresight: I know precisely how to position things for the future. Let us speak of courage: I would dare to stand against any military officer. And what of you? None of you has ever earned a single liang on your own; none of you has ever tilled a single acre of land; none of you has ever carried a single load of water; you cannot tell salt from sugar or soy sauce from vinegar. Apart from a few dead pages of books, what exactly do you know — and yet you still have the audacity to say that I would find it difficult to secure a husband?”