44 pages • 1 hour read
Shen FuSix Records of a Floating Life
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1809A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: Qing Dynasty China
Shen Fu wrote Six Records of a Floating Life at the beginning of the 19th century. At this time, China was under the rule of the Imperial Qing dynasty (1644-1912), which came to power by overthrowing the previous Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In order to legitimize its rule and pacify a hostile populace, the Qing dynasty—of Manchu origin—put significant effort into Sinicizing themselves and promoting traditional, conservative values and policies. Despite the rapid industrialization and modernization that other nations pursued throughout the period of Qing rule, life in China remained largely unchanged right through to the middle of the 19th century. The society was primarily agrarian, with the majority of the population working in agriculture and only a comparatively small elite working in more prestigious and prosperous forms of employment, as merchants, craftsmen, scholars, and government officials.
It was only decades after Shen Fu wrote his Six Records of a Floating Life that the large-scale changes that shaped modern China began to transform the nation. A succession of weak and short-sighted rulers through the second half of the 19th century proved incapable of adapting or modernizing the country sufficiently to meet challenges imposed by a growing populace and increasing pressure from foreign influences. China’s defeat in the Opium War (1839-1842) opened the country to increasing incursions and ever mounting exploitation by Western colonial powers. This along with other subsequent concessions and failing of governance greatly lowered the prestige and power of the Qing dynasty. Growing discontent and instability cumulated in the 1912 revolution, which ended 4000 years of imperial rule, established a republic, and paved the way for a complete overthrow of tradition and social order over the course of the 20th century.
Cultural Context: Confucianism and Class Structure
Confucianism is a philosophy, ethical system, and way of life based on the teachings of Confucius (551-479 BCE), which has influenced Chinese culture and society for millennia. Confucianism is not an organized religion although it has many religious qualities, and it has coexisted comfortably alongside Buddhism, folk religions, and other belief systems throughout its history. It is based on the Four Books and Five Classics, ancient texts attributed to Confucius and his disciples. The philosophy provides guidance on living a moral and virtuous life, prioritizing rites and social rituals, loyalty, and filial piety.
During the Qing dynasty, Confucian values and ideologies were at the core of Chinese laws, customs, and collective identity. Strict standards of behavior, rigid delineations of status, and enforced hierarchies were the norm in public and private spheres, influencing and permeating through all aspects of life. The population was organized in patrilineal households of kinship, adoption, and marriage, which saw daughters married out and sons remaining alongside the addition of their own wives and children. Men could marry as many wives or concubines—organized into a strict hierarchy depending on their status in the household—as they could support. Overall, women had a far lower status than men, with few rights beyond those granted by their fathers and husbands, and few opportunities for employment outside of sex work or marriage. Married women remained the exclusive property of their husband and were expected to absent themselves from life outside of the domestic sphere.
Society was highly stratified, with classes ranging from indentured servants and peasants at the lower end of the scale, through to members of the imperial family at the top. Although many professions were inherited, the most prestigious employment as a government official was technically a meritocracy in accordance with Confucian values. Any man could gain employment in the civil service through success in rigorous official examinations. However, in practice, the exhaustive scholarly education that was a prerequisite for any kind of success in the examinations meant that—with occasional notable exceptions—official positions tended to be retained by members of higher class households. Downward mobility was more common, with scholars unsuccessful in examinations generally earning a living as “yamen” private secretaries, pivoting to join the increasingly prosperous but less prestigious merchant class, or dedicating themselves to the arts.
