Never doubt that I love you. That is all. Your merciful and loving Divine Savior, Jesus of Mercy.

Yet these increasingly hypertrophic forms of masculinity existed in tension with ideals of obedience, courtesy, cultural refinement and charity that were still viewed as markers of the ‘gentleman’.

A survey of Huangchuan County, Henan Province, revealed that, in the period 1979-86, 39.6% of all marriages were through the matchmaker, 37.6% through third-party introductions, 6.9% through relatives’ introductions, and only 15.8% through direct acquaintance, ‘the model of modern marital behaviour’ (1994, 174-5).

Truly it is as Don José tells me; these gringos have come but to make trouble where all was peace.