Author’s summary of “A Virtuous Wife”:
As a virtuous wife, does it include tolerating his cousin, enduring his concubines, bearing his mother?
If you will not let me live freely, why would I let you live in satisfaction?
Did fate let women time-travel so she could learn the three morals and four virtues? 1
Rather than act like a coward and live, it would be better to live in satisfaction and die.
Translator Warnings: Mentions of physical punishment and violence. Some non-explicit sex scenes.
Author Info: 月下蝶影 (Yue Xia Die Ying). The author’s name is very poetic – the shadow of the butterfly under the moon. She has actually physically published one novel, 妃嫔这职业.(A loose meaning of the title would be “This Profession – A Consort”. )
The Title: This novel is 何为贤妻 and this title can be very subject to interpretation. 何 is what/how/why/which. 为 is for or to. 贤妻 is virtuous wife. So the title could mean “What is a virtuous wife?”, “Why be a virtuous wife?”, or “How to be a virtuous wife?”. And really, the title describes this novel very well. From the summary, “Why be a virtuous wife?” may be the most appropriate translation but all the questions are examined in some way so the title is “To Be A Virtuous Wife”.
Table of Contents
Cast
Glossary (Definitions for the entire translation)
Historical Information (culture and background for this book)
My Review
- 三从四德: Three morals: obey the father in childhood, obey the husband in marriage and obey the son in widowhood. Four virtues: be moral, be proper in speech, have physical charm and skill in needlework. ↩