August 8, 2020. Confucian thought traditionally emphasizes the Five Constant Virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust. Yet Arthur H. Smith, observing Chinese society in the nineteenth century, recorded what he regarded as striking examples of a lack of compassion, including the treatment of brides, indifference toward drowning victims and unkindness toward strangers. Seki Hei argues that similar problems can still be seen in contemporary China.

2020-08-08
The following continues from the preceding chapter.
In his essay published in WiLL magazine, Seki Hei draws on the writings of Arthur H. Smith, an American missionary who observed Chinese society in the latter half of the nineteenth century, to examine the gap between the Confucian ideal of the Five Constant Virtues and actual social behavior.
The Five Constant Virtues are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust.
“Benevolence” signifies compassion for others; “righteousness” refers to justice and public spirit; “propriety” to manners and proper conduct; “wisdom” to reason and intelligence; and “trust” to reliability and good faith.
These virtues have been valued since ancient China, and Chinese intellectual traditions treated their cultivation as an important purpose of learning.
Seki Hei argues, however, in extremely critical terms, that actual conduct has often been the reverse of those ideals.
The following section concerns the first virtue, benevolence—that is, compassion.
【Article】
A lack of compassion.
Chinese society formally places great importance on the Five Constant Virtues—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust.
These concepts derive from Confucianism and are also discussed in Smith’s writings.
Seki Hei nevertheless argues that actual conduct has often stood in direct contradiction to those virtues.
He therefore begins with “benevolence,” the virtue of compassion.
Smith offered the treatment of brides on their wedding day as one example of what he regarded as a lack of consideration for others.
He described places where anyone could lift the curtain of a bridal sedan chair and stare at a young and frightened bride.
In other areas, unmarried girls reportedly took pleasure in throwing grass seeds or chaff at a bride, which would cling stubbornly to her carefully oiled hair.
Seki Hei also discusses severe conflict between brides and their husbands’ families and argues that women subjected to mistreatment sometimes took their own lives.
He states that even in such circumstances, blame could be placed on the woman who died rather than on the family into which she had married.
Smith also recorded the astonishment of foreigners at cases in which bystanders allegedly made little effort to rescue drowning people.
He described an incident in which a foreign steamship caught fire on the Yangtze River and a crowd gathered to watch, while doing very little to rescue passengers and crew.
Smith further wrote about what he considered unkindness toward strangers encountered while traveling.
A traveler might unknowingly be heading toward a road ending in a marsh, yet people nearby would not warn him.
If he chose the wrong road and entered the marsh, Smith suggested, local residents regarded it as none of their concern.
Drawing on such accounts, Seki Hei argues that Chinese society has possessed aspects of cruelty that are difficult to look at.
He then claims that similar behavior can still be found in the modern era.
He gives an example of a woman standing on a building and apparently preparing to jump.
Unable to make the final decision, she hesitates.
A crowd quickly gathers below.
According to Seki Hei, many of those people gather not out of concern for the woman but out of curiosity about whether she will jump.
Some appear to wait impatiently for the moment.
Older spectators may even bring chairs so that they can continue watching without becoming tired.
Eventually, according to the example, even a steamed-bun seller arrives and begins doing business among the crowd.
What Seki Hei finds most disturbing is the apparent absence of genuine concern for the woman whose life is in danger.
The Confucian virtue of “benevolence” is supposed to mean compassion for others.
Yet, he argues, conduct appearing to be the very opposite of benevolence has repeatedly appeared in actual society.
For Seki Hei, the distance between the Confucian ideal and observed behavior is therefore an important issue in understanding Chinese society.
To be continued.