He is a fictive character who serves our purposes. The following dialogue reveals some key details about the Colonel:
Col. Lin Nan: “You’re white. You shouldn’t be in China at all.”
Gladys Aylward: “How can you say that, when you’re part white?”
LN: “I’m half-white. In your world, I can only be a second-class citizen. I chose China because here, I’m allowed to be of value.”
GA: “That’s why I came here. To be of value.”Read More
Maybe the Chinese haggling approach is feminine, let's call it that for the sake of argument. And what if I characterized this approach as actually grittier? What if I called it tougher than "a deal's a deal." Of course, a "deal's a deal" is steely and unwavering. It is classically masculine in that it doesn't budge. It doesn't suffer fools. You can take it or leave it. You "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me." You just don't bargain with a man 'cos to "nickel and dime" him presupposes he hasn't entered discussions with full and utmost candor.
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But then you see lines like the one above: "Some patrons thought the stabbing was a performance art presentation."
And you reflect. And you realize. Dang, in fact I can totally picture that-- and that is the most insane thing of all. We have such an expectation of irony such that when most of us normal, everyday folks meet face-to-face with violence we assume it's a prank.
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