shall have the girls dress in boys' clothes next year, if they come to school."
"Why will you do this?" asked his mother.
"Because the boys do not like girls in the school. They will not play, read, or write with them. They tease them and laugh at them. I fear the girls must leave the school next year, and they are only nine years old. But we shall see."[1]
When the next year came, the mother was willing to do as her son said. She took some cloth and made boys' clothes for the three girls, which she put on them to see how they would look dressed as boys.
When the girls were dressed, they looked at each other and laughed. "What will you do with the ear-holes, grandmother?" they asked. "Surely the boys will know we are girls."
The mother called her son and asked him, "What shall we do with the ear-holes? They look like boys
- ↑ In China the girls do not attend the private schools with the boys, after they are about twelve years old. A little education at home is considered enough for the girls, for the Chinese say, "We want our women to be gentle, kind and obedient, and too much wisdom might not be good for them."
The attitude of the Chinese toward their women is paternal, but when the women become mothers and raise a family (especially if there are sons) their power and influence increase with the years, and the mother who lives in her son's home is a person of great importance to her son and his wife, who must serve her. Her wishes are deferred to and she is granted willing service and obedience by all the household.
