Feng Menglong

Money and the commodification of Human Relations in Feng Menglong's stories

Much of Chinese literature, as we know it today, is derived from the prolific

storytelling period of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Furthermore, during this period, the

vernacular story was particularly popular. As opposed to the more abstruse and formal

classical fiction, vernacular tales were fashioned with less rigidity and thus were often

better able to capture the more colorful and sometimes sordid details of the Chinese life

and culture of the times, such as the commoditization of human relationships that arose

with the Ming dynasty's incomparable prosperity. Feng Meng-long's works "Du Tenth

Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger," and "The Canary Murders," two stories representative of

the period, are prime examples of the way how in many instances, life became reduced to

a series of monetary transactions. Reflective of the money-centric mentality of the time,

relationships smacked of financial arrangements, and the ultimate fortunes of individual

characters were determined by their greed or, in a few noble cases, lack thereof.

Unlike in the past where, under the classical treatment, details related to money

and other distinctly non-philosophical items were glossed over or left out entirely, Feng

Meng-long and his contemporaries actively included such tidbits of information in their

writings (Stephen Owen, Anthology, 834). The story of "Du Tenth" is particularly

focused on a series of business dealings that are central to the plot development. A highly

sought-after prostitute, Du Tenth falls in love with Li Jia, a tender but timid youth, and

cunningly negotiates with her madam the price of redeeming her freedom. This exchange

begins with the madam conniving to rid Du's chambers of the now poverty-stricken Li

Jia. The madam has shed all her former good manners when she sees that Li Jia has run

out of funds to lavish upon her house. Her actions are expected from a woman used to

dealing in flesh, as she asks for three hundred taels of silver within three days, an offer

that Du Tenth coaxes her out of. "But three days is such a short time. Give him ten, and

you've got a deal" (Stephen Owen, Anthology, 839). It is unusual for a business

negotiation to be recorded in such detail in stories, much less one about a prostitute

seeking to cast off her bondage. The story continues in a similar vein, with Du and Li's

fundraising efforts explained in great detail: from their first battle of three hundred taels

with the madam, to the twenty taels given to Li to outfit himself, to the fifty taels in

traveling expenses as collected by Du's sisters, and even to the one thousand taels Li