In China, You Listen to Dad

It’s been a tough few decades for fathers. It’s a lesson in life imitating “art”. Media dads, from movie to sitcom to commercial, are either abusive, repressive, incompetent, or a scintillating combo of the three. It’s tough to gauge how this has influenced Chinese views of the family patriarch.

Rejecting your father’s advice has a long tradition, though. One famous story concerns Fan Li, one of those old-time Chinese millionaires we told you about. It reveals that even mega-rich, face-heavy Chinese fathers have a dangerously soft spot for their sons. Think of it as a prodigal son story with a tragic twist.

Having helped the King of Yue avenge himself on his old enemy the King of Wu, Fan Li removed to the state of Qi, where he turned his reward into a farming and medicine empire. He also begat three sons, the second of whom was arrested for murder in the neighboring state of Chu.

Fan Li was set to dispatch the youngest son with twenty talents of gold, in order to buy his brother’s way out of a death sentence. But the eldest son felt slighted for not being chosen. Feeling that such a task should be entrusted to him, he even threatened suicide were he not allowed to oversee the errand.

Feeling that he had no choice, whatever his reasons, Fan Li relented and sent the eldest son. But he instructed his heir to give the gold to one Mr. Zhuang, and to follow his instructions explicitly. The son agreed and set off for Chu.

On receiving the son in his humble home and hearing the situation, Zhuang accepted the gold and advised the son to return directly home, promising that he would handle the matter personally. However, the suspicious son stayed nearby, and called on a high-ranking minister to lend his aid, securing favor with a store of gold he had personally provided for.

His suspicions were unfounded. Zhuang, a powerful man despite his modest circumstances, enjoyed a reputation for unparalleled integrity, and the king of Chu valued him immensely. Zhuang had no intention of keeping the gold, but went straight to the king, warning of a zodiac reading that promised imminent catastrophe. When pressed for advice, Zhuang told the king to grant an act of mercy to forestall the cataclysm. The king closed off the royal treasury, to symbolize the suspension of all influence peddling.

The eldest son soon heard from his minister that the treasury had been sealed. The minister interpreted the move as signifying that there would be an amnesty. It was a tradition of the king’s to close the treasury before an act of amnesty, to prevent a last minute looting on the part of those involved.

Feeling that there was now no need for Zhuang or his services, the eldest son returned to his home.

“I will be returning to Qi, now that there will be an amnesty.”

Zhuang took the hint, and invited the son to take back the gold which had been entrusted him. A man of justice, he was nevertheless angered that Fan Li’s son had apparently taken advantage of his noble character. He returned to the king for another audience.

“Your majesty in his infinite wisdom has granted an amnesty. Yet the talk is that murderers can now escape justice as long as they are rich, now that the son of Fan Li has bribed one of your ministers. They say that you are not benevolent but venal.”

Incensed that his actions should be so misinterpreted, the king ordered the immediate execution of the murderer, Fan Li’s second son. The eldest son trudged heavily home with his brother’s remains, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when he returned. Finally, Fan Li composed himself to deliver the moral.

“You thought you were suited to this task because you were older, but I knew better. You suffered and struggled to help me build the family fortune, to your merit. But it left you stingy and mean. My youngest son, on the other hand, has known naught but comfort and ease. He eats dainties with silver chopsticks and squanders money on trifles. That is why he was the man for this errand. He would have been generous with the gold, something beyond you. Your cold pragmatism has cost your brother his life.”

To this day, filial Chinese sons think twice before contradicting their fathers’ wishes, however unfair they may sound.

No related posts.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.