Du Tenth

Examines the themes of love and money in Feng Meng-long’s book, Du Tenth which is set in Seventeenth Century China.

Feng Meng-long’s fiction “Du Tenth” reflects the social aspects of the time of its making. Late Ming China (17th century) was a society dominated by the commercial culture of China’s merchant classes. As a result, in Du Tenth money and love are so closely related as to be interchangeable. Money determines the beginning, the development and the end of the relationship between Du Tenth and Li Jia.