Confucius was a failed politician, great teacher, and Eastern democrat. It is said that culture provides a set of rituals to fall back upon in an unknown situation, like shaking hands with someone when meeting them for the first time. Living during a time of constant war, when morals and ethics were at an all-time low, he drew up a set of strict guidelines for the immoral man to follow. He loved tr

An-mei's life with her own mother parallels hers to her daughter's. An-mei didn't hesitate to make a decision to stay with her mother instead of letting her walk away forever. An-mei's mother was trapped in the Confucian system, blackmailed all her life then force into death by it. This lifestyle set An-mei's life out of balance, "too many good things all seem the same after awhile. I tired of anything that wasn't a novelty," (Tan 254). In Confucianism, social standing determines ones position and their obligations. "I was taught to desire nothing, to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat my own bitterness," (Tan 241). After being raped, she was all alone; so she turns to her family for help. "So when Wu Tsing asked your mother to be his third concubine, to bear him a son, what choice did she have? She was already as low as a prostitute. And when she returned to her brother's house and kowtowed three times to say good-bye, her brother kicked her, and her own mother banned her from the house forever," (Tan 267). Her low position in her husband's home left her with no alternative but to kill herself to bring up her daughter's position. This is the most clear-cut example of Taoist transference in the story. She gave her daughter her strength, the wood, through mother-daughter transference by killing herself, just as An-mei gave her daughter the strength to stand up to her husband.

Once again, Ying-Ying instills in her daughter the fear of the unseen in "Rice Husband", warning her that she will marry a bad man if she didn't eat all her rice. The balance sheet of her marriage shows the artificial economic balance merely masks the true nature of their marriage. She blames Confucianism, saying being raised with it caused her to live with the circumstances she was given instead of working to change it, and is told to use Taoism. "At first I thought it was because I was raised with Chinese humility. Or that maybe it was because when you're Chinese you're supposed to accept everything, flow with the Tao, and not make waves," (Tan 170).

Lindo was the proper Confucian woman. Women were chosen as wives based on, "who would raise proper sons, care for the old people, and faithfully sweep the burial grounds long after the old ladies had gone to their graves," (Tan 45). She was of poor standing but lucky enough to be betrothed to a rich boy young enough to be her baby brother. When their land flooded, her family moved on. She stayed behind in reverence to them and to not lose face (social standing). Her mother's words of wisdom, "Obey your family. Do no disgrace us," (Tan 48). She came to see her husband as a god as her culture taught her, unlike the Taoist equal. Lindo's character lacks metal, a part that determines personality and the ability to be an independent thinker. The Jong's stories are based around the concept of accepting different ideas than they were used to; as in accepting Taoism over restrictive Confucianism or the tension between American values and Chinese. Lindo did not value herself above the community. She couldn't think outside of the Confucian rules, and therefore was unable to see that her situation was unhealthy and that it is possible to leave it. In Taoist terms, she had no te, meaning doesn't fulfill her purpose and do what was best for her, despite the short-term sacrifices. Her mother also gave her a luck-pendent on her wedding day, and through mother-daughter transference, gives her the key to manipulating the Confucian system. She got out of her marriage by tricking her mother-in-law into believing the ancestors had sent her a dream, by knowing more about her husband than his mother did, and using them as signs she saw in the dream, predicting his death. Lindo used the religion and the theme of knowing more than your opponent.

Tan is criticized for her disconnection with the actual Asian culture. Peter Tavernise of Duke University's Ethnic Literatu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Chinese Lindo, Wu Tsing, According Taoism, Department China, Yin Yang, Popular Taoist, Luck Club, America Confucian, Rice Husband, Wen Jen, confucian system, social standing, mother-daughter transference, tension american, getting lost, lao tzu, life balance, fear life balance, luck club, mother's words, mother instead, woman confucian system, harmony nature domination, american born daughters, tension american values,
Approximate Word count = 3868
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)