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Hart referred to his conduct as "a common practice" at that time and confessed that he just "fell into the habit myself" and "did as others did", which is, unfortunately, no excuse at all. Bruner, Fairbank and Smith suggest, "one of the many perquisites of the Westerner's higher living standard in China was his being supplied with Chinese women. Thus, "Robert Hart's solution to his problem of solitude was nothing unusual and followed established norm". (1986: 153) Bickers also suggests that "In the earlier stage of the British presence concubinage with Chinese women was common, and not considered abnormal; indeed, it appears to have been encouraged, as a sort of release". (1999: 98) Paul King, an Englishman who joined CIMC in 1874, writes in his book In the Chinese Custom Service (1980: 25):
In those days the only "social" intercourse between Chinese and foreigners was conducted by women of the "Mui-tsai" class. In justice it must be recalled that the Chinese housekeeper often did a good deal to keep her temporary lord and master straight, especially in matters of drink, or tendency to stray off to less supervised and possibly dangerous-to-health pastures.
Perhaps Hart knew that the most convincing point he could make, to avoid too much embarrassment when he confessed to his relationship with Ayaou, would be the explanation that his conduct was not simply a personal sin or weakness, but a mistake anyone, in the given circumstances at that time, would possibly, or even inevitably, have made. Following this point, Hart confessed:
Ayaou lived with me at Ningpo during 1857 and went with me when I was transferred to Canton in February 1858. Later in the same year I left her at Macao and from that time ceased to live with her and saw her but seldom though I continued to pay her monthly sum of thirty dollars for her support down to the time of our connection being finally terminated as after mentioned. (Declaration 2)
If it was true that Hart "ceased to live with her and saw her but seldom" from 1858, it is difficult to understand how Ayaou gave birth to his three children after 1858 and why Hart left the second gap in his diaries between 6 December 1858 and 6 June 1863 - a period during which he must have had an intimate relationship with Ayaou. Indeed,
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Hart referred to his conduct as "a common practice" at that time and confessed that he just "fell into the habit myself" and "did as others did”, which is, unfortunately, no excuse at all. Bruner, Fairbank and Smith suggest, "one of the many perquisites of the Westerner's higher living standard in China was his being supplied with Chinese women. Thus, "Robert Hart's solution to his problem of solitude was nothing unusual and followed established norm”. (1986: 153) Bickers also suggests that "In the earlier stage of the British presence concubinage with Chinese women was common, and not considered abnormal; indeed, it appears to have been encouraged, as a sort of release.” (1999; 98) Paul King, an Englishman who joined CIMC in 1874, writes in his book In the Chinese Custom Service (1980: 25):
In those days the only "social" intercourse between Chinese and foreigners was conducted by women of the "Mui-tsai” class. In justice it must be recalled that the Chinese housekeeper often did a good deal to keep her temporary lord and master straight, especially in matters of drink, or tendency to stray off to less supervised and possibly dangerous-to-health pastures.
Perhaps Hart knew that the most convincing point he could make, to avoid too much embarrassment when he confessed to his relationship with Ayaou, would be the explanation that his conduct was not simply a personal sin or weakness, but a mistake anyone, in the given circumstances at that time, would possibly, or even inevitably, have made. Following this point, Hart confessed:
Ayaou lived with me at Ningpo during 1857 and went with me when I was transferred to Canton in February 1858. Later in the same year I left her at Macao and from that time ceased to live with her and saw her but seldom though I continued to pay her monthly sum of thirty dollars for her support down to the time of our connection being finally terminated as after mentioned. (Declaration 2)
If it was true that Hart "ceased to live with her and saw her but seldom" from 1858, it is difficult to understand how Ayaou gave birth to his three children after 1858 and why Hart left the second gap in his diaries between 6 December 1858 and 6 June 1863 - a period during which he must have had an intimate relationship with Ayaou. Indeed,
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