by Amy Kwei
As the family came on shore, Righteous Virtue rushed forward with outstretched arms.
The girls raced ahead to hug their father, who looked tanned and happy. Purple Jade tarried behind. Righteous Virtue strode smiling toward her. She bowed. He clasped her trembling hands. “Now that my family is back together, I’m a whole man again.”
Purple Jade savored the protective grasp of her husband’s hands. Her composure restored, she turned and took Little Jade from her mother’s arms while Comely Brook and Winter Plum bowed. The heat and the wait had exhausted the baby. She was now sound asleep. Opening her eyes for a brief moment when she was transferred into Purple Jade’s arms, she smiled.
“Look at our new daughter!” Purple Jade beamed. Her husband returned Comely Brook’s bow and looked fully into the baby’s sleepy pink face. “Ah, this is Little Jade. I’m thankful for this new life.” He smiled and mumbled almost to himself. Indeed, the dewy face before him had awakened the wild vigor of his youth. He turned and placed his arms around his elder daughters.
He led the girls with their luggage to a waiting cab. Winter Plum supervised another. The baby and Comely Brook got into yet another cab with more luggage, as Righteous Virtue led the convoy with Purple Jade, driving his Buick with the remaining baggage.
Fatigue and the joy of reunion mingled with all the strange sensations of a new place. Purple Jade felt overwhelmed but noted that her household had been reduced from courts of flowering cherry, scented cedars and murmuring bamboo groves, to four dusty and rattling motor cars. A bittersweet smile graced her lips as she looked at her husband. She thanked her Buddha that her family, the vital force that sparked her fervor and maintained the sanity of her life, remained intact. Silently she prayed that she might again find another sympathetic soul like Dr. Rankling so that her involvement with medicine might continue. Yes, she implored her Buddha, let her new activities complement her family life, and she would be complete.
ALL MEMBERS OF the Huang family began to learn the Cantonese dialect. Purple Jade studied it with special intensity. She knew her inability to communicate would doom her practice in medicine. Her association with Dr. Rankling had been the tonic of her cosseted life. She did not want to feel useless again. Although she had her own room now in their rented house on Blue Pool Road, Comely Brook was the housewife in this small home. She saw only one role for herself — “the small feet doctor.”
Over the chessboard on a quiet evening, Purple Jade extolled Dr. Rankling’s virtues to her husband. She expressed her sympathy, admiration and respect in oblique terms.
“Doctor Rankling’s gray eyes were often hooded by her migraine headaches.”
“I know. Her affliction led her to your acupuncture.”
“She has wavy hair, cut short and blunt, just above her ears.”
“Long flowing hair is usually more attractive in a woman.” Her husband concentrated on the game board.
“But Dr. Rankling is imbued with the spirit of service. Her short hair is more convenient. It does not require the kind of fussing long hair demands.”
“Perhaps that is why she’s not married.” Righteous Virtue laughed with a touch of sarcasm. “There are many young women working as secretaries in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Most of them putter away in their jobs until they find a husband.”
“They look very smart doing useful work.”
“Some of them may look glamorous, but your intellectual depth and Comely Brook’s simplicity far surpass the vagaries of modern fashion.”
“I wonder what kind of upbringing encouraged people like Miss Tyler and Dr. Rankling to become so generous and unstinting in their service.” Purple Jade rested her head on her palm, stopping the game. “By serving in China, their generosity is directed toward strangers, not their families!”
Righteous Virtue stared at his wife. Their common pride in their heritage had been so pervasive that neither of them considered the flip side of the coin: the tyranny of excessive family cohesion. Traditionally, all munificence outside the family was considered secondary.
“Of course, I could never turn away from the needs of my family.” Purple Jade returned her attention to the chessboard. “But would I be neglecting my duties toward you, my lord, if we found another woman doctor, like Dr. Rankling, with whom I might continue my apprenticeship?”
“Of course not, Jade-mei! Brook-mei is an able manager at home. I’m proud of your services in medicine. I’ll look into finding a woman doctor.” He beamed at his wife, happy with his own liberal inclinations.
“I have begun my studies in English, but it might be years before I can speak to the foreigners.”
“I can probably find you someone who speaks Cantonese.” His eyes turned to the game board and found his general under siege. “Ah, Jade-mei,” he exclaimed with a short laugh, “you’re the mainstay here!”
A week later, Righteous Virtue learned of a Dr. Margaret Crozier, a pediatrician, who was conversant in Cantonese. Purple Jade telephoned for an appointment for Little Jade’s physical.
Dr. Crozier, only thirty-two years old, was trained in midwifery at Charing Cross Hospital, London. She branched into pediatrics in the colony, where certification procedures were lax and Western doctors in great demand.
She had come to the colony five years ago with her husband, who was a senior cadet — or a “griffin”, as the British called them — for the Taipans of the Swires House. The European community in Hong Kong enjoyed a life of elegance and luxury, made possible by an abundance of cheap servants and an unregulated economy. The popular gossip among the colonists was that the slant-eyed Chinese women possessed alluring wiles and a secret sexual prowess. Once established as wives or concubines, they wallowed in a life of material pleasures.
Dr. Crozier had learned sufficient Cantonese to deal with her serving staff and her patients, but she had neither the time nor the inclination to investigate the ways of this Oriental culture.
Purple Jade did not expect Dr. Crozier to be a victim of mysterious pains, like Dr. Rankling. However, she did assume that all Westerners who spoke Chinese, in their adopted land, would be sympathetic toward Chinese customs and curious about Chinese arts.
On the day of the appointment, Purple Jade dressed with special care. A light sprinkling of rose water scented her chignon. She wore no other jewelry or ornaments, except for a rare and luminous bracelet of purple jade. She chose a navy blue sheath of light Shantung silk, cut in the modern style of a cheongsam, the slits opening from the ankle to a modest height just below the knees. The supple silk was embossed with the ideograms fu and kway, the symbols of good luck and fortune. The cheongsam hung straight and loose on her slightly rounded frame, lending her an aura of subdued dignity. The only flaw in her appearance was her shuffling gait. She wore cloth shoes several sizes larger than her feet, with cotton stuffed in the empty front portions. She relied on a deliberate scuff of her heels to lift her feet when she walked.
Comely Brook wore a casual cotton print tunic and loose baggy pants to suit the October warmth of the tropics. She held Little Jade in a sling on her back like any amah who carried her charge. As soon as they entered the pediatrician’s office, she untied the sling and put the baby in her arms.
Dr. Crozier’s light brown hair was parted in the middle, and swept up into two pompadours raised high above her forehead. Her high-heeled shoes, erect posture, and lofty hairdo made her look like a tall statue floating above her cigarette smoke. When the Huangs entered, Dr. Crozier left her mahogany desk, snuffed out her cigarette, and offered her hand to Purple Jade.
The regal, pretty young woman enveloped in a cloud of smoke surprised Purple Jade. But she shook the young doctor’s hand and bowed deeply. She thought the show of respect was necessary because this glamorous woman, like Dr. Rankling, might become her advocate and provide guidance.
Dr. Crozier did not return the bow as would befit a younger woman. Instead, she stepped briskly over to Comely Brook, and lifted Little Jade from her mother�
�s arms onto the examination table. She addressed Purple Jade without turning to face her: “Ask the baby’s amah to leave the room.”
Comely Brook held on to Little Jade’s hand as she stood beside the table. She smiled at the doctor, but remained murmuring to the baby, comforting her in these new surroundings.
“Comely Brook is the baby’s mother.”
“Oh, my apologies!” Dr. Crozier looked puzzled. “Proceed to undress the baby,” she said to Comely Brook and then turned to Purple Jade. “And are you an aunt?”
Purple Jade was aware of the Western disdain for concubines, but she did not want to lie and mislead a future colleague. “No, I’m the senior sister-wife.”
Dr. Crozier lifted her head in surprise. She focused her full attention upon them: an audacious female mandarin with an impassive face and a short, mousy woman who looked like a servant. Purple Jade paled under such direct scrutiny; she turned to look at the baby.
The doctor’s eyes glowed with curiosity. “Your husband took this young woman for a concubine?”
Purple Jade went dumb with embarrassment.
Noting Purple Jade’s imperfect Cantonese, Dr. Crozier repeated her question. “Your husband took this concubine? How barbaric!”
Purple Jade was not prepared for this conversation. She could see the doctor’s blue eyes widen in surprise and her pink smooth face turn glossy. The cold fluorescent light caught a glimmer in those clear limpid eyes that carried no hint or shadow of pain.
“No, but, yes. He accepted Brook from me as a birthday present.” She spoke to the ground.
“You what? That’s impossible!” The wide round eyes fluttered in disbelief. “You did this out of your own free will?” The doctor forgot the half-undressed child and returned to her desk to light another cigarette.
“But that is not why I came.’ Purple Jade wanted to change the subject. She gave up trying to keep her composure with this pretty statue in a cloud. With a deliberate effort, she softened the harsh Cantonese accents with her melodious Hangzhou murmur. “I have studied Chinese medicine and learned the ancient methods of acupuncture and massage. I assisted Dr. Rankling.” She stopped, shocked at herself. It was vulgar to prate, to dwell on one’s accomplishments. Besides, Dr. Crozier was not listening. She did not seem to understand the mumbling in her Hangzhou accent. Tears of panic and shame welled into Purple Jade’s eyes.
“Are you sure your husband did not have to force you?” the doctor asked. She drew deeply on her cigarette and enveloped herself in more smoke. “You can report him to the Social Services Bureau.”
Comely Brook looked up with a start. Purple Jade’s eyes grew large with alarm. She knew her soft murmur in defective Cantonese must have confused the doctor. She had heard that the English thought the Chinese were barbarous and practiced uncouth customs.
“Hong Kong is English. We believe in freedom of choice. You certainly should not have to tolerate this cruel condition.” Dr. Crozier looked down from her lofty height and was surprised to find both women weeping and preparing to leave. “Oh Lord,” she cried. “Please calm down! There is no reason to be upset. You’ve had the tradition for so long!” She snuffed out her cigarette and prepared to return to the baby.
Comely Brook snatched Little Jade away from the doctor’s hands. The two women shuffled off, their faces contorted by fury and shame.
ON THEIR WAY home, Purple Jade followed Comely Brook into the pedicab wondering, Why did I behave in such an unseemly manner? It was against all propriety that I should brag about my limited experience in medicine, and so soon after meeting the pediatrician. My usual finesse seemed to have been swept away under the young doctor’s forthright expressions. I should have swallowed my pride and invited her to tea; I should have allowed time to cultivate our relationship. But it is too late now. Why did I feel hurt when she pitied me? But I feel the hurt even now.
What had the pretty doctor said? “We believe in freedom of choice.” Yes, Dr. Crozier and Dr. Rankling were free to choose the medical profession. That choice was not open to me in my society. I can remember a time when I wept and even envied my brother who was able to study in Shanghai. What would it be like to be trained as a doctor? Surely my perceptions would be different. My choices for my family would not come back to vex me now. It seems ridiculous now that a year and half ago I undertook the distressing and delicate office of finding our family an heir.
Comely Brook sensed her mistress’s unease. “The doctor is too young!”
“Yes, she is very young, very pretty, and perhaps also very clever.”
“But she’s rude to say those things.”
“Westerners tend to speak straight from the shoulder. We’re not used to their ways.”
“She said we’re barbaric!”
“We call foreigners barbarians, too. Perhaps she does not understand our emphasis on education, patience and social harmony.”
Comely Brook understood. To maintain harmony and give comfort, a cultured woman like her mistress would have practiced detachment and taken the time to understand a new situation. “The doctor must not have come from a book-fragrant family!”
“What makes you say that?”
“Why, her clothes are all crispy new! The new rich are always wasteful! Remember how Ah Lee used to show off the fancy suits his foreign master gave him? The foreigners discarded them simply because they were tired of wearing them. Why, the suits were practically new!”
“Yes, Brook-mei, even in our noblest homes, fine clothing was passed down from generation to generation.”
“Ah Lee also made a habit of giving away bits of fancy wrapping paper to the maids so they could fold them into birds, flowers and animals and decorate their rooms. Once, even Silver Bell accepted some because Ah Lee said his wife cleaned the Shanghai foreigners’ house and took the paper, which the foreigners had thrown away. Imagine throwing precious paper away every time they opened a present!”
“Yes, Westerners are wasteful, but the Chinese misuse other human beings, and especially female resources.”
“What do you mean?”
“We call servants Yon jen—people for use.”
Comely Brook could not understand why her mistress defended the foreigners, but many ideas were beyond her comprehension.
“I’m not sure I understand. It is my fate to be part of the Huang family!” Comely Brook sat tall in the pedicab. “Surely there is no shame in loving service.”
“Of course not.” Purple Jade nodded. Perhaps it was Comely Brook’s fate to be a domestic vassal. She did not know how to clarify her ideas.
The pedicab driver let out a soft moan. He groaned and hunched into his handle bar as he pedaled up a steady rise leading into the hills of Blue Pool Road. Purple Jade watched the sweat pour down his bare shoulders. His muscles strained and bulged as he propelled the tricycle under the tropical sun. Sitting in the shaded cab behind, Purple Jade thought: How much more disgusted I should have felt seeing inhuman treatment. Our society bound my feet. It all seemed so plain to her now. Except for the freedom to write poetry, her education had stifled her creativity, her need to explore and understand the world. Oh, how I enjoyed my rare occasions of independence and active accomplishments! My ride to destroy the opium den and my work with Dr. Rankling were the only highlights of my confined life. “I read that many Western women are now learning how to drive,” she said aloud.
“Oh, I wish I could drive!” Comely Brook exclaimed. “The Dragon master can do so many things just because he can drive.” She also seemed to remember their raid on Prosperous Dream.
Purple Jade sighed. With my bound feet, the joy of mobility would always be limited for me. Why did I accept such limitations? Perhaps the fear of new influences blinded me. Instead of complaining and seeking vindication, I made my home a fortress for the teachings of our ancestors. All my sacrifices for the good of the family were my true conceit. The liberating Western values that came with war and Chinese humiliation became a personal tragedy. Didn�
��t Miss Tyler mention that America grew strong by taking in new immigrants and the best of their cultures? But I refused to see the benefits of an open society where foreign ways were assimilated. The sage taught the golden rule of the mean, but I indulged in such cultural pride that I failed to see this same hubris causing war and destruction.
The pedicab swerved and cruised down the center of the road to avoid potholes. A motorcar brushed past them, honking furiously. The Caucasian driver leaned out the window to gesticulate and curse. The pedicab driver swerved to the side. He cursed back, spitting at the car. Both Purple Jade and Comely Brook grabbed on to Little Jade and the cab ever more tightly as they rode over the bumps on the road.
“Some Westerners are so snobbish!” Comely Brook muttered a curse of her own. “Remember how the foreigners were allowed to cut in line on our ship when we first arrived in Hong Kong?”
“Yes. Still, we must embrace the Buddhist teaching of loving tolerance and dispersing good wishes upon every human and living creature, because we believe in the essential unity of life.”
Comely Brook was calmed by her mistress’s usual kindness. “Yes, I remember hearing the young mistresses sing Christmas carols, sending good wishes upon the whole earth. But some foreigners like Dr. Rankling and Miss Tyler must also have studied the Buddha’s teaching.”
“Yes, I suppose. I wish we could have spent more time exploring our common ground with the Christians.”
“But the Westerners say people are born equal. If every rickshaw puller wanted to live like the nobles, what ruthless killings and debauchery would result!” Comely Brook was still trying to understand.
“Yes, anarchy would ensue if people had no idea what equality meant.” Purple Jade answered, surprised that Comely Brook had thought of such matters. “Still, Westerners believe that everyone has a right to an education. If we can agree with their concept that each person is endowed with thoughts and feelings worthy of singular attention, more opportunities and development would surely follow.”