Du Huailiang Case

Du Huailiang: Adultery That Brought Disaster
At the end of the case of “Du Huailiang: Adultery That Brought Disaster,” two characters are punished. The murder Du Huailiang was beheaded even though his paramour Ms. Li was strangled. Why did Ms. Li receive this particular punishment although she did not partake in the crime itself? The answer is simple: Ms. Li committed adultery, a crime which was considered immoral during Qing Dynasty. Today, people are likely to believe that Ms. Li’s sentencing was rather harsh in comparison to contemporary standards. Although Ms. Li did not commit the crime, she did not follow the Confucian standards in which women were subjected to during this time period; therefore her punishment was justifiable in accordance with The Great Qing Code.
In order to understand the punishments that were given, one must understand the society during the Qing era. The Chinese philosopher Confucius heavily influenced the Qing Dynasty. Confucius focused on the cultivation of virtue, setting a high standard for women in the Qing Dynasty as well as the dynasties that came before it. Confucius believed that a woman should obey her husband. Confucius’s belief influenced the social conditions Qing women had to follow; therefore, a woman was expected to be chaste and virtuous. Chastity and virtue were …show more content…
Ms. Li did not report the rape, and afterwards, she continued to have sexual intercourse with Du. Ms. Li was not an exemplary woman of her time. She was a lonely wife that sought companionship while her husband was away doing farm work. She perpetuated the “licentious customs” by interacting with Du Huailiang. Du Huailiang murdered his wife, Ms. Zhang, and Li’s husband, Chen, so that Du could live happily with Ms. Li. Ms. Li’s lack of virtuousness and chastity led to the death of two innocent people. In consequence, she had to face the repercussions for her