Page 262 - Cultures and Organizations

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Yesterday, Now, or Later?

he Dream of the Red Chamber is a famous Chinese novel that was
Tpublished around 1760. In it the author, Cao Xueqin, describes the

rise and fall of two branches of an aristocratic family who live in adja-

cent plots in Beijing. In between their properties they have laid out

a magnificent common garden with several pavilions, for the young,
mostly female, members of both families. The maintenance of such a big

garden poses many problems, until one of the young women, Tan Chun,
is put in charge. She announces a new business plan:

I think we ought to pick out a few experienced trust worthy old women from
among the ones who work in the Garden—women who know something
about gardening already—and put the upkeep of the Garden into their
hands. We needn’t ask them to pay us rent; all we need ask them for is
an annual share of the produce. There would be four advantages in this
arrangement. In the fi rst place, if we have people whose sole occupation is
to look after trees and flowers and so on, the condition of the Garden will

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