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Lineages and charitable work have played an important role in Chinese history. According to old feudalistic traditions, young people could marry based on lineages and heredity only. They held the belief that enemies and lovers were destined to meet; therefore, they searched for the signs. Lineages and different amulets were these signs, not love or affection. Chinese society was highly stratified and there was a huge gap between poor and rich societal levels. Poor people worked hard to earn for living; rich masters exploited them. At the same time, charitable work was very common and poor people could ask for financial assistance.
As Cao Xueqin noted in a book “The story of the Stone”, the traditional lineage and order of subordination was held even among the servants and the maids. For example, servants were rewarded in accordance to their rank within the house. Ministers were expected to die for emperor, civil officials learned by heart parts of the books to impress the government representatives; the whole system of rank was focused on winning reputation in society. Interestingly, inheritance was not related to lineage. A lineal descendant had the same right of inheritance as a son of concubine. Even though lineal descendants were expected to be more respected than sons of concubines, but there was no distinction in rank or social standing between the two.
Lineage was not a determinant of social position; moreover, patriarchal and feudal traditions stressed the importance of personal fortune, desire and ability to preserve traditions, to become worthy of inheritance. Nevertheless, the corruption in the upper circles of society diminished the concept of “worth”. For example, a wife of Chia Jung bought a position for her husband in the Imperial Guard as an officer of the fifth rank. He did nothing to be promoted to such a position; however, it was possible to buy it. Pay-yu, for example, was the son of a concubine, however, family members wanted to train him to be an honorable heir for their family able to maintain the order of feudal system.
Cao Xueqin points out to faults of feudal system of lineage. He provides a thorough description of model school initially intended for children from aristocratic families. However, the high level of corruption destroyed the status of school because students of all social levels were enrolled. Nevertheless, the lineage did not play any role in interpersonal relations such as friendship. Chin Chung was a son of poor scholar, but Pao-yu, a member of rich family, found many common interests with him and even regretted being born in a wealthy family. However, poor families did not enjoy the same benefits as rich families and the difference was directly dependant on lineage and ancestry. For example, officials protected interests of aristocratic families and allowed them to do what they wanted to do even if their actions were in violation with the law.
Regarding charitable work, it was performed towards poor as well as individuals with higher social rank. However, there are two sides of the issue: representatives of wealthy families humiliated poor people who asked for financial assistance, while at the same time they served the officials and considered it an honor. “The story of the Stone” provides valuable insights on Chinese history as well as society and traditions. Even though the book is full of imaginary creatures and unnatural descriptions, it covers realistic elements of Chinese life, discussed the role of lineage, and evaluates the charitable work, in particular.
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