Respond to one of the following questions by commenting on this post. You may also feel free to respond to comments posted by your classmates!
-What’s the connection between the broad historical material about the Ming Dynasty that begins the story and the narrative about Du Tenth and Li Jia’s relationship that follows?
-What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
-How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
-Money plays a central role in the story. What does “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” seem to be saying about the relationship between money and love?
-Feng Menglong was interested in using literature to teach morality. What lesson is being imparted by this text?
Li Jia is a naive, ignorant, and selfish person. His action of trading Du Tenth to Sun Fu for money would have came as a surprise since he was described as “sincere” and “earnest” by Du Tenth who loved her. However Li Jia becomes selfish and ignorant towards the middle and end of the story as he takes Du’s love and care for granted. He chooses his honor and reputation towards his father than Du’s love in which she tried really hard to help him prove himself worthy towards her mother. He becomes naive when Sun Fu convinces him to give up Du Tenth for the acceptance of his father and to keep his honor. Lastly Li Jia is a person that can’t make up his mind and is easily swayed hence giving up someone who he loved for money and reputation.
Question: Money plays a central role in the story. What does “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” seem to be saying about the relationship between money and love?
Answer: “Du Tenth Stinks the Jewel Box in Anger” seems to endorse that love has a higher price than money. Throughout the text, we learn that Du has sacrificed everything to be with the man she truly loves who is Li. On the other hand, Li was afraid to go back home because he knew that his father was not going to accept his wife for who she was and where she came from. He was hesitant to go back home with Du Tenth. He valued the relationship among his family way more than his own. When he came upon Sun Fu who convinced him to sell Du tenth, Li was choosing money over love. He was coward enough to sell his wife so it can be less dishonorable for him to go home since he had no money on him. It turned out to be that Du Tenth has a box filled with jewels and she never valued it more than the love she had for Li since to her those were just objects. She demonstrated that she didn’t value it more by throwing it off into the river and then throwing herself since she learned that Li didn’t value her as much as she thought he did. All in all, love is more valuable than money.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Li Jia is a dependent person. He relies on others to make decisions for himself and is often seen asking for advice for every situation he finds himself in. Also, Li can be described as an extremely malleable person since he was easily influenced by Sun Fu to leave Du Tenth. He is a spineless coward who couldn’t bring himself to stand up against his father because he was so afraid his father would disown him. His behavior at the end of the story didn’t come as a surprise because he genuinely never cared for Du Tenth the way she cared for him. She viewed him as her husband, yet he kept referring to her as “the famous courtesan from Beijing” which shows that he never considered her his wife.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Throughout the story Li Jia is first introduced to us as a well composed young man , he comes from a rich family and seems like the ideal husband. However this in fact all changes as his actions show how he relies on other to make choices for him and we later find out how selfless he can be. He is very weak minded and gets influenced by Sun Fu to leave Du Tenth . He also shows lack of respect for her when all she wants for them is to be happy and together. The action at the end of the story came to no surprise because as we read more we get to find out more about Li and how he thinks and acts as a person . He is easily controlled and is biggest fear is his dad and not being able to get the fortune he provides. He will do anything but act on his own and make meaningful choices . Which is why the end came to no surprise.
-How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
Courtesans are represented in a very positive light throughout this story. Even from the beginning, they are depicted as victims of a lifestyle that is usually very difficult to escape. This is shown through the fee that had to be paid for Tenth to be released from her brothel. This exchange showcases the way that these girls were seen as products rather than an actual people and causes a sense of compassion in readers. Seeing the support that they show Tenth upon her leave further presents these courtesans as being kindhearted and selfless. Furthermore, the concept of courtesans being misunderstood is made prominent through Du Tenth’s background, when she mentions having had to enter prostitution to overcome poverty. Because she was never raised with wealth, she was able to value love and relationships more than she valued money. The opposite is true in the case of Li, as he was willing to sacrifice his entire marriage in order to achieve financial stability.
Feng Menglong was interested in using literature to teach morality. What lesson is being imparted by this text?
Feng Menglong’s “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” emphasizes on the lesson that money doesn’t buy happiness. This is represented in Li Jia betraying Du Tenth in order to maintain his father’s status. He gave up on finding love and happiness and conformed to societal norms which lead Jia to be miserable at the end of the story. Jia’s “oppressive feelings eventually drove day in and day out on his shame” (516). This shows the regret that started to pour in after what Jia did to Du Tenth. Feng focuses on how humans are pulled by greed that it blinds them from their true joy.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Li Jia is an empathetic, frail, and hypocritical individual. After he had lost all the value and money, he eventually started to get worthless in the district with Du Tenth. He used to run away from all the problems instead of facing them because he had no clue as to how to face and solve them. He lost his self-respect when we see Du Tenth/s madam attacking him verbally. He is so weak and lacks so much confidence. This is evident when he could not convince his own parents that he wanted to marry Du Tenth, the love of his life, and had to make compromises. Li’s behavior was a bit surprising to me because he is easily manipulated by other people’s opinions on the love segment of Li and Tyenth’s life. He was so evilly blinded by money that he betrayed Du Tenth and was never able to offer Du Tenth the happiness that she deserved.
Feng Menglong was interested in using literature to teach morality. What lesson is being imparted by this text?
The lesson that is being depicted by this text is that you shouldn’t judge someone by their past actions or by their looks. At the beginning of the text we are shown how Du Tenth madam was offering her for a price. Li was trying to pursue her and when Du gave him the news they were both excited to be together happily. However, as the days went on Li wasn’t able to get the money acquired by madam until Du gave him a head start. Liu Yuchun knew about the price Li had to pay for Du and thought that Du wasn’t going to settle for someone like Li until he heard that she gave him “odd coins”. Now Liu knew that “this is truly woman with sincere intentions”.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Li Jia is a very irresponsible young boy. His father paid for his education so he could get into the imperial school instead of him working hard and doing well in class. He doesn’t understand the value of money and spends it recklessly. Because he comes from a rich family, he doesn’t care about saving money. When he meets Du Ten, she is a prostitute. She is an attractive girl, and Li is immediately attracted to her. However, he is inexperienced and doesn’t know how to treat women properly. After they have sex, he becomes obsessed with her and wants to marry her. Unfortunately, he loses control of himself and gives her 1000 cash to marry her. At the end of the story, he realizes that he made a mistake, but he didn’t learn any lesson from it. He feels sorry for himself and thinks marrying her would make his father happy.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
The kind of person Li Jia is someone who’s irresponsible and not opened minded. He grew up in a very rich-respected family but wasn’t able to earn that characteristic for himself. Despite all the privilege around him, he wasn’t able to make decisions on his own as it’s influenced by other people around him. He needs other peoples personal opinions and inputs to know how to come to a finalized decision, like his friend saying not to trust Du despite trying to acknowledge he has feelings for her and should know what he wants. I’m not surprised at the ending of Du’s decision because from her perspective , Li and Sun weren’t good options for her.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Li Jia is a coward, who doesn’t hold himself accountable for his actions, and so I wasn’t surprised with his behavior at the end of the story. Throughout the story we see Li Jia constantly depending on others to do everything for him, and he takes everything for granted. Li Jia was able to get into the academy using his father’s wealth, and instead of being grateful and focused on the newly brought position, he chose to fool around in the pleasure district. And when Du Tenth talked to Li Jia about buying her out, Li Jia was hesitating. Li Jia even tried avoiding Du Tenth after he was unable to get the money, which really shows his values. He doesn’t value their romance, but rather what was convenient for him.
What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
From the very beginning of the story, we can see clearly how Li Jia is a weak character, he is a coward who wants his fathers approval after messing up his reputation and is willing to do anything in his power to do so, even give up “the love of his life” to get enough money to be on his fathers good side. His actions even before trying to sell his wife to a complete stranger in order to be accepted back into his family such as trying to ghost Du Tenth when he couldn’t come up with the money, spending the money that Du Tenth’s friends gave them to cover their travel expenses on prostitutes and cheating on his wife and lastly even considering the proposal made by Sun Fu were clear indications of his materialism. So no, it is not surprising to see how he betrayed Du Tenth even after saying he loved her.
Feng Menglong was interested in using literature to teach morality. What lesson is being imparted by this text?
Feng Menglong wrote this text, “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” to illustrate don’t judge a book by its cover, and money doesn’t buy happiness. In a love story always tell the truth no matter what the situation is or no matter what the background you are driving from always telling the truth. Additionally, we can’t be in a relationship because we love each other or have consideration toward each, you both have to make sure you truly have good faith in each other.
How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
Courtesans are represented as only a means that madam can make money. That is the only thing that they are used for. This can be seen when madam is talking with Du tenth about Li Jia when he no longer has any money left to spend on them. Madam mentions that she should stop seeing him and start focusing on other clients that have a higher income. That’s the only way that Madam is able to get money for clothes and food. I think that Feng Menglong depicts them this way so that the reader can see that Courtesans are seen not as people but more like a tool that is used as a means to make money and show they probably are seen nothing more than that by other people.
– What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Throughout the story, Li Jia proves himself to be a person who is lazy, cowardly, and easily swayed. Due to all of this, his behavior at the end of the story does not come as a surprise. From the beginning, Li Jia proved his cowardness by rejecting Du Tenth’s proposal even though he was so in love with her. He was afraid his father would think differently of him. Instead of facing his issues with his father head-on, he avoids him throughout the whole story. Li Jia was also a big spender and ends up losing all his money. It took Du Tenth to push him to do something about it over and over. Instead of actively looking for ways to earn his money back he decides to beg his relatives. Then, in the end, he’s ready to leave the love of his life because some stranger on a boat promised him money and a reputation. It shows Li Jia never truly loved Du Tenth as much as he proclaimed. He took the easy way out of difficult situations and lost his love in the end.
Question: What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Since the beginning of the story we see the kind of person Li Jia is, as quoted “…master Li was deathly afraid of his old man…”. He was also a rather careless spender and had no backbone. Unfortunately, though the feelings seemed mutual, Li’s fear of his father’s rage overpowers his feelings for Du Tenth. When Li Jia met Sun Fu, Li poured all his heart out to this stranger, and Sun Fu manipulated the situation as he wanted Du Tenth for himself, telling Li that his father would be extremely displeased at how his son is both broke and bringing home a prostitute for his wife. Sun Fu makes a deal with him: 1000 taels to restore his reputation in exchange for Du Tenth. Li, being afraid of his father, tells Du Tenth of this and decides to accept the offer. When Sun Fu and Li come to exchange their deal, Du Tenth ends up tossing priceless jewels from her box into the river, afterwards then herself in, heartbroken that Li betrayed her. This sadly doesn’t seem to come off as surprising, and ultimately Li’s cowardliness led to his demise. Had he trusted Du Tenth’s intentions in wanting to use the jewels to build their life together, the outcome would be very different.
Li Jia is a person who never really grew up. He relies on others to make decisions and what his father thinks is what’s most important to him. Those are all characteristics you would expect to see from a child but the reality is, that Li Jia is a grown man acting this way. His behavior at the end does not come as a surprise, what else do we expect when a person immediately falls in love with someone, especially given the situation they met in. If he was unable to make a clear headed decision for himself, you cannot expect him to ever make good/right decisions.