An interesting part of these two readings was the extreme contrast between the way that women and men’s sexuality was discussed. In “The Woman from New York,” rumors about Chen Jinli and impropriety spread, and she was unable to get a job or see her child. No one can understand why Chen Jinli would want to leave China because she has a husband and daughter. When she returns, she is treated with hostility. This made me wonder if it went back to the root of Confucianism and filial piety. She had not fulfilled her duty to her family in the eyes of the people. Chen Jinli was an outsider in China and in America, and her presumed sexual impropriety caused her to lose her husband and her daughter. However, in “An Official Reply,” the opposite reaction occurs with Pan Chendong. He is able to have multiple sexual relationships with young women and still stay with his wife. There are no consequences for his behavior in that regard. However, a young woman he gets pregnant is sent away to the countryside. Despite the inequality of the relationship and the rumors he forced the girls to perform sexual acts in order to get their stories published, Chendong is not punished. These two stories illustrate what happens to men and women in China when they break norms about purity. It also illustrates the difference between men and women when it comes to success and power and what people assume about them because of it.
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