Allegedly, it is acceptable for a wife in Hongkong to kill her adulterous husband but only if she uses her bare hands.
True or not, the claim draws attention to how adultery has become
so common among Hongkong businessmen that it has even fueled a building boom in
Southern China, especially in the province
of Guandong, where
Hongkong Romeos usually keep their young mistresses in apartments.
The Chinese don't talk about it but even the Communist Party
has failed to dissuade Chinese Lotharios from having concubines.
UK's The Telegraph reported in its issue today that Henry Tang, who is
vying for Hong Kong's chief executive
position, has admitted to having a mistress. Whether or not that diminishes
Tang's chances of landing the job is a big question considering that
concubinage is deeply entrenched in Chinese society.
In ancient China
it was acceptable for successful and
powerful men to have several concubines. Chinese emperors often kept thousands in the Forbidden
City.
It is said that by the time General Sun Yat Sen and his
troops took over from the Qing dynasty,
the last of the Chinese dynasties, there were as many as 20,000 concubines
living in the Forbidden City.
The concubines served a dual purpose. One is to ensure the emperor
a very good chance of producing an heir. Another is to provide him with unlimited
opportunities to satiate his uh..... appetites. So logical!
But wait. There's
really a noble reason. The emperor represented the extreme of "Yang" (male) and
so it was essential for the harmony of the universe that he has sex with as
many "Yin" (female) as possible. Makes sense yet?
Unfortunately for women, there is a double standard and wives
are expected to stay monogamous, no matter what.
According to Chinese men: "One teapot is usually accompanied
by four cups. But have you ever seen one cup with four teapots?"
Talk about Chinese wisdom.
- Ariel Murphy
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| Yin and Yang (Google Images) |
- Ariel Murphy
I have never really thought of myself as a teapot!
ReplyDeleteGot some tea?
DeleteWhen I was in China, I was informed I could keep your doors unlocked or camera in the car when we went to eat. Why? Well any crime from stealing a bicycle to deadly assault, criminals were put together in prison with murders. If it got too crowded the government held a lottery. The "winners" were taken out and shot. That's how the local pickpocket ended up dead.
DeleteThanks for the historical info; much appreciated - now I'm wondering if there is a connection here to the old nursery rhyme "I'm a little teapot short & stout - here is my handle, here is my spout" ?
ReplyDeleteNow now Pete, it might be dangerous to go around Hilo reciting that rhyme. :) Thanks for your comment. I'm a relatively new blogger and it is always encouraging to find comments to my blog.
DeleteRe: Relatively new Blogger(which I have never done myself), I understand completely :-) - have my book ideas together, but have never written one so am researching the how-to's and learning Dragon Software to hopefully require less keyboard action.
ReplyDeleteWhy not start blogging? You can turn your compilation of blogs into a book. Dragon software? That sounds interesting.
DeleteDragon software is a voice to document recording software - my last girlfriend in Florida turned me on to it. She is wheelchair bound from Cerebral Palsy, and works daily & commutes to hospitals all by herself working for the State, helping brain and spinal cord injury victims. She does all her reports with Dragon Software. You basically have a headset and speak your thoughts and the program automatically puts it into word docs, etc. - not the easiest, because you have to speak punctuations. It is very specific for one's own voice - I bought it and programed it last year by reading President Kennedy's Inaguaral address (they give you other choices), quite a feat for me, but also enlightening for me, because I met him at my high school when he was campaigning in Illinois. I've taken it out of the box now in Hilo, but have not yet started to use it. I may do a trial since I have just completed my Mini-diary of my Yellowstone trip on Facebook. As for blogging - I want to start working on this other project first - not really good at multi-tasking on the internet :-)
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ReplyDeleteSeems "adultery" or even concubinage is unacceptable in Hongkong society so much so that Robert Tang had to publicly admit it and risk his chance of being HK's chief executive. But you're right in "adultery" being a relative concept, depending on the society it is practiced. You are also right about men (and women) with money doing what they want. Money, afterall, is synonymous to power for many. Thanks for the comment.
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DeleteWhy not create your own blog site? I can be a follower as you became one in this site. Thanks for that!
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