The title is aimed to sensationalize, which might be an effective weapon and an attractive bait in this sensation-ridden world. Yet the story is pretty truthful and quintessential.
The son got his degree in America and obtained a position when he became a thirtish man. He is from one of the proudest and most developled Chinese cities named Sanggai where peole seldom condescend to marry people from other underdeveloped places. Many parents play an influential or even a dominant role in their children's selection of partners, for the parents are principal providers of property which stands for one's status and decency in Sanggai.
The son fell in love with a girl in the American city and told his parents. The considerate son says he wants his parents to see the girl to see if she satisfy them. If she satisfies, he would continue the affair; if not he would sever the tie.
The parents come and see and decide that the girl is merely a little above 160 cm and does not match his over 180 cm son. The parents inform their son of their minds while the son finds that it is hard to say goodbye to the girl. The parents are very unhappy with the son's softness and scold him before leaving for thei hometown Sanggai. But the son insists on his choice and stays with his girl in the American city.
The son stops contacting his parents in the next month and this worries the parents greatly. They regret a little and decide to reconcile with their son. They try to contact the son via all channels they have but the son has no reply. They even send message saying they now completely agree with their son's choice and the son can choose either to return to Sanggai with the girl or stay in the American city. In either case, the parents will help purchase a property for their wedding and marital life in future. The son, however, still does not reply.
With six years experience studying and working in America, the son is "westernized" in that he is aware that he wants to be a free and independent soul and he places feeling above materials possessions. What is more, he in mindful that monetary support and gift from the parents means potential manipulation. It is actually a form of trade: you trade your freedom and even decency for property and money. Only because it is a trade happening within the family between parents and children, it is more subtle and invisible. As a matter of fact, such trade is more than common in Sanggai and all over the country. It is just a matter of degree. The difference is many children are happy with the trade or are too patient to rebel.
But this westernized son is different and his private self is wakened. He even goes so far in believing that his parents' emphasis on height is a severe bias and a grave insult to his love. It is blasphamous. He believes if you trade love for property, money, height, skin colour, or any other material and physical thing, you are letting the worldly materiality rape your holy spirituality; you are robbing yourslef your spiritual wealth and deniying your noble quality as a higher animal.
These thoughts and contemplations budded and snowballed in the past six years that becomes an overwhelming deluge that devours his past traditions and biases instilled into him. He feels he has been reformed and reborn. He sees through the relation between him and his parents and his girlfriend. He weighs and balances and determines to place his soul above his flesh.
He won't cut the tie between his parents but he would shelf it for some time to let it cool down a bit, hoping the coolness would help his parents sober up a bit.
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing in the world.
Hope is spiritual.
The son got his degree in America and obtained a position when he became a thirtish man. He is from one of the proudest and most developled Chinese cities named Sanggai where peole seldom condescend to marry people from other underdeveloped places. Many parents play an influential or even a dominant role in their children's selection of partners, for the parents are principal providers of property which stands for one's status and decency in Sanggai.
The son fell in love with a girl in the American city and told his parents. The considerate son says he wants his parents to see the girl to see if she satisfy them. If she satisfies, he would continue the affair; if not he would sever the tie.
The parents come and see and decide that the girl is merely a little above 160 cm and does not match his over 180 cm son. The parents inform their son of their minds while the son finds that it is hard to say goodbye to the girl. The parents are very unhappy with the son's softness and scold him before leaving for thei hometown Sanggai. But the son insists on his choice and stays with his girl in the American city.
The son stops contacting his parents in the next month and this worries the parents greatly. They regret a little and decide to reconcile with their son. They try to contact the son via all channels they have but the son has no reply. They even send message saying they now completely agree with their son's choice and the son can choose either to return to Sanggai with the girl or stay in the American city. In either case, the parents will help purchase a property for their wedding and marital life in future. The son, however, still does not reply.
With six years experience studying and working in America, the son is "westernized" in that he is aware that he wants to be a free and independent soul and he places feeling above materials possessions. What is more, he in mindful that monetary support and gift from the parents means potential manipulation. It is actually a form of trade: you trade your freedom and even decency for property and money. Only because it is a trade happening within the family between parents and children, it is more subtle and invisible. As a matter of fact, such trade is more than common in Sanggai and all over the country. It is just a matter of degree. The difference is many children are happy with the trade or are too patient to rebel.
But this westernized son is different and his private self is wakened. He even goes so far in believing that his parents' emphasis on height is a severe bias and a grave insult to his love. It is blasphamous. He believes if you trade love for property, money, height, skin colour, or any other material and physical thing, you are letting the worldly materiality rape your holy spirituality; you are robbing yourslef your spiritual wealth and deniying your noble quality as a higher animal.
These thoughts and contemplations budded and snowballed in the past six years that becomes an overwhelming deluge that devours his past traditions and biases instilled into him. He feels he has been reformed and reborn. He sees through the relation between him and his parents and his girlfriend. He weighs and balances and determines to place his soul above his flesh.
He won't cut the tie between his parents but he would shelf it for some time to let it cool down a bit, hoping the coolness would help his parents sober up a bit.
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing in the world.
Hope is spiritual.
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