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The Question Of Hu Summary

Decent Essays

Throughout the book The Question of Hu by Jonathan D. Spence the Chinese man John Hu often has his sanity called into question due to several episodes where his actions appeared insane to a European from this era. Although the question of his mental state is never fully answered by the author it is clear that Hu’s oddities stem from more than just cultural differences. Of course, no human deserves to be treated the way Hu was treated in the insane asylum in Charenton, but Father Jean-François Foucquet would have benefited from hiring a different Chinese local as his copyist. Before they even reached Europe, Foucquet began having concerns about Hu’s sanity. While sailing through the mid-Atlantic Ocean Hu told Foucquet that his mind is “filled …show more content…

Despite Commissaire Renault generously allowing Hu to stay in his own home, Hu proved to be a difficult houseguest. Hu refused to be around Renault’s housekeeper, likely because she was a woman (Spence 48). Although it may be customary in China to keep women in seclusion, a sane person should understand and accept the fact that customs are different in Europe. When it came to sleeping, Hu insisted on sleeping on the floor with the window open even as winter approached (Spence 48). Rather than fighting it, Hu should have embraced this opportunity to experience the different customs of this new …show more content…

Hu continued to ride it around town until the horse’s owner found him and scolded him. Unremorseful, he questioned why he could not ride it while no one else was using it (Spence 51). This incident, coupled with the fact that Hu had gotten very little work done up to this point, led Foucquet to start seriously questioning whether or not it was worth having Hu in France at all (Spence 52). It is very unlikely that riding a stranger’s horse without permission would be acceptable in China so why Hu would think this behavior is acceptable is a mystery other than the obvious reason being that Hu is not completely sane. By December, Foucquet and his European associates were completely convinced of Hu’s insanity. Now staying in the Bayneses home, Hu is just as terrible as he was in Renault’s home. His room was filthy, his furniture was rearranged, and he treated Mrs. Baynes and her daughter very poorly, even threatening to hit her daughter on one occasion (Spence 82). One night he dreamed that his mother had died and became inconsolable for days, refusing to believe that it was just a dream (Spence 82). In China, being a guest of someone’s home means being appreciative and good mannered, making Hu’s behavior completely

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