The Lady Chang

Marjorie Clark
When the Lady Chang arrived in the city of Canton, she possessed nothing in the world but the
clothesshe was wearing, the jewels on her fingers, and most precious of all, her little son, Ko.
Everything else her husband, her fine home and all her servants, even the village in which she lived
had been washed away andlost forever in the great flood that had swept down upon them so
suddenly.She found a house which costs very little, for it was in a poor part of the city, near the rubbish
dumps.Every morning the carts rumbled by, taking all the city rubbish to be burned and buried."I am
lucky to have this small house," the Lady Chang told herself. I can clean my house in themorning: I
can play, with my dear son, Ko, each afternoon; and in the evening, when he is asleep, I can
weaveand embroider. The cloth I make will sell easily, and so I shall be able to feed and clothe both Ko
and myself.""Little Ko grew fast and was a great joy to her."What are you doing, my son?"
asked his mother one day, as she turned from her weaving to catch himat play."I am the butcher,
Mother," laughed Ko. "I am working in the market. See how cleverly I kill this goat,and how I cut it up
for customers." And he raised his voice and shouted harshly as he had heard the butcher shouting
each day in the market place.The Lady Chang sighed. "Indeed, my son learns quickly. He should not
be here to copy the ways of rough men. He should be learning to be a scholar as his father was."She
searched the city and found a house near the university."To live here will cost a great deal," she
thought. But she did not hesitate for long. She left their housenear the market and sold her last ring of
pearl and silver, and soon she and her son were living in their newhouse.Now indeed, life was hard for
the Lady Chang. In order to live and pay for Ko's schooling, she had torise at dawn each day. She
would clean her house, do the cooking, wash the clothes, and then work hard ather weaving until far
into the night.Ko learned quickly, and the Lady Chang often smiled as she wove the bright threads and
watched thecloth growing beneath her busy fingers."Ko will be a learned man," she told herself
proudly. "Already his teachers speak highly of him. Heworks so well that I care not that I must sit here
weaving all daylong."She threaded her loom with fine threads and began to weave a lovely pattern of
gold and silver andscarlet.Each day when Ko returned from his studies, he admired his mother's work.
"This is the most beautiful
The Lady Chang
Marjorie Clark
When the Lady Chang arrived in the city of Canton, she possessed nothing in the world but the
clothesshe was wearing, the jewels on her fingers, and most precious of all, her little son, Ko.
Everything else her husband, her fine home and all her servants, even the village in which she lived
had been washed away andlost forever in the great flood that had swept down upon them so
suddenly.She found a house which costs very little, for it was in a poor part of the city, near the rubbish
dumps.Every morning the carts rumbled by, taking all the city rubbish to be burned and buried."I am
lucky to have this small house," the Lady Chang told herself. I can clean my house in themorning: I
can play, with my dear son, Ko, each afternoon; and in the evening, when he is asleep, I can
weaveand embroider. The cloth I make will sell easily, and so I shall be able to feed and clothe both Ko
and myself.""Little Ko grew fast and was a great joy to her."What are you doing, my son?"
asked his mother one day, as she turned from her weaving to catch himat play."I am the butcher,
Mother," laughed Ko. "I am working in the market. See how cleverly I kill this goat,and how I cut it up
for customers." And he raised his voice and shouted harshly as he had heard the butcher shouting
each day in the market place.The Lady Chang sighed. "Indeed, my son learns quickly. He should not
be here to copy the ways of rough men. He should be learning to be a scholar as his father was."She
searched the city and found a house near the university."To live here will cost a great deal," she
thought. But she did not hesitate for long. She left their housenear the market and sold her last ring of
pearl and silver, and soon she and her son were living in their newhouse.Now indeed, life was hard for
the Lady Chang. In order to live and pay for Ko's schooling, she had torise at dawn each day. She
would clean her house, do the cooking, wash the clothes, and then work hard ather weaving until far
into the night.Ko learned quickly, and the Lady Chang often smiled as she wove the bright threads and
watched thecloth growing beneath her busy fingers."Ko will be a learned man," she told herself
proudly. "Already his teachers speak highly of him. Heworks so well that I care not that I must sit here
weaving all daylong."She threaded her loom with fine threads and began to weave a lovely pattern of
gold and silver andscarlet.Each day when Ko returned from his studies, he admired his mother's work.
"This is the most beautifulpiece of cloth you have ever woven, Mother, he said one day."Surely you will
strain your eyes with such fine work.""Ah, my son," she laughed, "this is to pay for you to be a wise and
great man.My eyes are a poor price to pay for that."By this time Ko had grown to be a fine, tall lad. So

easily and so well had he learned his lessons thathe began to grow proud and vain. "I know as much
as any of the professors who try to teach me," he saidscornfully."That is boastful talk," the Lady
Chang reproved him. "You should learn humility as well as knowledgefrom books, my son. You still
have much to learn, I fear."A little later, however, Ko came home one day and threw his books on the
table. "I have finished withschooling," he said defiantly. "I am tired of learning. I know quite enough to
earn my living.""Do not stop!" cried the Lady Chang. "You will be a wise and great man like your father,
if you wouldonly complete your studies"No, Mother," declared Ko. "I mean what I say. I have finished
with Learning.The Lady Chang did not argue with him. She reached across the table and got a sharp
knife that laythere. Then, without a word, she slashed her weaving from the loom. The cloth fell, its
gold and silver andscarlet in a tangled unfinished heap at her feet."Mother!" cried Ko in horror, "what
have you done? All your hard work is wasted! If you had worked a little longer, this would have been a
perfect piece of cloth. Now it is nothing but a half-finished rag."The Lady Chang looked at her son with
grave eyes. "Son, you could have been a wise and greatman," she told him. "Now you will be little
more than a peasant who toils in the fields or labors in the marketplace."Ko's cheeks grew red as he
looked again at his mother's lovely work, ruined and unfinished. Then, hepicked up his books. "I have
learned a lesson, Mother," he said in a low voice. "I will finish my studies. They'llnot be wasted. I may
never be a great man, but I will try to be a wise one."The Lady Chang's heart was filled with joy as she
watched Ko return to his studies.She drew her seat close to the loom and began to pick up the
threads once more. Many, many hours of hardwork lay before her, but that which she had already
done would not be wasted.Ko indeed became a wise man, and great one. He was famous through all
the land of China.And now, when Chinese children are told tales of brave people in their countrys
history, they listen tothe story of the Lady Chang, who was not afraid to ruin her most perfect work in
order to teach a lesson to her son.