Respond to any two of the following questions by commenting on this post. Additionally, please respond to at least two of your classmates’ responses. Be sure to keep an eye on this thread and respond to comments on your own post where appropriate. (This post will remain open all semester, but your initial responses should be posted by Sunday, February 7th.)-
-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?
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 has been portrait as an ambitious and careless person since he has demonstrated to get some money and spend it leaving him without any financial help for his future and always depending on someone else for money. Also, Li Jia appears to have the idea that money is the answer to most of his problems. Therefore, with this behavior, his actions to the end of the story does not come as a surprise since he decided to take the easy way out by accepting the financial help for exchange of his “love”, Du Tenth.
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?
• The reading “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” has certainly use money as a key element to financial success between the characters. In the story, there is also another factor that is involved and that is love, specifically between Li Jia and Du Tenth. The love they claim throughout the story seemed to be the answer to overcoming difficulties to be together, however, towards the end of the story we see how Li Jia decided it was best to take money to gain a relationship with his father in order to be passed down the family’s fortune in return to giving away his wife, Du Tenth. These actions can mostly say that the relationship between money and love cannot be a strong one as money would come as an ambition hence we see Du Tenth having the only way out to be to buy herself out instead of just walking away.
Li Jia fear of his father allowed for such action to take place in order to appease both his father allow Du Tenth to live with money however, had Du Tenth may had been honest with Li Jia it could’ve been a different outcome to how they would of lived or prosper differently together.
What do make of Li Jia’s fear of his father? Is it a positive sign of his respect for his elders, or is it a sign of weak character or immaturity?
When his father against them, lijia odes not try to out effort in this relationship, means he never love dushiniang, a man never try to persuaion his father that he really love dushiniang.
So are you suggesting that he never really loved her? Does Du Tenth make the mistake of thinking that he does really love her, or does he actively deceive her?
But is Du Tenth really able to “buy herself out”? Or does she go from being “owned” by the Madam to being “owned” by Li Jia and then Sun Fu? How can a woman be free in this context?
-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 outgoing and not careful since he leaves his work to do on others instead of himself. Li Jia is focused on money and spending money on himself. He thinks the solution to his problems are money. Li Jia’s behavior at the end of the story doesn’t come as a surprise because he gave more priority to money and himself than anything else.
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?
“Du Tenth Sinks The Jewel Box In Anger” seem to be saying about the relationship between money and love is money is important than anything else. Sun asks to use one thousand tiles to “buy” tenth, Li agrees to it. This shows that Li chooses money instead of love. In addition, Du Tenth is rich. But she never tells Li about it. She wants to give herself an “in case”; in case Li will leave her. On the other hand, Du Tenth may not really fall in love with Li. She uses him as a tool to free herself since she cannot be free without another owner to buy her from her madam.
I do agree with you as to the type of person that Li Jia is and how he demonstrated himself throughout the reading. It did seem like money played the main role in this story, especially when we see how Li Jia chose money over love and also how Du Tenth has money hidden from Li Jian as a way out in case something were to happen.
I agree what you said about what kind of person are lijia, however lijia is a only kind of people look for money, he decided everything based on money, even in a relationship, he love dushininag’s money and appearance, not dushiniang.
Both of your responses come back to the issue of money, particularly with the suggestion that for both characters, money seems like it will be the solution to their problems, but of course, this turns out not to be the case!
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 young man who spends his money recklessly as he portrays throughout the story that he indulges into whore houses and other lavish spending’s like clothing. His main weakness is that his fear of his father scorn, shame or lack of filial piety towards his father. All this adds up to his wife demise Du Tenth because of his lack of a backbone or the respect towards his father to be indulge into Sun Fu’s plan to take the money but sell his wife in order to keep respects of his father.
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?
-Money and love seems to be a two way street because of how it influenced the main couple of the story. The couples problem can be solved directly had Du Tenth admitted she had more money to help ease the fear of his Father for Master Li. However she can’t do this due to the fact that she is a women and a prostitute as they are labeled as property. So the tug of war begins with the schemes with Du Tenth and the Master Li fear of his father lead to the turmoil of Du Tenth. Master Li also had terrible spending issues however Du Tenth may have been able to cover it with her massive sums. Money influences relationships simply by guiding the intentions behind the relationship. Without the money, Du Tenth wouldn’t of been able to buy her freedom without the help of Master Li even though he had contributed none except for the scholarly friend of his.
Indeed, Li Jia was a portrait of irresponsibility as we observe from the reading when he would waste all the money he had on entertainment. It is also important to point out the reliance he had on others when it came to money, for example relying on his father to buy him the career and also on his scholarly friend with half of the money he needed to freed Du Tenth.
The way you describe him here makes him seem to me to be a familiar type – spoiled and immature.
-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 young, naïve man that is exposed to an environment of lavish, careless living, with little supervision. He is impulsive in his actions as he is quick to follow his emotions and youthful lusts, and many of his actions come from a spur of the moment decision to act according to how he feels. His behavior at the end of the story is not surprising, as throughout the story Li Jia is shown to do what he wants, oftentimes regardless of the consequences. One instance of this is when Li Jia and Du Tenth had just left the imperial academy, and sailing on a boat in hopes of finding a place of solace. Their situation was depicted as being low on resources, as their source of money was small, and there was no money coming in anytime soon. Despite their limited resources, Li Jia still decides to spend much of their funds on sleeping with prostitutes and buying new clothes, so his actions would not be exposed. His decision to abandon Du Tenth, due to his fear of his father, was not surprising. Acting in fear of his father’s judgment towards him returning with no money, and alongside a prostitute brought Li Jia to once again act upon impulse, rather than integral ethic.
-How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
In the story, the courtesans were depicted as being objectified and unrespectable, due to the various ways Du Tenth was represented in her community. Her famous reputation came from her extraordinary beauty, and it is shown that people based her value and image on the great capacity that she had to bring pleasure to the young men that admired her. This can be seen in the short poem included in the story that works to expound on her beauty on page 500 of the story, which says,
“When Tenth attends a drinking bout
Abstainers quaff till the wine runs out.
When dandies meet Mei on their rounds
They swear the rest all look like hounds.”
This imagery from the poems provides a contrast for the audience, to help us better grasp a sense of Tenth’s beauty in relation to the average prostitute. But it also provides an understanding of how the prostitutes at the imperial academy were viewed as a whole: subject to objectification and disrespect. But this was just the general majority’s perspective of them; further in the story, the author shows instances in which Du Tenth was shown respect and even honor. This was shown when Li Jia’s friend, Liu Yuchun, praises Tenth’s determination to escape prostitution and find a new life with Li Jia, when he says on page 507,“This makes you a hero among women.” I believe Feng Menglong chooses this third person point of view to establish the different ways these women are seen in society, but it is also an invitation for the audience to humanize the prostitutes of this society, by revealing the dynamic dimensions of these characters. The author’s decision to depict the courtesans in such a mulit-dimensional light reveals the humanity of the people who had the most seeningly promiscuous reputations in society.
Du Tenth prostitute friends can also be seen as to another example in which prostitutes were just seen in a negative light such as being selfish or honorable as Du Tenth friends piled up money to give to Du Tenth in her journey with his husband. It can also show the courtesan being more complex or maybe more humane than the objectification that is given to them.
These comments about how courtesans are represented in the story are really helpful. I would maintain a distinction between the way that others view prostitutes (as in some of the passages you’ve quoted here) and the behavior of Du Tenth and her fellow prostitutes in the story itself. They seem to show a lot of loyalty and generosity.
-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?
The author wants to tell the relationship between Du Tenth(杜十娘) and Li Jia(李甲) is inequality with a huge gap. Li’s father was Province Commissioner and Du Tenth just born in a civilian family and she is a prostitute. It is the foreshadowing of the story.
-What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
He was spineless, cowering, without ambition, and an unmotivated person. I’m not surprised by his behavior. First, he never loves Du Tenth just obsessed with her beauty. Second, when his father disagrees with his marriage, Li Jia didn’t want to against his father. It means he was a cower. Last, He didn’t have the courage to try to break through the resistance of social ideas. His selfish nature made him choose the method of self-preservation to sacrificed Du Tenth.
-How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
They are smart, courageous, wants to get rid of a life of disrespect. I think Feng Menglong’s support for true love and the abandonment of the concept of family and class.
-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?
I think Jewel Box is Du Tenth herself. As a courtesan, money is only one thing she can believe and make her feel safe. Du Tenth had much more money than Li Jia and Sun Fu which are from wealthy families, but she still been betrayed by Li Jia. Money couldn’t help her to buy dignity and true love.
-Feng Menglong was interested in using literature to teach morality. What lesson is being imparted by this text?
Feng Menglong against the feudal ethical code, emphasizes that people should pursue their own freedom. In ancient China, he could be the first one to equality of men and women, advocating freedom of marriage.
I’m really glad that you have brought up the question of class here. First, you remind us that the two young lovers are from very different socio-economic classes and suggest that, for this reason alone, it’s obvious from the outset that their relationship won’t succeed. Second, you suggest that Feng Menglong is offering us a critique of the idea of class itself by portraying a prostitute who has more integrity, loyalty, and industriousness than her high-born, wealthy lover. This is a great observation!
I agree completly with your description of Li Jia’s personality, that he is spineless and cannot stand up to the pressures of even the idea of his father’s disapproval with Du Tenth. From the beginning, I believe this relationship was just a trainwreck waiting to happen, and the only liability for this was Li Jia’s unfaithful, spineless character.
-What kind of person is Li Jia? Does his behavior at the end of the story come as a surprise? Why or why not?
Ans: I dont think lijia do whatever he needs to do during a romance, because he never said he love dushiniang, he just feel happy when he meet dushiniang, because he thinik dushiniang is a pretty women, and when lijia’s father against when they about to marry, and lijia never try to tell his father how much he love dushiniang, he let me feel really suprises when he did not do anything when dushiniang still his girlfriend. Never try to put effert in to this romance.
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?
Ans: I think they both think the money is more important among them, because dushiniang was really rich, and dushininag never tell lijia, and she is a courtesan, she think nothing going to be more important than money, she think having money can have anything, however at the end, they still having abandon among them, having money does not means you going to have anything.
Your response makes me think that one thing that the two characters share is a misguided belief that money can solve all of one’s problems!
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 naïve, young, careless man who is irresponsible when it comes to spending. He has exhibited to get some cash and spend it leaving him with no monetary assistance for his days ahead instead he is shown as a person that continuously relies upon another person for cash. His principle shortcoming is that he dreads of his father’s hatred which amounts to him being selfish Du Tenth in the regard towards his dad to indulge into Sun Fu’s arrangement and let go of his better half after taking cash. His behavior at the end of the story did not startle me since he would do anything for money even if it means putting the love of his life at stake.
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?
-Money for sure assumes a vital part; both had this thought that cash could assist them with accomplishing whatever they wanted. Despite the fact that Du Tenth had a ton of cash which she thought would keep her safe, yet she actually got double-crossed by Li Jia; cash couldn’t get her the regard and love she needed.
I believe the connection between money and love will almost always have a generic relationship, that money has a very compelling influence over whether someone chooses to stay and support you, or abandon you. I think you have a unique point of view between the two, though, because you mentioned that even though Du Tenth had massive riches, Li Jia still betrayed her. I believe this is because Li Jia was oblivious to the riches Du Tenth had, and I believe if Li Jia had known of Du Tenth’s monetary worth, he would have been more faithful.
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 cowardly person who has no financial stability or a plan for the future. He depends on his father to have a future with his wife and can’t own up to his own decisions in life. He got so used to being dependent on others for help that he never thought how wrong it would be to trade Tenth for just a thousand taels so he could just somehow please his father or get his approval. Being grown up in a wealthy family, he could’ve learned from his father the ways of life but instead he became a spoiled person who could not deal with life when things got hard. And seeing how he met Tenth shows us his ways of life so of course he accepted Sun Fu’s offer. The end was not a surprise to me as the only person holding their relationship together was Tenth and if only one person is making the effort and coming up with results, this was bound to happen. Although I did not expect her to drown herself for a person like Li.
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?
Money has played a vital role throughout the story. At first Tenth was only able to hang out with Li because he was spending a fortune over her and that pleased the madam. As soon as she found out that he had no more money left, she did not want Li anywhere near Tenth, so she named a price of three hundred taels of which half is paid by Tenth herself. Again, they need money for travel and other expenses, so the sisters help Tenth out while Li still does not have a plan. Later on, in the story when Sun Fu offers a thousand taels, Li should not have even considered the offer, all he needed to was rely on moral support from Tenth and together they would’ve figured it out, again. Money had seemed to be problem throughout the story but actually it was Li who thought money was the answer to all his problems so when Tenth really sees the kind of immoral and immature person Li is. Money become the root of the problem so she throws everything valuable in the river to show Li all she would’ve done for him that’s what is meant by “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” that money should never overcome love or it will never pure again.
-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 young educated man, who spends his money in a naïve way. He likes spending his money mostly into extravagant items and brothels. Li Jia seems to be very indecisive because at one point he loves Du Tenth and will do anything for her and then at the end he gets rid of her in exchange for money. This wasn’t surprising as it seemed that he rushed into things with Du Tenth, buying her rather quickly and we see he values money and his reputation more than he values Du Tenth.
-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?
In “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” one of the main characters Li Jia seems to be more interested in money than true love. Since his father has a high political position, he seems to be interested into marrying a woman who can satisfy his family and his financial situation than satisfy his own heart. He proves money is more important than true love when he trades Du Tenth, his true love, for 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 young, irresponsible person from a very high class society. He doesn’t have any responsibility since he can pay for his entrance exam and is always hanging around elsewhere. It seems that he doesn’t know how to take his own decisions and is heavily influenced by others opinions and their perspectives. His story at the end of the story doesn’t come as a surprise because he’s always seen being very immature and not thinking for himself. In a way, it seems that their love wasn’t real, and from his perspective, seems that he was only seeking pleasure, therefore, till the end he saw her a courtesans rather than his wife.
-How are courtesans represented in the story? Why do you think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way?
Among themselves courtesans have a very strong and beautiful bond who help each other out when in need. We can see that when the sisters give Du Tenth clothes, jewelry and money because she was going through a rough time. However, the society doesn’t perceives them as a human because even after she had left her job, her own husband was willing to exchange her for money. I think Feng Menglong chooses to depict them this way because it was an accurate representation of the society and especially women, how they had to rely on men to help them keep their name.