Summary
Jui-chueh and Chueh-hsin discuss the worsening situation in Chengdu when Chueh-min rushes in to report that gruesomely wounded soldiers are being carried through the streets, indicating that the battle has moved closer to city limits. Though Chueh-hui is still traumatized from the violence he witnessed three years before, he acts unafraid; in fact, Chueh-hui states that he believes fighting in the streets will be an exciting break from monotony. That night, prepared to flee at a moment's notice, the family hears gunfire and artillery fire that shakes the entire compound. Chueh-hui hears Chueh-hsin despairing and loses his bravery when the electric lights go out. Eventually, Chueh-hui and Chueh-min sleep.
The next morning, the violence appears to have ceased. The family survived the night, and the compound sustained little damage. The family gathers in Madame Chou's room to discuss the night's events. Suddenly, Mrs. Chang, Chin, and Mei arrive; the military has occupied their family household. No sooner do the guests arrive than gunfire and cannons start up again. Since the family cannot leave the compound, they decide to go into the gardens, where the shelter will be better and where the natural beauty can calm them. They go to the "Lakeside Retreat" building, which overlooks the lake, and the "Fragrance at Eventide" building.
Mei is lost in memories of her time at the Kao family compound before Chueh-hsin's marriage. She complains to Chin, who cautions Mei about speaking of her anguish. Jui-chueh and Hai-chen then join the two women. Jui-chueh and Mei get along immediately; they each feel as though they have met the other previously, though they cannot imagine where. Mei is particularly fond of Hai-chen, who looks like Chueh-hsin.
After the battle ceases, Chin takes Mei on a walk around the grounds. Since the governor resigned, the newspapers began to report favorably about the enemy troops. The Kao family struggles a bit; their meals are more austere since little food has been into the city, which is still closed to traffic. Chueh-hsin, Chueh-min, and Chueh-hui go into the city to check on Mrs. Chang's house, but cannot get past armed soldiers.
Back in the garden, Chueh-hsin follows Mei, whom he believes has been avoiding him. Chueh-hsin begs Mei's forgiveness for marrying Jui-chueh. They both weep profusely, recalling their childhoods spent together and knowing there is no hope for their future. They are interrupted by Chin, Shu-ying, and Shu-hua, who jokingly inquires about Mei's and Chueh-hsin's tears. Jui-chueh overhears and kindly takes Mei on a walk; Chin observes that Jui-chueh is very fond of Mei.
The family enjoys a calm reprieve from the fighting when the third, fourth, and fifth households depart, having received a warning that looting would occur during the night. Because the Kao family is one of the richest in Chengdu, the compound will surely be a target. Left in the household to await their deaths are Chueh-hsin, Chueh-min, Chueh-hui, Jui-chueh, Hai-chen, Mei, Mrs. Chang, Chin, and Shu-hua. The women, who know that sexual assault is likely in during looting, contemplate suicide to avoid this fate and "preserve their honor." Chin, in the face of this danger, is ashamed of herself for her perceived weakness; Chin realizes that, despite her modern ideas, she is not so different from the other women of the household.
Chueh-hui, restless with waiting, sees that the sky is aflame. The group decides to split up to increase the odds of at least one member of the Kao family surviving. Chueh-hui and Chueh-min accompany the women to the garden, where they hide in the "Lakeside Retreat" building. Chueh-hsin stays in the main hall to defend the compound against looters. In the "Lakeside Retreat," Madame Chou behaves maternally to Chueh-hui, providing him a rare moment of comfort.
A few days later, things return to normal. Mei's mother, Mrs. Chien, arrives at the Kao family compound. Mrs. Chou and Mrs. Chien have entirely forgotten the falling out that prevented Mei and Chueh-hsin from marrying, and they companionably play mahjong together. Mei, overcome with sorrow at seeing Chueh-hsin and Jui-chueh's mutual affection, excuses herself to cry in her room. Jui-chueh follows Mei and comforts her. Jui-chueh affirms that she knows Chueh-hsin and Mei love one another and wishes she could step aside and allow Chueh-hsin his happiness with Mei. Jui-chueh tells Mei that her sister died, and Jui-Chueh would like to treat Mei as a sister. The two leave the room hand in hand as unlikely friends.
Analysis
When war breaks out, Chueh-hui downplays the violence and says that he is grateful for the fighting, as it will add excitement to his life. This statement shows the moral hypocrisy of Chueh-hui's humanitarianism. He is indignant over how being a member of the gentry limits his personal freedoms. Yet, Chueh-hui invites brutal violence, seemingly without sympathy for the injured or killed, to break up the monotony. Chueh-hui's lack of sympathy is particularly ironic, given that Chueh-hui objected strongly to Ke-ting using the dragon dancers' pain as entertainment.
When the electric lights go out, Chueh-hui loses his courage. Since electric lights symbolize New Culture ideas in the narrative, when the lights go out, it demonstrates how Chueh-hui's ideals are shallow or unhelpful in the face of actual violence.
The compound sustains minor damage during the siege. The minor damage has both literal and symbolic meanings. The intact compound demonstrates that the Kao family's wealth and privilege protect them from violence and war. Symbolically, the fact that the compound sustained little damage means that violence and war have little impact on the Confucian order, symbolized by the compound architecture; only ideas and education can damage the Confucian order.
The family then shelters in the gardens at the "Lakeside Retreat" building. The name of this building is ironic, as it implies a restful holiday, though the family uses the building to shelter from artillery fire. By retreating into the gardens, the Kao family literally and symbolically distances itself from the conflict in Chengdu.
Even as they wait out the war, the Kao family is absorbed in their personal unhappinesses. Mei greives over her memories of Chueh-hsin. The family complains that they are forced into "austerity" due to the war. Their complaints are ironic because even with rationing, the family lives in better conditions than the servants who cook those "uninspired" meals.
Chueh-hsin and Mei meet in the plum grove and cry over their lost love. Their tearful interaction holds a twofold meaning in the narrative. On the one hand, the fact that they grieve a lost love in a pleasure garden while other young people die bloody deaths outside the compound shows the disconnect between the gentry and the common people. On the other hand, Mei's extreme despair, even in the face of war, demonstrates that the Confucian patriarchal family can destroy a person's soul, dreams, and hopes to the point where they still despair over how the system victimized them psychologically even in the face of greater and more immediate horrors.
When the threat of looting reaches the Kao family compound, the different households depart to save themselves. The bonds holding the Kao family together are so thin that people aren't willing to help or protect each other, which shows the shallowness of the relationships that can form under the Confucian family system. With the threat of sexual violence looming, the women of the Kao household contemplate suicide, not only to escape the trauma of sexual assault but to "preserve [their] honor." Prioritizing a woman's virginity over her life demonstrates the low position women hold in the Confucian family; as Chin observes, Confucian women's role is to bear children and form marriage alliances, but primarily to slate the sexual desires of men.
The family splits up to ensure that at least one family member survives to continue the Kao family name. The narrative criticizes prioritizing the family name over human life. The characters do not think of themselves as individuals but as branches on the Kao family tree. They do not sacrifice themselves not to save one another but to preserve the family lineage.
The crisis forces the family to take off their masks and reveal their true feelings. Though this means exposing their self-interest for most family members, Mrs. Chou behaves maternally toward Chueh-hui. Mrs. Chou considers her position in the family to be low, such that she has no business behaving like a mother to her stepsons, but unburdened from her Confucian role, she reveals her true affections.
Mei's mother, Mrs. Chien, arrives at the compound. Mrs. Chien and Mrs. Chou do not remember their dispute that prevented Chueh-hsin and Mei from marrying. The two women's reunion is a cruel irony; their petty dispute ruined Chueh-hsin and Mei's lives, yet the dispute was so minor that they cannot be bothered to maintain hard feelings.
