Wu Family Reception Hall

Order in the family

This is where the family greets special guests. The room is big and open and the furniture is light. It is easy to rearrange the room depending on the event of the day and the season. Today the servants have carried out the altar used for prayers. They have set up a couch and chairs in front of a painted folding screen. You notice how, as always, they have carefully placed the couch exactly in the center of the wall. The chairs are perfectly symmetrical on either side, too. You love that feeling of balance!

Your grandfather, the head of the family, will sit on the couch. Your father, his two brothers, and their sister will have the armchairs. Your mother and your uncle's wives will sit on lower stools behind them. Everyone knows his or her place in the family hierarchy. You do too--and you shouldn't be in here!