Book Reflections: 1587, a Year of No Significance by Ray Huang
Published:
I also found myself relating, in a somewhat strange way, to the stories of two figures in the book. The first is Emperor Wanli. The way the scholar-officials lectured, pressured, and tried to discipline him felt very much like what we would now call “East Asian parenting.” Because he occupied the throne, he was never allowed to freely develop his own personality. The officials attempted to shape him according to their ideal image of what an emperor should be, and in the end, all it produced was resistance and apathy. The second is the philosopher Li Zhi, who became a monk in order to sever ties with his family. In traditional Chinese society, a scholar’s success was rarely achieved without the sacrifices and support of several generations of the family. Therefore, once that person became successful, it was implicitly understood that they owed responsibility to the family in return. Li Zhi, as an unconventional thinker, did not want to be bound by those obligations. Regardless of whether his choice was right or wrong, I can understand it, because my own opportunity to study abroad was also made possible through my family’s support, especially financially. My struggle is this: when the life one chooses for oneself does not align with the expectations of one’s family, how can both sides be fulfilled? Or perhaps, as the Chinese saying goes, one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s paw?