How does Jonathan D. Spence use imagery in The Death of Woman Wang?

Imagery:

The people of T'an-ch'eng claimed to know the exact spot where Confucius had sought the advice of their viscount twenty-two hundred years before- just inside the north gate of the magistrate's current office compound- and the place was honored with a temple, while a more public plaque in front of the yamen announced the general location. P. 18, Chapter 1, The Observers

But, when there was a great famine in Shantung, and people began to eat each other, Hsiaoerh took out these leaves she had saved, mixed them with grain, and gave them to the starving. P. 56, Chapter 2, The Land, story of P'u Sung-ling

He stands before her in his ragged clothes, the snot is dribbling down his face, he smiles at her. "Does the pretty lady love me?" he asks. He hits her. P. 131, Chapter 5, The Woman Who Ran Away