Government Official's Site of Astonishment

          I have had a shocking day learning about a way of life I have never experienced. Today was my first day on the job of inspection as a government official in the Imperial Court in Dadu. I was sent to Hangzhou to make sure that Chinese families were following the laws. That they did not have weapons, were not congregating in public, were not dealing in bamboo, and there were no marriages between statues and ethnic groups. As I walked amongst the peasants in the slum, I was astonished. Has it always been like this? With barely anyone out in the streets? These people are so separated from every one else. I was barely allowed to socialize with the peasants at all as a result of having to have very little contact with them. When they did see me, the were just as astonished as I was. They were usually kept away from government officials. Being both a foreigner and new to this job as left me less informed then the other officials. I must be careful though, Kublai Khan is starting only allow Mongols to be government officials

           At one home I searched, a knife was found and was then confiscated. Further investigation is going to be held. The family that had the knife had clearly been trying to hide it. The blade of the knife was six inches long! The other officials believe that this family has been involved with other families and might be involved with planing a revolt.

          That wasn’t the only law breaking we caught. As we entered a house unexpectedly, we found our selves in the middle of a small ceremony. The people stared at us dumbfounded. They were trying to secretly marry an native Chinese woman with a foreign man. There the bride and groom knelt on the floor in front of the in laws. A sacramental sheep in between them, a knife stretched out to the sheep’s neck. Toasting glasses on the floor next to them along with the comb used to comb their hair, the brides veil still over her face. After staring at us with a shocked expression, the bride burst into tears, because she knew what her fate would now be. As we dragged the young couple away to jail, she whined and wailed, “Noooooo!” Her young groom was patting her on the head and whispering in her ear trying to comfort her.

          I am staying here in Hangzhou for a while. I have to go back out and search again. There are so many laws these people have to follow, I wonder what my job will bring me tomorrow. Maybe I will learn some new things abut this country’s culture. I must get my sleep now so that I am not weary tomorrow, I don’t want to fall asleep on the job! Especially with the threat of Kublai Khan if I was to.