children’s surprise began to pray aloud.
“Above all, help us never to forget the teachings of the great sage. Confucius, which remind us of our daily obligations towards our parents, our ancestors, our emperor and all those set in authority over us,” he said, speaking in a firm voice that carried clearly to his children’s ears. “Help us, too, to live in closer harmony with the great forces of nature and the world of spirits so that you and all our ancestors may continue to dwell restfully and happily in our midst. If we fail in these duties we know that we risk forfeiting the protection of your spirit and all the spirits of our nation’s past heroes
Kim bit his lip and stared at the floor as his father rose to look meaningfully in their direction; Tam and Lan’ also shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, which remained on them unwaveringly throughout their mother’s act of devotion. When she had finished, he motioned Tam forward first because he was the oldest, and the twelve-year-old boy rushed eagerly across the room to fling himself down on the altar mat.
“Great-grandfather, you must know already that I did all I could to sop Kim taking the gibbon,” he said, whispering aloud in the hope that his fervent words might be audible to his father and grandfather standing a few feet away. “I always obey my father without question as I did today, and all I ask is that you help me to continue to do that.” He pressed his forehead fiercely to the floor and hurried obediently back to his place, taking care not to look at Kim.
To Lan’s astonishment her father signaled for her to approach the altar next; as she was the youngest she had expected to go last, hut her father was clearly singling Kim out for special treatment by allowing her to precede him. Her bare feet made no sound on the polished wood floor as she approached the altar with her head bowed devoutly over her clasped hands. “Please, Great-grandfather, don’t let my father be angry with me for what Kim did,” she prayed silently, closing her eyes as tightly as she could in an effort to add force to her thoughts. “I only ever wish to please him and I’m very sorry my pet gibbon was taken to the palace. But because I am a girl I can’t stop my brothers from doing wrong, so please help Kim to behave better so that there is no more trouble.” She remained bent towards the portrait of the dead mandarin for several seconds to show the spirits how deeply repentant she was, and when she rose to return to her place she kept her head bowed so that her dark hair fell across her face and hid the tears of remorse in her eyes.
When his father motioned him forward, Kim approached the altar more slowly, his lips pursed in a determined line. For a long time he remained bent over his hands without uttering any form of prayer. Then a moment before rising to rejoin his brother and sister, he clenched his teeth together hard. “If my father decides to beat me for what I did,” he whispered fiercely to himself, “please help me to endure the pain and not to cry. That is all I ask.”
From the back of the room where they were made to stand apart from the family for the rest of the ceremony, the three children were able to hear only snatches of their grandfather’s words as he conducted a long discourse praising the virtues of his dead parent. When at last the joss stick on the altar burned down, their mother ushered them to their father’s study and arranged them in a line before his writing-table on which the bamboo cane had already been laid out.
“You all know how disrespectful your behaviour was this evening,” Tran Van Hieu said severely when he had seated himself, “both to the French governor and to your parents. And though I am well aware that you, Kim, are the main cause of the trouble I have no alternative but to punish all three of you.”
Tam’s face fell and Lan felt tears start to her eyes again, but Kim received the news
“Above all, help us never to forget the teachings of the great sage. Confucius, which remind us of our daily obligations towards our parents, our ancestors, our emperor and all those set in authority over us,” he said, speaking in a firm voice that carried clearly to his children’s ears. “Help us, too, to live in closer harmony with the great forces of nature and the world of spirits so that you and all our ancestors may continue to dwell restfully and happily in our midst. If we fail in these duties we know that we risk forfeiting the protection of your spirit and all the spirits of our nation’s past heroes
Kim bit his lip and stared at the floor as his father rose to look meaningfully in their direction; Tam and Lan’ also shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, which remained on them unwaveringly throughout their mother’s act of devotion. When she had finished, he motioned Tam forward first because he was the oldest, and the twelve-year-old boy rushed eagerly across the room to fling himself down on the altar mat.
“Great-grandfather, you must know already that I did all I could to sop Kim taking the gibbon,” he said, whispering aloud in the hope that his fervent words might be audible to his father and grandfather standing a few feet away. “I always obey my father without question as I did today, and all I ask is that you help me to continue to do that.” He pressed his forehead fiercely to the floor and hurried obediently back to his place, taking care not to look at Kim.
To Lan’s astonishment her father signaled for her to approach the altar next; as she was the youngest she had expected to go last, hut her father was clearly singling Kim out for special treatment by allowing her to precede him. Her bare feet made no sound on the polished wood floor as she approached the altar with her head bowed devoutly over her clasped hands. “Please, Great-grandfather, don’t let my father be angry with me for what Kim did,” she prayed silently, closing her eyes as tightly as she could in an effort to add force to her thoughts. “I only ever wish to please him and I’m very sorry my pet gibbon was taken to the palace. But because I am a girl I can’t stop my brothers from doing wrong, so please help Kim to behave better so that there is no more trouble.” She remained bent towards the portrait of the dead mandarin for several seconds to show the spirits how deeply repentant she was, and when she rose to return to her place she kept her head bowed so that her dark hair fell across her face and hid the tears of remorse in her eyes.
When his father motioned him forward, Kim approached the altar more slowly, his lips pursed in a determined line. For a long time he remained bent over his hands without uttering any form of prayer. Then a moment before rising to rejoin his brother and sister, he clenched his teeth together hard. “If my father decides to beat me for what I did,” he whispered fiercely to himself, “please help me to endure the pain and not to cry. That is all I ask.”
From the back of the room where they were made to stand apart from the family for the rest of the ceremony, the three children were able to hear only snatches of their grandfather’s words as he conducted a long discourse praising the virtues of his dead parent. When at last the joss stick on the altar burned down, their mother ushered them to their father’s study and arranged them in a line before his writing-table on which the bamboo cane had already been laid out.
“You all know how disrespectful your behaviour was this evening,” Tran Van Hieu said severely when he had seated himself, “both to the French governor and to your parents. And though I am well aware that you, Kim, are the main cause of the trouble I have no alternative but to punish all three of you.”
Tam’s face fell and Lan felt tears start to her eyes again, but Kim received the news
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