The ultimate. object of: foot, binding and the seclusion of the woman is unquestionably a desire to maintain her chastity and purity of life, and also to keep her in a state of perpetual servitude-to man. 'A. Chinese when conversing with another' refers to his wife. as.""my_ inside person" or my,.inside assistant," the expression implying} {hat convention Ionita her. setivity to..her home-only:- The wife Placed in the same category end social rank.as.a junior somber: of.
Qe family, It is not infrequent for Chinese to nse such a phrase og wife and son." With the leave of the husband, she is permitted to exeFeise her authority as the mis tress of the house, but her judg ment is always subject to. review by the husband, who may overrule her in all matters, including those relating to domestic affairs to which she has no right to disagree, She never has had any social rights worth speaking of, and what gets she has are of a dubious and indefinite nature. There are, of course, "henpecked husbands' in China, but they are very rare and: are an ateident or a matter of per sonality and wit, A' strong-willed wife may indeed dominate' 'hes"" husband, The idea of treating: woman as chattel whom man may spose of in any way he sees ft suit himself, has been deeply ingrained in the- minds of the Chinese, The Viceroy of Nanking, Ghow Fu, towards the end of the Manchu "regime, persuaded the Throne to prohibit human. trafic, but this laudable reform, like many others, did not rectify: the evil for want of popular support. The country was then not ready and ripe for the innovation.
A husband in distress sometimes sells his wife, or hires her out for specific length of time, Parents sell" or hire their daughters. into slavery or into a house of ill-fame. Such transactions ave still common to-day. Law has never given @xpress sanction to the practice, but it is tolerated asa part of the social institution, A contract of that nature, until recently, was enforceable in the court. of Justice. A deed of sale produced by the mistress of a slave girl is held to be sulicient legal title for her to possess the latter's person,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.