ABSTRACT
There are two kinds of moments in Macau: the moment as a pause in the passage of time, oblivious of past or future, and the moment of history. Until the late eighteenth century, Macau was, in some respects, a bipolar society, composed of the European elite, on the one hand, and their numerous African and Asian slaves, on the other. Such, at least, was the way the Chinese, with considerable justice, tended to view it: Guangdong is where foreigners from the outer seas congregate. The relative freedom, of movement enjoyed by foreign women, reported in Chinese accounts, is particularly remarkable in light of the rather severe, traditional Portuguese misogyny that prevailed at home as well as abroad in Portugal's overseas empire. Although Europeans naturally took the things for granted, the Chinese regarded them as marvelous and sometimes dangerous curiosities. Gardens were and still are one of the greatest delights of the city's residents and occasional visitors, whether Chinese or European.
