“In this manner it came about that when a very wealthy but unnaturally

avaricious and evil-tempered person who was connected with Quen’s father

in matters of commerce expressed his fixed determination that the most

deserving and enlightened of his friend’s sons should enter into a

marriage agreement with his daughter, there was no manner of hesitation

among those concerned, who admitted without any questioning between

themselves that Quen was undeniably the one referred to.

“Though naturally not possessing an insignificant intellect, a

continuous habit, together with a most irreproachable sense of filial

duty, subdued within Quen’s internal organs whatever reluctance he might

have otherwise displayed in the matter, so that as courteously as was

necessary he presented to the undoubtedly very ordinary and slow-witted

maiden in question the gifts of irretrievable intention, and honourably

carried out his spoken and written words towards her.

“For a period of years the circumstances of the various persons did not

in any degree change, Quen in the meantime becoming more pure-souled

and inward-seeing with each moon-change, after the manner of the sublime

Lien-ti, who studied to maintain an unmoved endurance in all varieties

of events by placing his body to a greater extent each day in a vessel

of boiling liquid. Nevertheless, the good and charitable deities to

whom Quen unceasingly sacrificed were not altogether unmindful of his

virtues; for a son was born, and an evil disease which arose from a most

undignified display of uncontrollable emotion on her part ended in his

wife being deposited with becoming ceremony in the Family Temple.

“Upon a certain evening, when Quen sat in his inner chamber deliberating

upon the really beneficent yet somewhat inexplicable arrangement of the

all-seeing ones to whom he was very amiably disposed in consequence of

the unwonted tranquillity which he now enjoyed, yet who, it appeared to

him, could have set out the entire matter in a much more satisfactory

way from the beginning, he was made aware by the unexpected beating of

many gongs, and by other signs of refined and deferential welcome, that

a person of exalted rank was approaching his residence. While he was

still hesitating in his uncertainty regarding the most courteous and

delicate form of self-abasement with which to honour so important a

visitor--whether to rush forth and allow the chair-carriers to pass over

his prostrate form, to make a pretence of being a low-caste slave, and

in that guise doing menial service, or to conceal himself beneath

a massive and overhanging table until his guest should have availed

himself of the opportunity to examine at his leisure whatever the room

contained--the person in question stood before him. In every detail of

dress and appointment he had the undoubted appearance of being one to

whom no door might be safely closed.

“‘Alas!’ exclaimed Quen, ‘how inferior and ill-contrived is the mind

of a person of my feeble intellectual attainments. Even at this moment,

when the near approach of one who obviously commands every engaging

accomplishment might reasonably be expected to call up within it an

adequate amount of commonplace resource, its ill-destined possessor

finds himself entirely incapable of conducting himself with the fitting

outward marks of his great internal respect. This residence is certainly

unprepossessing in the extreme, yet it contains many objects of some

value and of great rarity; illiterate as this person is, he would not

be so presumptuous as to offer any for your acceptance, but if you will

confer upon him the favour of selecting that which appears to be the

most priceless and unreplaceable, he will immediately, and with every

manifestation of extreme delight, break it irredeemably in your honour,

to prove the unaffected depth of his gratified emotions.’

“‘Quen-Ki-Tong,’ replied the person before him, speaking with an evident

sincerity of purpose, ‘pleasant to this one’s ears are your words,

breathing as they do an obvious hospitality and a due regard for the

forms of etiquette. But if, indeed, you are desirous of gaining this

person’s explicit regard, break no articles of fine porcelain or rare

inlaid wood in proof of it, but immediately dismiss to a very distant

spot the three-score gong-beaters who have enclosed him within two solid

rings, and who are now carrying out their duties in so diligent a manner

that he greatly doubts if the unimpaired faculties of hearing will ever

be fully restored. Furthermore, if your exceedingly amiable intentions

desire fuller expression, cause an unstinted number of vessels of some

uninflammable liquid to be conveyed into your chrysanthemum garden and

there poured over the numerous fireworks and coloured lights which still

appear to be in progress. Doubtless they are well-intentioned marks of

respect, but they caused this person considerable apprehension as he

passed among them, and, indeed, give to this unusually pleasant and

unassuming spot the by no means inviting atmosphere of a low-class

tea-house garden during the festivities attending the birthday of the

sacred Emperor.’

“‘This person is overwhelmed with a most unendurable confusion that the

matters referred to should have been regarded in such a light,’ replied

Quen humbly. ‘Although he himself had no knowledge of them until this

moment, he is confident that they in no wise differ from the usual

honourable manifestations with which it is customary in this Province to

welcome strangers of exceptional rank and titles.’

“‘The welcome was of a most dignified and impressive nature,’ replied

the stranger, with every appearance of not desiring to cause Quen any

uneasy internal doubts; ‘yet the fact is none the less true that at the

moment this person’s head seems to contain an exceedingly powerful and

well-equipped band; and also, that as he passed through the courtyard

an ingeniously constructed but somewhat unmanageable figure of gigantic

size, composed entirely of jets of many-coloured flame, leaped out

suddenly from behind a dark wall and made an almost successful attempt

to embrace him in its ever-revolving arms. Lo Yuen greatly fears that

the time when he would have rejoiced in the necessary display of agility

to which the incident gave rise has for ever passed away.’

“‘Lo Yuen!’ exclaimed Quen, with an unaffected mingling of the emotions

of reverential awe and pleasureable anticipation. ‘Can it indeed be

an uncontroversial fact that so learned and ornamental a person as the

renowned Controller of Unsolicited Degrees stands beneath this inelegant

person’s utterly unpresentable roof! Now, indeed, he plainly understands

why this ill-conditioned chamber has the appearance of being filled with

a Heaven-sent brilliance, and why at the first spoken words of the one

before him a melodious sound, like the rushing waters of the sacred

Tien-Kiang, seemed to fill his ears.’

“‘Undoubtedly the chamber is pervaded by a very exceptional splendour,’

replied Lo Yuen, who, in spite of his high position, regarded graceful

talk and well-imagined compliments in a spirit of no-satisfaction; ‘yet

this commonplace-minded one has a fixed conviction that it is caused

by the crimson-eyed and pink-fire-breathing dragon which, despite your

slave’s most assiduous efforts, is now endeavouring to climb through

the aperture behind you. The noise which still fills his ears, also,

resembles rather the despairing cries of the Ten Thousand Lost Ones at

the first sight of the Pit of Liquid and Red-hot Malachite, yet

without question both proceed from the same cause. Laying aside further

ceremony, therefore, permit this greatly over-estimated person to

disclose the object of his inopportune visit. Long have your amiable

virtues been observed and appreciated by the high ones at Peking, O

Quen-Ki-Tong. Too long have they been unrewarded and passed over in

silence. Nevertheless, the moment of acknowledgement and advancement has

at length arrived; for, as the Book of Verses clearly says, “Even the

three-legged mule may contrive to reach the agreed spot in advance of

the others, provided a circular running space has been selected and

the number of rounds be sufficiently ample.” It is this otherwise

uninteresting and obtrusive person’s graceful duty to convey to you the

agreeable intelligence that the honourable and not ill-rewarded office

of Guarder of the Imperial Silkworms has been conferred upon you, and

to require you to proceed without delay to Peking, so that fitting

ceremonies of admittance may be performed before the fifteenth day of

the month of Feathered Insects.’

“Alas! how frequently does the purchaser of seemingly vigorous and

exceptionally low-priced flower-seeds discover, when too late, that they

are, in reality, fashioned from the root of the prolific and valueless

tzu-ka, skilfully covered with a disguising varnish! Instead of

presenting himself at the place of commerce frequented by those who

entrust money to others on the promise of an increased repayment when

certain very probable events have come to pass (so that if all

else failed he would still possess a serviceable number of taels),

Quen-Ki-Tong entirely neglected the demands of a most ordinary prudence,

nor could he be induced to set out on his journey until he had passed

seven days in public feasting to mark his good fortune, and then devoted

fourteen more days to fasting and various acts of penance, in order to

make known the regret with which he acknowledged his entire unworthiness

for the honour before him. Owing to this very conscientious, but

nevertheless somewhat short-sighted manner of behaving, Quen found

himself unable to reach Peking before the day preceding that to which Lo

Yuen had made special reference. From this cause it came about that only

sufficient time remained to perform the various ceremonies of admission,

without in any degree counselling Quen as to his duties and procedure in

the fulfilment of his really important office.

“Among the many necessary and venerable ceremonies observed during the

changing periods of the year, none occupy a more important place than

those for which the fifteenth day of the month of Feathered Insects is

reserved, conveying as they do a respectful and delicately-fashioned

petition that the various affairs upon which persons in every

condition of life are engaged may arrive at a pleasant and remunerative

conclusion. At the earliest stroke of the gong the versatile Emperor,

accompanied by many persons of irreproachable ancestry and certain

others, very elaborately attired, proceeds to an open space set apart

for the occasion. With unassuming dexterity the benevolent Emperor for

a brief span of time engages in the menial occupation of a person of

low class, and with his own hands ploughs an assigned portion of land in

order that the enlightened spirits under whose direct guardianship the

earth is placed may not become lax in their disinterested efforts to

promote its fruitfulness. In this charitable exertion he is followed

by various other persons of recognized position, the first being, by

custom, the Guarder of the Imperial Silkworms, while at the same time

the amiably-disposed Empress plants an allotted number of mulberry

trees, and deposits upon their leaves the carefully reared insects

which she receives from the hands of their Guarder. In the case of the

accomplished Emperor an ingenious contrivance is resorted to by which

the soil is drawn aside by means of hidden strings as the plough passes

by, the implement in question being itself constructed from paper of the

highest quality, while the oxen which draw it are, in reality,

ordinary persons cunningly concealed within masks of cardboard. In this

thoughtful manner the actual labours of the sublime Emperor are greatly

lessened, while no chance is afforded for an inauspicious omen to be

created by the rebellious behaviour of a maliciously-inclined ox, or by

any other event of an unforeseen nature. All the other persons, however,

are required to make themselves proficient in the art of ploughing,

before the ceremony, so that the chances of the attendant spirits

discovering the deception which has been practised upon them in the case

of the Emperor may not be increased by its needless repetition. It was

chiefly for this reason that Lo Yuen had urged Quen to journey to Peking

as speedily as possible, but owing to the very short time which remained

between his arrival and the ceremony of ploughing, not only had the

person in question neglected to profit by instruction, but he was not

even aware of the obligation which awaited him. When, therefore, in

spite of every respectful protest on his part, he was led up to a

massively-constructed implement drawn by two powerful and undeniably

evilly-intentioned-looking animals, it was with every sign of great

internal misgivings, and an entire absence of enthusiasm in the

entertainment, that he commenced his not too well understood task. In

this matter he was by no means mistaken, for it soon became plain to all

observers--of whom an immense concourse was assembled--that the usually

self-possessed Guarder of the Imperial Silkworms was conducting

himself in a most undignified manner; for though he still clung to the

plough-handles with an inspired tenacity, his body assumed every variety

of base and uninviting attitude. Encouraged by this inelegant state

of affairs, the evil spirits which are ever on the watch to turn into

derision the charitable intentions of the pure-minded entered into

the bodies of the oxen and provoked within their minds a sudden and

malignant confidence that the time had arrived when they might with

safety break into revolt and throw off the outward signs of their

dependent condition. From these various causes it came about that Quen

was, without warning, borne with irresistible certainty against the

majestic person of the sacred Emperor, the inlaid box of Imperial

silkworms, which up to that time had remained safely among the folds

of his silk garment, alone serving to avert an even more violent and

ill-destined blow.

“Well said the wise and deep-thinking Ye-te, in his book entitled

_Proverbs of Everyday Happenings_, ‘Should a person on returning from

the city discover his house to be in flames, let him examine well the

change which he has received from the chair-carrier before it is too

late; for evil never travels alone.’ Scarcely had the unfortunate Quen

recovered his natural attributes from the effect of the disgraceful

occurrence which has been recorded (which, indeed, furnished the matter

of a song and many unpresentable jests among the low-class persons

of the city), than the magnanimous Empress reached that detail of the

tree-planting ceremony when it was requisite that she should deposit the

living emblems of the desired increase and prosperity upon the leaves.

Stretching forth her delicately-proportioned hand to Quen for this

purpose, she received from the still greatly confused person in question

the Imperial silkworms in so unseemly a condition that her eyes had

scarcely rested upon them before she was seized with the rigid

sickness, and in that state fell to the ground. At this new and entirely

unforeseen calamity a very disagreeable certainty of approaching evil

began to take possession of all those who stood around, many crying

aloud that every omen of good was wanting, and declaring that unless

something of a markedly propitiatory nature was quickly accomplished,

the agriculture of the entire Empire would cease to flourish, and the

various departments of the commerce in silk would undoubtedly be thrown

into a state of most inextricable confusion. Indeed, in spite of all

things designed to have a contrary effect, the matter came about in the

way predicted, for the Hoang-Ho seven times overcame its restraining

barriers, and poured its waters over the surrounding country, thereby

gaining for the first time its well-deserved title of ‘The Sorrow of

China,’ by which dishonourable but exceedingly appropriate designation

it is known to this day.

“The manner of greeting which would have been accorded to Quen had

he returned to the official quarter of the city, or the nature of his

treatment by the baser class of the ordinary people if they succeeded

in enticing him to come among them, formed a topic of such uninviting

conjecture that the humane-minded Lo Yuen, who had observed the

entire course of events from an elevated spot, determined to make

a well-directed effort towards his safety. To this end he quickly

purchased the esteem of several of those who make a profession of their

strength, holding out the hope of still further reward if they conducted

the venture to a successful termination. Uttering loud cries of an

impending vengeance, as Lo Yuen had instructed them in the matter,

and displaying their exceptional proportions to the astonishment and

misgivings of all beholders, these persons tore open the opium-tent in

which Quen had concealed himself, and, thrusting aside all opposition,

quickly dragged him forth. Holding him high upon their shoulders, in

spite of his frequent and ill-advised endeavours to cast himself to

the ground, some surrounded those who bore him--after the manner of

disposing his troops affected by a skilful leader when the enemy begin

to waver--and crying aloud that it was their unchanging purpose to

submit him to the test of burning splinters and afterwards to torture

him, they succeeded by this stratagem in bringing him through the

crowd; and hurling back or outstripping those who endeavoured to follow,

conveyed him secretly and unperceived to a deserted and appointed

spot. Here Quen was obliged to remain until other events caused the

recollection of the many to become clouded and unconcerned towards him,

suffering frequent inconveniences in spite of the powerful protection

of Lo Yuen, and not at all times being able to regard the most necessary

repast as an appointment of undoubted certainty. At length, in the guise

of a wandering conjurer who was unable to display his accomplishments

owing to an entire loss of the power of movement in his arms, Quen

passed undetected from the city, and safely reaching the distant and

unimportant town of Lu-Kwo, gave himself up to a protracted period of

lamentation and self-reproach at the unprepossessing manner in which he

had conducted his otherwise very inviting affairs.

SECOND PERIOD

THE TEMPLE BUILDER

Two hand-counts of years passed away and Quen still remained at Lu-kwo,

all desire of returning either to Peking or to the place of his birth

having by this time faded into nothingness. Accepting the inevitable

fact that he was not destined ever to become a person with whom taels

were plentiful, and yet being unwilling to forego the charitable manner

of life which he had always been accustomed to observe, it came about

that he spent the greater part of his time in collecting together such

sums of money as he could procure from the amiable and well-disposed,

and with them building temples and engaging in other benevolent works.

From this cause it arose the Quen obtained around Lu-kwo a reputation

for high-minded piety, in no degree less than that which had been

conferred upon him in earlier times, so that pilgrims from far distant

places would purposely contrive their journey so as to pass through the

town containing so unassuming and virtuous a person.

“During this entire period Quen had been accompanied by his only son, a

youth of respectful personality, in whose entertaining society he took

an intelligent interest. Even when deeply engaged in what he justly

regarded as the crowning work of his existence--the planning and

erecting of an exceptionally well-endowed marble temple, which was to

be entirely covered on the outside with silver paper, and on the inside

with gold-leaf--he did not fail to observe the various conditions of

Liao’s existence, and the changing emotions which from time to

time possessed him. Therefore, when the person in question, without

displaying any signs of internal sickness, and likewise persistently

denying that he had lost any considerable sum of money, disclosed a

continuous habit of turning aside with an unaffected expression of

distaste from all manner of food, and passed the entire night in

observing the course of the great sky-lantern rather than in sleep, the

sage and discriminating Quen took him one day aside, and asked him, as

one who might aid him in the matter, who the maiden was, and what class

and position her father occupied.

“‘Alas!’ exclaimed Liao, with many unfeigned manifestations of an

unbearable fate, ‘to what degree do the class and position of her

entirely unnecessary parents affect the question? or how little hope

can this sacrilegious one reasonably have of ever progressing as far as

earthly details of a pecuniary character in the case of so adorable and

far-removed a Being? The uttermost extent of this wildly-hoping person’s

ambition is that when the incomparably symmetrical Ts’ain learns of

the steadfast light of his devotion, she may be inspired to deposit an

emblematic chrysanthemum upon his tomb in the Family Temple. For such a

reward he will cheerfully devote the unswerving fidelity of a lifetime

to her service, not distressing her gentle and retiring nature by the

expression of what must inevitably be a hopeless passion, but patiently

and uncomplainingly guarding her footsteps as from a distance.’

“Being in this manner made aware of the reason of Liao’s frequent and

unrestrained exclamations of intolerable despair, and of his fixed

determination with regard to the maiden Ts’ain (which seemed, above

all else, to indicate a resolution to shun her presence) Quen could not

regard the immediately-following actions of his son with anything but an

emotion of confusion. For when his eyes next rested upon the exceedingly

contradictory Liao, he was seated in the open space before the house in

which Ts’ain dwelt, playing upon an instrument of stringed woods, and

chanting verses into which the names of the two persons in question

had been skilfully introduced without restraint, his whole manner of

behaving being with the evident purpose of attracting the maiden’s

favourable attention. After an absence of many days, spent in this

graceful and complimentary manner, Liao returned suddenly to the house

of his father, and, prostrating his body before him, made a specific

request for his assistance.

“‘As regards Ts’ain and myself,’ he continued, ‘all things are arranged,

and but for the unfortunate coincidence of this person’s poverty and

of her father’s cupidity, the details of the wedding ceremony would

undoubtedly now be in a very advanced condition. Upon these entrancing

and well-discussed plans, however, the shadow of the grasping and

commonplace Ah-Ping has fallen like the inopportune opium-pipe from the

mouth of a person examining substances of an explosive nature; for the

one referred to demands a large and utterly unobtainable amount of taels

before he will suffer his greatly-sought-after daughter to accept the

gifts of irretrievable intention.’

“‘Grievous indeed is your plight,’ replied Quen, when he thus understood

the manner of obstacle which impeded his son’s hopes; ‘for in the nature

of taels the most diverse men are to be measured through the same mesh.

As the proverb says, “‘All money is evil,’ exclaimed the philosopher

with extreme weariness, as he gathered up the gold pieces in exchange,

but presently discovering that one among them was such indeed as he had

described, he rushed forth without tarrying to take up a street garment;

and with an entire absence of dignity traversed all the ways of the city

in the hope of finding the one who had defrauded him.” Well does this

person know the mercenary Ah-Ping, and the unyielding nature of his

closed hand; for often, but always fruitlessly, he has entered his

presence on affairs connected with the erecting of certain temples.

Nevertheless, the matter is one which does not admit of any incapable

faltering, to which end this one will seek out the obdurate Ah-Ping

without delay, and endeavour to entrap him by some means in the course

of argument.’

“From the time of his earliest youth Ah-Ping had unceasingly devoted

himself to the object of getting together an overwhelming number of

taels, using for this purpose various means which, without being really

degrading or contrary to the written law, were not such as might have

been cheerfully engaged in by a person of high-minded honourableness. In

consequence of this, as he grew more feeble in body, and more venerable

in appearance, he began to express frequent and bitter doubts as to

whether his manner of life had been really well arranged; for, in spite

of his great wealth, he had grown to adopt a most inexpensive habit

on all occasions, having no desire to spend; and an ever-increasing

apprehension began to possess him that after he had passed beyond, his

sons would be very disinclined to sacrifice and burn money sufficient to

keep him in an affluent condition in the Upper Air. In such a state of

mind was Ah-Ping when Quen-Ki-Tong appeared before him, for it had just

been revealed to him that his eldest and favourite son had, by flattery

and by openly praising the dexterity with which he used his brush

and ink, entrapped him into inscribing his entire name upon certain

unwritten sheets of parchment, which the one in question immediately

sold to such as were heavily indebted to Ah-Ping.

“‘If a person can be guilty of this really unfilial behaviour during the

lifetime of his father,’ exclaimed Ah-Ping, in a tone of unrestrained

vexation, ‘can it be prudently relied upon that he will carry out his

wishes after death, when they involve the remitting to him of several

thousand taels each year? O estimable Quen-Ki-Tong, how immeasurably

superior is the celestial outlook upon which you may safely rely as your

portion! When you are enjoying every variety of sumptuous profusion,

as the reward of your untiring charitable exertions here on earth, the

spirit of this short-sighted person will be engaged in doing menial

servitude for the inferior deities, and perhaps scarcely able, even by

those means, to clothe himself according to the changing nature of the

seasons.’

“‘Yet,’ replied Quen, ‘the necessity for so laborious and unremunerative

an existence may even now be averted by taking efficient precautions

before you pass to the Upper Air.’

“‘In what way?’ demanded Ah-Ping, with an awakening hope that the matter

might not be entirely destitute of cheerfulness, yet at the same time

preparing to examine with even unbecoming intrusiveness any expedient

which Quen might lay before him. ‘Is it not explicitly stated that

sacrifices and acts of a like nature, when performed at the end of one’s

existence by a person who to that time has professed no sort of interest

in such matters, shall in no degree be entered as to his good, but

rather regarded as examples of deliberate presumptuousness, and made the

excuse for subjecting him to more severe tortures and acts of penance

than would be his portion if he neglected the custom altogether?’

“‘Undoubtedly such is the case,’ replied Quen; ‘and on that account it

would indicate a most regrettable want of foresight for you to conduct

your affairs in the manner indicated. The only undeniably safe course

is for you to entrust the amount you will require to a person of

exceptional piety, receiving in return his written word to repay the

full sum whenever you shall claim it from him in the Upper Air. By this

crafty method the amount will be placed at the disposal of the person

in question as soon as he has passed beyond, and he will be held by his

written word to return it to you whenever you shall demand it.’

“So amiably impressed with this ingenious scheme was Ah-Ping that he

would at once have entered more fully into the detail had the thought

not arisen in his mind that the person before him was the father of

Liao, who urgently required a certain large sum, and that for this

reason he might with prudence inquire more fully into the matter

elsewhere, in case Quen himself should have been imperceptibly led

aside, even though he possessed intentions of a most unswerving

honourableness. To this end, therefore, he desired to converse again

with Quen on the matter, pleading that at that moment a gathering

of those who direct enterprises of a commercial nature required his

presence. Nevertheless, he would not permit the person referred to to

depart until he had complimented him, in both general and specific

terms, on the high character of his life and actions, and the

intelligent nature of his understanding, which had enabled him with so

little mental exertion to discover an efficient plan.

“Without delay Ah-Ping sought out those most skilled in all varieties

of law-forms, in extorting money by devices capable of very different

meanings, and in expedients for evading just debts; but all agreed that

such an arrangement as the one he put before them would be unavoidably

binding, provided the person who received the money alluded to spent it

in the exercise of his charitable desires, and provided also that the

written agreement bore the duty seal of the high ones at Peking, and was

deposited in the coffin of the lender. Fully satisfied, and rejoicing

greatly that he could in this way adequately provide for his future and

entrap the avaricious ones of his house, Ah-Ping collected together the

greater part of his possessions, and converting it into pieces of gold,

entrusted them to Quen on the exact understanding that has already been

described, he receiving in turn Quen’s written and thumb-signed paper

of repayment, and his assurance that the whole amount should be expended

upon the silver-paper and gold-leaf Temple with which he was still

engaged.

“It is owing to this circumstance that Quen-Ki-Tong’s irreproachable

name has come to be lightly regarded by many who may be fitly likened to

the latter person in the subtle and experienced proverb, ‘The wise man’s

eyes fell before the gaze of the fool, fearing that if he looked he

must cry aloud, “Thou hopeless one!” “There,” said the fool to himself,

“behold this person’s power!”’ These badly educated and undiscriminating

persons, being entirely unable to explain the ensuing train of events,

unhesitatingly declare that Quen-Ki-Tong applied a portion of the money

which he had received from Ah-Ping in the manner described to the object

of acquiring Ts’ain for his son Liao. In this feeble and incapable

fashion they endeavour to stigmatize the pure-minded Quen as one who

acted directly contrary to his deliberately spoken word, whereas the

desired result was brought about in a much more artful manner; they

describe the commercially successful Ah-Ping as a person of very

inferior prudence, and one easily imposed upon; while they entirely pass

over, as a detail outside the true facts, the written paper preserved

among the sacred relics in the Temple, which announces, among other

gifts of a small and uninviting character, ‘Thirty thousand taels from

an elderly ginseng merchant of Lu-kwo, who desires to remain nameless,

through the hand of Quen-Ki-Tong.’ The full happening in its real and

harmless face is now set forth for the first time.

“Some weeks after the recorded arrangement had been arrived at by

Ah-Ping and Quen, when the taels in question had been expended upon the

Temple and were, therefore, infallibly beyond recall, the former person

chanced to be passing through the public garden in Lu-kwo when he heard

a voice lifted up in the expression of every unendurable feeling of

dejection to which one can give utterance. Stepping aside to learn the

cause of so unprepossessing a display of unrestrained agitation, and

in the hope that perhaps he might be able to use the incident in a

remunerative manner, Ah-Ping quickly discovered the unhappy being who,

entirely regardless of the embroidered silk robe which he wore, reclined

upon a raised bank of uninviting earth, and waved his hands from side to

side as his internal emotions urged him.

“‘Quen-Ki-Tong!’ exclaimed Ah-Ping, not fully convinced that the fact

was as he stated it in spite of the image clearly impressed upon his

imagination; ‘to what unpropitious occurrence is so unlooked-for an

exhibition due? Are those who traffic in gold-leaf demanding a high and

prohibitive price for that commodity, or has some evil and vindicative

spirit taken up its abode within the completed portion of the Temple,

and by its offensive but nevertheless diverting remarks and actions

removed all semblance of gravity from the countenances of those who

daily come to admire the construction?’

“‘O thrice unfortunate Ah-Ping,’ replied Quen when he observed the

distinguishing marks of the person before him, ‘scarcely can this

greatly overwhelmed one raise his eyes to your open and intelligent

countenance; for through him you are on the point of experiencing a very

severe financial blow, and it is, indeed, on your account more than on

his own that he is now indulging in these outward signs of a grief too

far down to be expressed in spoken words.’ And at the memory of his

former occupation, Quen again waved his arms from side to side with

untiring assiduousness.

“‘Strange indeed to this person’s ears are your words,’ said Ah-Ping,

outwardly unmoved, but with an apprehensive internal pain that he would

have regarded Quen’s display of emotion with an easier stomach if his

own taels were safely concealed under the floor of his inner chamber.

‘The sum which this one entrusted to you has, without any pretence

been expended upon the Temple, while the written paper concerning the

repayment bears the duty seal of the high ones at Peking. How, then, can

Ah-Ping suffer a loss at the hands of Quen-Ki-Tong?’

“‘Ah-Ping,’ said Quen, with every appearance of desiring that both

persons should regard the matter in a conciliatory spirit, ‘do not

permit the awaiting demons, which are ever on the alert to enter into

a person’s mind when he becomes distressed out of the common order of

events, to take possession of your usually discriminating faculties

until you have fully understood how this affair has come about. It is no

unknown thing for a person of even exceptional intelligence to reverse

his entire manner of living towards the end of a long and consistent

existence; the far-seeing and not lightly-moved Ah-Ping himself has

already done so. In a similar, but entirely contrary manner, the person

who is now before you finds himself impelled towards that which will

certainly bear a very unpresentable face when the circumstances

become known; yet by no other means is he capable of attaining his

greatly-desired object.’

“‘And to what end does that trend?’ demanded Ah-Ping, in no degree

understanding how the matter affected him.

“‘While occupied with enterprises which those of an engaging and

complimentary nature are accustomed to refer to as charitable,

this person has almost entirely neglected a duty of scarcely less

importance--that of establishing an unending line, through which his

name and actions shall be kept alive to all time,’ replied Quen. ‘Having

now inquired into the matter, he finds that his only son, through whom

alone the desired result can be obtained, has become unbearably attached

to a maiden for whom a very large sum is demanded in exchange. The

thought of obtaining no advantage from an entire life of self-denial

is certainly unprepossessing in the extreme, but so, even to a more

advanced degree, is the certainty that otherwise the family monuments

will be untended, and the temple of domestic virtues become an early

ruin. This person has submitted the dilemma to the test of omens, and

after considering well the reply, he has decided to obtain the price of

the maiden in a not very honourable manner, which now presents itself,

so that Liao may send out his silk-bound gifts without delay.’

“‘It is an unalluring alternative,’ said Ah-Ping, whose only inside

thought was one of gratification that the exchange money for Ts’ain

would so soon be in his possession, ‘yet this person fails to perceive

how you could act otherwise after the decision of the omens. He now

understands, moreover, that the loss you referred to on his part was in

the nature of a figure of speech, as one makes use of thunderbolts

and delicately-scented flowers to convey ideas of harsh and amiable

passions, and alluded in reality to the forthcoming departure of his

daughter, who is, as you so versatilely suggested, the comfort and

riches of his old age.’

“‘O venerable, but at this moment somewhat obtuse, Ah-Ping,’ cried

Quen, with a recurrence to his former method of expressing his unfeigned

agitation, ‘is your evenly-balanced mind unable to grasp the essential

fact of how this person’s contemplated action will affect your own

celestial condition? It is a distressing but entirely unavoidable fact,

that if this person acts in the manner which he has determined upon, he

will be condemned to the lowest place of torment reserved for those

who fail at the end of an otherwise pure existence, and in this he

will never have an opportunity of meeting the very much higher placed

Ah-Ping, and of restoring to him the thirty-thousand taels as agreed

upon.’

“At these ill-destined words, all power of rigidness departed from

Ah-Ping’s limbs, and he sank down upon the forbidding earth by Quen’s

side.

“‘O most unfortunate one who is now speaking,’ he exclaimed, when at

length his guarding spirit deemed it prudent to restore his power of

expressing himself in words, ‘happy indeed would have been your lot had

you been content to traffic in ginseng and other commodities of which

you have actual knowledge. O amiable Quen, this matter must be in some

way arranged without causing you to deviate from the entrancing paths of

your habitual virtue. Could not the very reasonable Liao be induced to

look favourably upon the attractions of some low-priced maiden, in which

case this not really hard-stomached person would be willing to advance

the necessary amount, until such time as it could be restored, at a very

low and unremunerative rate of interest?’

“‘This person has observed every variety of practical humility in the

course of his life,’ replied Quen with commendable dignity, ‘yet he now

finds himself totally unable to overcome an inward repugnance to the

thought of perpetuating his honoured name and race through the medium of

any low-priced maiden. To this end has he decided.’

“Those who were well acquainted with Ah-Ping in matters of commerce did

not hesitate to declare that his great wealth had been acquired by his

consistent habit of forming an opinion quickly while others hesitated.

On the occasion in question he only engaged his mind with the opposing

circumstances for a few moments before he definitely fixed upon the

course which he should pursue.

“‘Quen-Ki-Tong,’ he said, with an evident intermingling of many very

conflicting emotions, ‘retain to the end this well-merited reputation

for unaffected honourableness which you have so fittingly earned. Few

in the entire Empire, with powers so versatilely pointing to an eminent

position in any chosen direction, would have been content to pass their

lives in an unremunerative existence devoted to actions of charity. Had

you selected an entirely different manner of living, this person has

every confidence that he, and many others in Lu-kwo, would by this time

be experiencing a very ignoble poverty. For this reason he will make

it his most prominent ambition to hasten the realization of the amiable

hopes expressed both by Liao and by Ts’ain, concerning their

future relationship. In this, indeed, he himself will be more than

exceptionally fortunate should the former one prove to possess even a

portion of the clear-sighted sagaciousness exhibited by his engaging

father.’

“VERSES COMPOSED BY A MUSICIAN OF LU-KWO, ON THE

OCCASION OF THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF

LIAO AND TS’AIN

“Bright hued is the morning, the dark clouds have fallen;

At the mere waving of Quen’s virtuous hands they melted away.

Happy is Liao in the possession of so accomplished a parent,

Happy also is Quen to have so discriminating a son.

“The two persons in question sit, side by side, upon an

embroidered couch,

Listening to the well-expressed compliments of those who pass to

and fro.

From time to time their eyes meet, and glances of a very

significant amusement pass between them;

Can it be that on so ceremonious an occasion they are recalling

events of a gravity-removing nature?

“The gentle and rainbow-like Ts’ain has already arrived,

With the graceful motion of a silver carp gliding through a screen

of rushes, she moves among those who are assembled.

On the brow of her somewhat contentious father there rests the

shadow of an ill-repressed sorrow;

Doubtless the frequently-misjudged Ah-Ping is thinking of his

lonely hearth, now that he is for ever parted from that which

he holds most precious.

“In the most commodious chamber of the house the elegant

wedding-gifts are conspicuously displayed; let us stand beside

the one which we have contributed, and point out its

excellence to those who pass by.

Surely the time cannot be far distant when the sound of many gongs

will announce that the very desirable repast is at length to

be partaken of.”

VIII.

THE VISION OF YIN, THE SON OF YAT HUANG

When Yin, the son of Yat Huang, had passed beyond the years assigned

to the pursuit of boyhood, he was placed in the care of the hunchback

Quang, so that he might be fully instructed in the management of the

various weapons used in warfare, and also in the art of stratagem, by

which a skilful leader is often enabled to conquer when opposed to an

otherwise overwhelming multitude. In all these accomplishments Quang

excelled to an exceptional degree; for although unprepossessing in

appearance he united matchless strength to an untiring subtlety. No

other person in the entire Province of Kiang-si could hurl a javelin so

unerringly while uttering sounds of terrifying menace, or could cause

his sword to revolve around him so rapidly, while his face looked

out from the glittering circles with an expression of ill-intentioned

malignity that never failed to inspire his adversary with irrepressible

emotions of alarm. No other person could so successfully feign to

be devoid of life for almost any length of time, or by his manner of

behaving create the fixed impression that he was one of insufficient

understanding, and therefore harmless. It was for these reasons that

Quang was chosen as the instructor of Yin by Yat Huang, who, without

possessing any official degree, was a person to whom marks of obeisance

were paid not only within his own town, but for a distance of many li

around it.

At length the time arrived when Yin would in the ordinary course of

events pass from the instructorship of Quang in order to devote himself

to the commerce in which his father was engaged, and from time to time

the unavoidable thought arose persistently within his mind that although

Yat Huang doubtless knew better than he did what the circumstances of

the future required, yet his manner of life for the past years was not

such that he could contemplate engaging in the occupation of buying and

selling porcelain clay with feelings of an overwhelming interest. Quang,

however, maintained with every manifestation of inspired assurance that

Yat Huang was to be commended down to the smallest detail, inasmuch

as proficiency in the use of both blunt and sharp-edged weapons, and a

faculty for passing undetected through the midst of an encamped body

of foemen, fitted a person for the every-day affairs of life above all

other accomplishments.

“Without doubt the very accomplished Yat Huan is well advised on this

point,” continued Quang, “for even this mentally short-sighted person

can call up within his understanding numerous specific incidents in the

ordinary career of one engaged in the commerce of porcelain clay when

such attainments would be of great remunerative benefit. Does the

well-endowed Yin think, for example, that even the most depraved person

would endeavour to gain an advantage over him in the matter of buying or

selling porcelain clay if he fully understood the fact that the one with

whom he was trafficking could unhesitatingly transfix four persons with

one arrow at the distance of a hundred paces? Or to what advantage would

it be that a body of unscrupulous outcasts who owned a field of inferior

clay should surround it with drawn swords by day and night, endeavouring

meanwhile to dispose of it as material of the finest quality, if the one

whom they endeavoured to ensnare in this manner possessed the power of

being able to pass through their ranks unseen and examine the clay at

his leisure?”

“In the cases to which reference has been made, the possession of those

qualities would undoubtedly be of considerable use,” admitted Yin;

“yet, in spite of his entire ignorance of commercial matters, this one

has a confident feeling that it would be more profitable to avoid such

very doubtful forms of barter altogether rather than spend eight years

in acquiring the arts by which to defeat them. That, however, is a

question which concerns this person’s virtuous and engaging father more

than his unworthy self, and his only regret is that no opportunity has

offered by which he might prove that he has applied himself diligently

to your instruction and example, O amiable Quang.”

It had long been a regret to Quang also that no incident of a disturbing

nature had arisen whereby Yin could have shown himself proficient in the

methods of defence and attack which he had taught him. This deficiency

he had endeavoured to overcome, as far as possible, by constructing

life-like models of all the most powerful and ferocious types of

warriors and the fiercest and most relentless animals of the forest,

so that Yin might become familiar with their appearance and discover in

what manner each could be the most expeditiously engaged.

“Nevertheless,” remarked Quang, on an occasion when Yin appeared to be

covered with honourable pride at having approached an unusually large

and repulsive-looking tiger so stealthily that had the animal been

really alive it would certainly have failed to perceive him, “such

accomplishments are by no means to be regarded as conclusive in

themselves. To steal insidiously upon a destructively-included wild

beast and transfix it with one well-directed blow of a spear is attended

by difficulties and emotions which are entirely absent in the case of a

wickerwork animal covered with canvas-cloth, no matter how deceptive in

appearance the latter may be.”

To afford Yin a more trustworthy example of how he should engage with

an adversary of formidable proportions, Quang resolved upon an ingenious

plan. Procuring the skin of a grey wolf, he concealed himself within it,

and in the early morning, while the mist-damp was still upon the ground,

he set forth to meet Yin, who had on a previous occasion spoken to

him of his intention to be at a certain spot at such an hour. In this

conscientious enterprise, the painstaking Quang would doubtless have

been successful, and Yin gained an assured proficiency and experience,

had it not chanced that on the journey Quang encountered a labourer of

low caste who was crossing the enclosed ground on his way to the rice

field in which he worked. This contemptible and inopportune person,

not having at any period of his existence perfected himself in the

recognized and elegant methods of attack and defence, did not act in

the manner which would assuredly have been adopted by Yin in similar

circumstances, and for which Quang would have been fully prepared. On

the contrary, without the least indication of what his intention was,

he suddenly struck Quang, who was hesitating for a moment what action to

take, a most intolerable blow with a formidable staff which he carried.

The stroke in question inflicted itself upon Quang upon that part of the

body where the head becomes connected with the neck, and would certainly

have been followed by others of equal force and precision had not Quang

in the meantime decided that the most dignified course for him to adopt

would be to disclose his name and titles without delay. Upon learning

these facts, the one who stood before him became very grossly and

offensively amused, and having taken from Quang everything of value

which he carried among his garments, went on his way, leaving Yin’s

instructor to retrace his steps in unendurable dejection, as he then

found that he possessed no further interest whatever in the undertaking.

When Yat Huang was satisfied that his son was sufficiently skilled in

the various arts of warfare, he called him to his inner chamber, and

having barred the door securely, he placed Yin under a very binding oath

not to reveal, until an appointed period, the matter which he was going

to put before him.

“From father to son, in unbroken line for ten generations, has such a

custom been observed,” he said, “for the course of events is not to be

lightly entered upon. At the commencement of that cycle, which period is

now fully fifteen score years ago, a very wise person chanced to incur

the displeasure of the Emperor of that time, and being in consequence

driven out of the capital, he fled to the mountains. There his subtle

discernment and the pure and solitary existence which he led resulted in

his becoming endowed with faculties beyond those possessed by ordinary

beings. When he felt the end of his earthly career to be at hand he

descended into the plain, where, in a state of great destitution and

bodily anguish, he was discovered by the one whom this person has

referred to as the first of the line of ancestors. In return for the

care and hospitality with which he was unhesitatingly received,

the admittedly inspired hermit spent the remainder of his days in

determining the destinies of his rescuer’s family and posterity. It

is an undoubted fact that he predicted how one would, by well-directed

enterprise and adventure, rise to a position of such eminence in the

land that he counselled the details to be kept secret, lest the envy

and hostility of the ambitious and unworthy should be raised. From this

cause it has been customary to reveal the matter fully from father

to son, at stated periods, and the setting out of the particulars in

written words has been severely discouraged. Wise as this precaution

certainly was, it has resulted in a very inconvenient state of things;

for a remote ancestor--the fifth in line from the beginning--experienced

such vicissitudes that he returned from his travels in a state of most

abandoned idiocy, and when the time arrived that he should, in turn,

communicate to his son, he was only able to repeat over and over again

the name of the pious hermit to whom the family was so greatly indebted,

coupling it each time with a new and markedly offensive epithet. The

essential details of the undertaking having in this manner passed beyond

recall, succeeding generations, which were merely acquainted with the

fact that a very prosperous future awaited the one who fulfilled the

conditions, have in vain attempted to conform to them. It is not an

alluring undertaking, inasmuch as nothing of the method to be pursued

can be learned, except that it was the custom of the early ones, who

held the full knowledge, to set out from home and return after a period

of years. Yet so clearly expressed was the prophecy, and so great the

reward of the successful, that all have eagerly journeyed forth when

the time came, knowing nothing beyond that which this person has now

unfolded to you.”

When Yat Huang reached the end of the matter which it was his duty to

disclose, Yin for some time pondered the circumstances before replying.

In spite of a most engaging reverence for everything of a sacred nature,

he could not consider the inspired remark of the well-intentioned hermit

without feelings of a most persistent doubt, for it occurred to him that

if the person in question had really been as wise as he was represented

to be, he might reasonably have been expected to avoid the unaccountable

error of offending the enlightened and powerful Emperor under whom he

lived. Nevertheless, the prospect of engaging in the trade of porcelain

clay was less attractive in his eyes than that of setting forth upon a

journey of adventure, so that at length he expressed his willingness to

act after the manner of those who had gone before him.

This decision was received by Yat Huang with an equal intermingling of

the feelings of delight and concern, for although he would have by no

means pleasurably contemplated Yin breaking through a venerable and

esteemed custom, he was unable to put entirely from him the thought of

the degrading fate which had overtaken the fifth in line who made the

venture. It was, indeed, to guard Yin as much as possible against

the dangers to which he would become exposed, if he determined on the

expedition, that the entire course of his training had been selected. In

order that no precaution of a propitious nature should be neglected, Yat

Huang at once despatched written words of welcome to all with whom he

was acquainted, bidding them partake of a great banquet which he was

preparing to mark the occasion of his son’s leave-taking. Every variety

of sacrifice was offered up to the controlling deities, both good and

bad; the ten ancestors were continuously exhorted to take Yin under

their special protection, and sets of verses recording his virtues and

ambitions were freely distributed among the necessitous and low-caste

who could not be received at the feast.

The dinner itself exceeded in magnificence any similar event that

had ever taken place in Ching-toi. So great was the polished ceremony

observed on the occasion, that each guest had half a score of cups of

the finest apricot-tea successively placed before him and taken away

untasted, while Yat Huang went to each in turn protesting vehemently

that the honour of covering such pure-minded and distinguished persons

was more than his badly designed roof could reasonably bear, and

wittingly giving an entrancing air of reality to the spoken compliment

by begging them to move somewhat to one side so that they might escape

the heavy central beam if the event which he alluded to chanced to take

place. After several hours had been spent in this congenial occupation,

Yat Huang proceeded to read aloud several of the sixteen discourses on

education which, taken together, form the discriminating and infallible

example of conduct known as the Holy Edict. As each detail was dwelt

upon Yin arose from his couch and gave his deliberate testimony that

all the required tests and rites had been observed in his own case.

The first part of the repast was then partaken of, the nature of the

ingredients and the manner of preparing them being fully explained,

and in a like manner through each succeeding one of the four-and-forty

courses. At the conclusion Yin again arose, being encouraged by the

repeated uttering of his name by those present, and with extreme modesty

and brilliance set forth his manner of thinking concerning all subjects

with which he was acquainted.

Early on the morning of the following day Yin set out on his travels,

entirely unaccompanied, and carrying with him nothing beyond a sum of

money, a silk robe, and a well-tried and reliable spear. For many days

he journeyed in a northerly direction, without encountering anything

sufficiently unusual to engage his attention. This, however, was

doubtless part of a pre-arranged scheme so that he should not be drawn

from a destined path, for at a small village lying on the southern shore

of a large lake, called by those around Silent Water, he heard of the

existence of a certain sacred island, distant a full day’s sailing,

which was barren of all forms of living things, and contained only a

single gigantic rock of divine origin and majestic appearance. Many

persons, the villagers asserted, had sailed to the island in the hope

of learning the portent of the rock, but none ever returned, and they

themselves avoided coming even within sight of it; for the sacred stone,

they declared, exercised an evil influence over their ships, and would,

if permitted, draw them out of their course and towards itself. For this

reason Yin could find no guide, whatever reward he offered, who would

accompany him; but having with difficulty succeeded in hiring a small

boat of inconsiderable value, he embarked with food, incense, and

materials for building fires, and after rowing consistently for nearly

the whole of the day, came within sight of the island at evening.

Thereafter the necessity of further exertion ceased, for, as they of the

village had declared would be the case, the vessel moved gently forward,

in an unswerving line, without being in any way propelled, and reaching

its destination in a marvellously short space of time, passed behind a

protecting spur of land and came to rest. It then being night, Yin did

no more than carry his stores to a place of safety, and after lighting

a sacrificial fire and prostrating himself before the rock, passed into

the Middle Air.

In the morning Yin’s spirit came back to the earth amid the sound of

music of a celestial origin, which ceased immediately he recovered full

consciousness. Accepting this manifestation as an omen of Divine favour,

Yin journeyed towards the centre of the island where the rock stood,

at every step passing the bones of innumerable ones who had come on a

similar quest to his, and perished. Many of these had left behind them

inscriptions on wood or bone testifying their deliberate opinion of the

sacred rock, the island, their protecting deities, and the entire train

of circumstances, which had resulted in their being in such a condition.

These were for the most part of a maledictory and unencouraging nature,

so that after reading a few, Yin endeavoured to pass without being in

any degree influenced by such ill-judged outbursts.

“Accursed be the ancestors of this tormented one to four generations

back!” was prominently traced upon an unusually large shoulder-blade.

“May they at this moment be simmering in a vat of unrefined dragon’s

blood, as a reward for having so undiscriminatingly reared the person

who inscribes these words only to attain this end!” “Be warned, O later

one, by the signs around!” Another and more practical-minded person had

written: “Retreat with all haste to your vessel, and escape while

there is yet time. Should you, by chance, again reach land through this

warning, do not neglect, out of an emotion of gratitude, to burn an

appropriate amount of sacrifice paper for the lessening of the torments

of the spirit of Li-Kao,” to which an unscrupulous one, who was plainly

desirous of sharing in the benefit of the requested sacrifice, without

suffering the exertion of inscribing a warning after the amiable manner

of Li-Kao, had added the words, “and that of Huan Sin.”

Halting at a convenient distance from one side of the rock which,

without being carved by any person’s hand, naturally resembled the

symmetrical countenance of a recumbent dragon (which he therefore

conjectured to be the chief point of the entire mass), Yin built

his fire and began an unremitting course of sacrifice and respectful

ceremony. This manner of conduct he observed conscientiously for

the space of seven days. Towards the end of that period a feeling of

unendurable dejection began to possess him, for his stores of all kinds

were beginning to fail, and he could not entirely put behind him the

memory of the various well-intentioned warnings which he had received,

or the sight of the fleshless ones who had lined his path. On the eighth

day, being weak with hunger and, by reason of an intolerable thirst,

unable to restrain his body any longer in the spot where he had hitherto

continuously prostrated himself nine-and-ninety times each hour without

ceasing, he rose to his feet and retraced his steps to the boat in order

that he might fill his water-skins and procure a further supply of food.

With a complicated emotion, in which was present every abandoned and

disagreeable thought to which a person becomes a prey in moments of

exceptional mental and bodily anguish, he perceived as soon as

he reached the edge of the water that the boat, upon which he was

confidently relying to carry him back when all else failed, had

disappeared as entirely as the smoke from an extinguished opium pipe.

At this sight Yin clearly understood the meaning of Li-Kao’s unregarded

warning, and recognized that nothing could now save him from adding his

incorruptible parts to those of the unfortunate ones whose unhappy

fate had, seven days ago, engaged his refined pity. Unaccountably

strengthened in body by the indignation which possessed him, and

inspired with a virtuous repulsion at the treacherous manner of behaving

on the part of those who guided his destinies, he hastened back to

his place of obeisance, and perceiving that the habitually placid and

introspective expression on the dragon face had imperceptibly changed

into one of offensive cunning and unconcealed contempt, he snatched up

his spear and, without the consideration of a moment, hurled it at

a score of paces distance full into the sacred but nevertheless very

unprepossessing face before him.

At the instant when the presumptuous weapon touched the holy stone the

entire intervening space between the earth and the sky was filled with

innumerable flashes of forked and many-tongued lightning, so that the

island had the appearance of being the scene of a very extensive but

somewhat badly-arranged display of costly fireworks. At the same

time the thunder rolled among the clouds and beneath the sea in an

exceedingly disconcerting manner. At the first indication of these

celestial movements a sudden blindness came upon Yin, and all power of

thought or movement forsook him; nevertheless, he experienced an emotion

of flight through the air, as though borne upwards upon the back of a

winged creature. When this emotion ceased, the blindness went from him

as suddenly and entirely as if a cloth had been pulled away from his

eyes, and he perceived that he was held in the midst of a boundless

space, with no other object in view than the sacred rock, which had

opened, as it were, revealing a mighty throng within, at the sight of

whom Yin’s internal organs trembled as they would never have moved at

ordinary danger, for it was put into his spirit that these in whose

presence he stood were the sacred Emperors of his country from the

earliest time until the usurpation of the Chinese throne by the

devouring Tartar hordes from the North.

As Yin gazed in fear-stricken amazement, a knowledge of the various Pure

Ones who composed the assembly came upon him. He understood that the

three unclad and commanding figures which stood together were the

Emperors of the Heaven, Earth, and Man, whose reigns covered a space of

more than eighty thousand years, commencing from the time when the world

began its span of existence. Next to them stood one wearing a robe of

leopard-skin, his hand resting upon a staff of a massive club, while on

his face the expression of tranquillity which marked his predecessors

had changed into one of alert wakefulness; it was the Emperor of Houses,

whose reign marked the opening of the never-ending strife between man

and all other creatures. By his side stood his successor, the Emperor of

Fire, holding in his right hand the emblem of the knotted cord, by which

he taught man to cultivate his mental faculties, while from his mouth

issued smoke and flame, signifying that by the introduction of fire he

had raised his subjects to a state of civilized life.

On the other side of the boundless chamber which seemed to be contained

within the rocks were Fou-Hy, Tchang-Ki, Tcheng-Nung, and Huang,

standing or reclining together. The first of these framed the calendar,

organized property, thought out the eight Essential Diagrams, encouraged

the various branches of hunting, and the rearing of domestic animals,

and instituted marriage. From his couch floated melodious sounds

in remembrance of his discovery of the property of stringed woods.

Tchang-Ki, who manifested the property of herbs and growing plants, wore

a robe signifying his attainments by means of embroidered symbols.

His hand rested on the head of the dragon, while at his feet flowed a

bottomless canal of the purest water. The discovery of written letters

by Tcheng-Nung, and his ingenious plan of grouping them after the manner

of the constellations of stars, was emblemized in a similar manner,

while Huang, or the Yellow Emperor, was surrounded by ores of the

useful and precious metals, weapons of warfare, written books, silks

and articles of attire, coined money, and a variety of objects, all

testifying to his ingenuity and inspired energy.

These illustrious ones, being the greatest, were the first to take

Yin’s attention, but beyond them he beheld an innumerable concourse of

Emperors who not infrequently outshone their majestic predecessors in

the richness of their apparel and the magnificence of the jewels which

they wore. There Yin perceived Hung-Hoang, who first caused the chants

to be collected, and other rulers of the Tcheon dynasty; Yong-Tching,

who compiled the Holy Edict; Thang rulers whose line is rightly called

“the golden,” from the unsurpassed excellence of the composed verses

which it produced; renowned Emperors of the versatile Han dynasty; and,

standing apart, and shunned by all, the malignant and narrow-minded

Tsing-Su-Hoang, who caused the Sacred Books to be burned.

Even while Yin looked and wondered, in great fear, a rolling voice,

coming from one who sat in the midst of all, holding in his right hand

the sun, and in his left the moon, sounded forth, like the music of many

brass instruments playing in unison. It was the First Man who spoke.

“Yin, son of Yat Huang, and creature of the Lower Part,” he said,

“listen well to the words I speak, for brief is the span of your

tarrying in the Upper Air, nor will the utterance I now give forth ever

come unto your ears again, either on the earth, or when, blindly groping

in the Middle Distance, your spirit takes its nightly flight. They who

are gathered around, and whose voices I speak, bid me say this: Although

immeasurably above you in all matters, both of knowledge and of power,

yet we greet you as one who is well-intentioned, and inspired with

honourable ambition. Had you been content to entreat and despair, as did

all the feeble and incapable ones whose white bones formed your pathway,

your ultimate fate would have in no wise differed from theirs. But

inasmuch as you held yourself valiantly, and, being taken, raised an

instinctive hand in return, you have been chosen; for the day to mute

submission has, for the time or for ever, passed away, and the hour is

when China shall be saved, not by supplication, but by the spear.”

“A state of things which would have been highly unnecessary if I had

been permitted to carry out my intention fully, and restore man to his

prehistoric simplicity,” interrupted Tsin-Su-Hoang. “For that reason,

when the voice of the assemblage expresses itself, it must be understood

that it represents in no measure the views of Tsin-Su-Hoang.”

“In the matter of what has gone before, and that which will follow

hereafter,” continued the Voice dispassionately, “Yin, the son

of Yat-Huang, must concede that it is in no part the utterance of

Tsin-Su-Hoang--Tsin-Su-Hoang who burned the Sacred Books.”

At the mention of the name and offence of this degraded being a great

sound went up from the entire multitude--a universal cry of execration,

not greatly dissimilar from that which may be frequently heard in the

crowded Temple of Impartiality when the one whose duty it is to take up,

at a venture, the folded papers, announces that the sublime Emperor,

or some mandarin of exalted rank, has been so fortunate as to hold

the winning number in the Annual State Lottery. So vengeance-laden and

mournful was the combined and evidently preconcerted wail, that Yin

was compelled to shield his ears against it; yet the inconsiderable

Tsin-Su-Hoang, on whose account it was raised, seemed in no degree to

be affected by it, he, doubtless, having become hardened by hearing

a similar outburst, at fixed hours, throughout interminable cycles of

time.

When the last echo of the cry had passed away the Voice continued to

speak.

“Soon the earth will again receive you, Yin,” it said, “for it is not

respectful that a lower one should be long permitted to gaze upon our

exalted faces. Yet when you go forth and stand once more among men this

is laid on you: that henceforth you are as a being devoted to a fixed

and unchanging end, and whatever moves towards the restoring of the

throne of the Central Empire the outcast but unalterably sacred line of

its true sovereigns shall have your arm and mind. By what combination

of force and stratagem this can be accomplished may not be honourably

revealed by us, the all-knowing. Nevertheless, omens and guidance shall

not be lacking from time to time, and from the beginning the weapon by

which you have attained to this distinction shall be as a sign of our

favour and protection over you.”

When the Voice made an end of speaking the sudden blindness came upon

Yin, as it had done before, and from the sense of motion which he

experienced, he conjectured that he was being conveyed back to the

island. Undoubtedly this was the case, for presently there came upon him

the feeling that he was awakening from a deep and refreshing sleep,

and opening his eyes, which he now found himself able to do without

any difficulty, he immediately discovered that he was reclining at full

length on the ground, and at a distance of about a score of paces from

the dragon head. His first thought was to engage in a lengthy course

of self-abasement before it, but remembering the words which had been

spoken to him while in the Upper Air, he refrained, and even ventured to

go forward with a confident but somewhat self-deprecatory air, to

regain the spear, which he perceived lying at the foot of the rock. With

feelings of a reassuring nature he then saw that the very undesirable

expression which he had last beheld upon the dragon face had melted into

one of encouraging urbanity and benignant esteem.

Close by the place where he had landed he discovered his boat, newly

furnished with wine and food of a much more attractive profusion than

that which he had purchased in the village. Embarking in it, he made as

though he would have returned to the south, but the spear which he held

turned within his grasp, and pointed in an exactly opposite direction.

Regarding this fact as an express command on the part of the Deities,

Yin turned his boat to the north, and in the space of two days’

time--being continually guided by the fixed indication of the spear--he

reached the shore and prepared to continue his travels in the same

direction, upheld and inspired by the knowledge that henceforth he moved

under the direct influence of very powerful spirits.

IX.

THE ILL-REGULATED DESTINY OF KIN YEN, THE PICTURE-MAKER

As recorded by himself before his sudden departure from Peking,

owing to circumstances which are made plain in the following

narrative.

There are moments in the life of a person when the saying of the wise

Ni-Hyu that “Misfortune comes to all men and to most women” is endowed

with double force. At such times the faithful child of the Sun is a prey

to the whitest and most funereal thoughts, and even the inspired

wisdom of his illustrious ancestors seems more than doubtful, while the

continued inactivity of the Sacred Dragon appears for the time to give

colour to the scoffs of the Western barbarian. A little while ago these

misgivings would have found no resting-place in the bosom of the writer.

Now, however--but the matter must be made clear from the beginning.

The name of the despicable person who here sets forth his immature story

is Kin Yen, and he is a native of Kia-Lu in the Province of Che-Kiang.

Having purchased from a very aged man the position of Hereditary

Instructor in the Art of Drawing Birds and Flowers, he gave lessons in

these accomplishments until he had saved sufficient money to journey

to Peking. Here it was his presumptuous intention to learn the art of

drawing figures in order that he might illustrate printed leaves of

a more distinguished class than those which would accept what true

politeness compels him to call his exceedingly unsymmetrical pictures

of birds and flowers. Accordingly, when the time arrived, he disposed of

his Hereditary Instructorship, having first ascertained in the interests

of his pupils that his successor was a person of refined morals and

great filial piety.

Alas! it is well written, “The road to eminence lies through the cheap

and exceedingly uninviting eating-houses.” In spite of this person’s

great economy, and of his having begged his way from Kia-Lu to Peking in

the guise of a pilgrim, journeying to burn incense in the sacred Temple

of Truth near that city, when once within the latter place his taels

melted away like the smile of a person of low class when he discovers

that the mandarin’s stern words were not intended as a jest. Moreover,

he found that the story-makers of Peking, receiving higher rewards

than those at Kia-Lu, considered themselves bound to introduce living

characters into all their tales, and in consequence the very ornamental

drawings of birds and flowers which he had entwined into a legend

entitled “The Last Fight of the Heaven-sent Tcheng”--a story which

had been entrusted to him for illustration as a test of his skill--was

returned to him with a communication in which the writer revealed his

real meaning by stating contrary facts. It therefore became necessary

that he should become competent in the art of drawing figures without

delay, and with this object he called at the picture-room of Tieng Lin,

a person whose experience was so great that he could, without discomfort

to himself, draw men and women of all classes, both good and bad. When

the person who is setting forth this narrative revealed to Tieng Lin the

utmost amount of money he could afford to give for instruction in the

art of drawing living figures, Tieng Lin’s face became as overcast as

the sky immediately before the Great Rains, for in his ignorance of

this incapable person’s poverty he had treated him with equality and

courtesy, nor had he kept him waiting in the mean room on the plea that

he was at that moment closeted with the Sacred Emperor. However, upon

receiving an assurance that a rumour would be spread in which the number

of taels should be multiplied by ten, and that the sum itself should be

brought in advance, Tieng Lin promised to instruct this person in the

art of drawing five characters, which, he said, would be sufficient

to illustrate all stories except those by the most expensive and

highly-rewarded story-tellers--men who have become so proficient that

they not infrequently introduce a score or more of living persons into

their tales without confusion.

After considerable deliberation, this unassuming person selected the

following characters, judging them to be the most useful, and the most

readily applicable to all phases and situations of life:

1. A bad person, wearing a long dark pigtail and smoking an opium pipe.

His arms to be folded, and his clothes new and very expensive.

2. A woman of low class. One who removes dust and useless things from

the rooms of the over-fastidious and of those who have long nails; she

to be carrying her trade-signs.

3. A person from Pe-ling, endowed with qualities which cause the

beholder to be amused. This character to be especially designed to go

with the short sayings which remove gravity.

4. One who, having incurred the displeasure of the sublime Emperor, has

been decapitated in consequence.

5. An ordinary person of no striking or distinguished appearance. One

who can be safely introduced in all places and circumstances without

great fear of detection.

After many months spent in constant practice and in taking measurements,

this unenviable person attained a very high degree of proficiency, and

could draw any of the five characters without hesitation. With renewed

hope, therefore, he again approached those who sit in easy-chairs, and

concealing his identity (for they are stiff at bending, and when once

a picture-maker is classed as “of no good” he remains so to the end, in

spite of change), he succeeded in getting entrusted with a story by

the elegant and refined Kyen Tal. This writer, as he remembered with

distrust, confines his distinguished efforts entirely to the doings of

sailors and of those connected with the sea, and this tale, indeed, he

found upon reading to be the narrative of how a Hang-Chow junk and its

crew, consisting mostly of aged persons, were beguiled out of their

course by an exceedingly ill-disposed dragon, and wrecked upon an island

of naked barbarians. It was, therefore, with a somewhat heavy stomach

that this person set himself the task of arranging his five characters

as so to illustrate the words of the story.

The sayings of the ancient philosopher Tai Loo are indeed very subtle,

and the truth of his remark, “After being disturbed in one’s dignity by

a mandarin’s foot it is no unusual occurrence to fall flat on the

face in crossing a muddy street,” was now apparent. Great as was the

disadvantage owing to the nature of the five characters, this became as

nothing when it presently appeared that the avaricious and clay-souled

Tieng Lin, taking advantage of the blindness of this person’s

enthusiasm, had taught him the figures so that they all gazed in the

same direction. In consequence of this it would have been impossible

that two should be placed as in the act of conversing together had not

the noble Kyen Tal been inspired to write that “his companions turned

from him in horror.” This incident the ingenious person who is recording

these facts made the subject of three separate drawings, and having

in one or two other places effected skilful changes in the writing, so

similar in style to the strokes of the illustrious Kyen Tal as to

be undetectable, he found little difficulty in making use of all his

characters. The risks of the future, however, were too great to be run

with impunity; therefore it was arranged, by means of money--for this

person was fast becoming acquainted with the ways of Peking--that an

emissary from one who sat in an easy-chair should call upon him for a

conference, the narrative of which appeared in this form in the _Peking

Printed Leaves of Thrice-distilled Truth:_

The brilliant and amiable young picture-maker Kin Yen, in spite of

the immediate and universal success of his accomplished efforts,

is still quite rotund in intellect, nor is he, if we may use a

form of speaking affected by our friends across the Hoang Hai,

“suffering from swollen feet.” A person with no recognized

position, but one who occasionally does inferior work of this

nature for us, recently surprised Kin Yen without warning, and

found him in his sumptuously appointed picture-room, busy with

compasses and tracing-paper. About the place were scattered in

elegant confusion several of his recent masterpieces. From the

subsequent conversation we are in a position to make it known that

in future this refined and versatile person will confine himself

entirely to illustrations of processions, funerals, armies on the

march, persons pursued by others, and kindred subjects which

appeal strongly to his imagination. Kin Yen has severe emotions on

the subject of individuality in art, and does not hesitate to

express himself forcibly with reference to those who are content

to degrade the names of their ancestors by turning out what he

wittily describes as “so much of varied mediocrity.”

The prominence obtained by this pleasantly-composed notice--for it was

copied by others who were unaware of the circumstance of its origin--had

the desired effect. In future, when one of those who sit in easy-chairs

wished for a picture after the kind mentioned, he would say to his

lesser one: “Oh, send to the graceful and versatile Kin Yen; he becomes

inspired on the subject of funerals,” or persons escaping from prison,

or families walking to the temple, or whatever it might be. In that way

this narrow-minded and illiterate person was soon both looked at and

rich, so that it was his daily practice to be carried, in silk garments,

past the houses of those who had known him in poverty, and on these

occasions he would puff out his cheeks and pull his moustaches, looking

fiercely from side to side.

True are the words written in the elegant and distinguished Book of

Verses: “Beware lest when being kissed by the all-seeing Emperor, you

step upon the elusive banana-peel.” It was at the height of eminence in

this altogether degraded person’s career that he encountered the being

who led him on to his present altogether too lamentable condition.

Tien Nung is the earthly name by which is known she who combines all the

most illustrious attributes which have been possessed of women since the

days of the divine Fou-Hy. Her father is a person of very gross habits,

and lives by selling inferior merchandise covered with some of good

quality. Upon past occasions, when under the direct influence of Tien,

and in the hope of gaining some money benefit, this person may have

spoken of him in terms of praise, and may even have recommended friends

to entrust articles of value to him, or to procure goods on his advice.

Now, however, he records it as his unalterable decision that the father

of Tien Nung is by profession a person who obtains goods by stratagem,

and that, moreover, it is impossible to gain an advantage over him on

matters of exchange.

The events that have happened prove the deep wisdom of Li Pen when

he exclaimed “The whitest of pigeons, no matter how excellent in the

silk-hung chamber, is not to be followed on the field of battle.” Tien

herself was all that the most exacting of persons could demand, but

her opinions on the subject of picture-making were not formed by heavy

thought, and it would have been well if this had been borne in mind by

this person. One morning he chanced to meet her while carrying open in

his hands four sets of printed leaves containing his pictures.

“I have observed,” said Tien, after the usual personal inquiries had

been exchanged, “that the renowned Kin Yen, who is the object of the

keenest envy among his brother picture-makers, so little regards the

sacredness of his accomplished art that never by any chance does he

depict persons of the very highest excellence. Let not the words of an

impetuous maiden disarrange his digestive organs if they should seem

too bold to the high-souled Kin Yen, but this matter has, since she has

known him, troubled the eyelids of Tien. Here,” she continued, taking

from this person’s hand one of the printed leaves which he was carrying,

“in this illustration of persons returning from extinguishing a fire,

is there one who appears to possess those qualities which appeal to

all that is intellectual and competitive within one? Can it be that the

immaculate Kin Yen is unacquainted with the subtle distinction between

the really select and the vastly ordinary? Ah, undiscriminating Kin Yen!

are not the eyelashes of the person who is addressing you as threads

of fine gold to junk’s cables when compared with those of the extremely

commonplace female who is here pictured in the art of carrying a bucket?

Can the most refined lack of vanity hide from you the fact that your own

person is infinitely rounder than this of the evilly-intentioned-looking

individual with the opium pipe? O blind Kin Yen!”

Here she fled in honourable confusion, leaving this person standing in

the street, astounded, and a prey to the most distinguished emotions of

a complicated nature.

“Oh, Tien,” he cried at length, “inspired by those bright eyes, narrower

than the most select of the three thousand and one possessed by the

sublime Buddha, the almost fallen Kin Yen will yet prove himself worthy

of your esteemed consideration. He will, without delay, learn to draw

two new living persons, and will incorporate in them the likenesses

which you have suggested.”

Returning swiftly to his abode, he therefore inscribed and despatched

this letter, in proof of his resolve:

“To the Heaven-sent human chrysanthemum, in whose body reside the

Celestial Principles and the imprisoned colours of the rainbow.

“From the very offensive and self-opinionated picture-maker.

“Henceforth this person will take no rest, nor eat any but the commonest

food, until he shall have carried out the wishes of his one Jade Star,

she whose teeth he is not worthy to blacken.

“When Kin Yen has been entrusted with a story which contains a being in

some degree reflecting the character of Tien, he will embellish it with

her irreproachable profile and come to hear her words. Till then he bids

her farewell.”

From that moment most of this person’s time was necessarily spent in

learning to draw the two new characters, and in consequence of this he

lost much work, and, indeed, the greater part of the connexion which

he had been at such pains to form gradually slipped away from him. Many

months passed before he was competent to reproduce persons resembling

Tien and himself, for in this he was unassisted by Tieng Lin, and his

progress was slow.

At length, being satisfied, he called upon the least fierce of those

who sit in easy-chairs, and requested that he might be entrusted with a

story for picture-making.

“We should have been covered with honourable joy to set in operation

the brush of the inspired Kin Yen,” replied the other with agreeable

condescension; “only at the moment, it does not chance that we have

before us any stories in which funerals, or beggars being driven from

the city, form the chief incidents. Perhaps if the polished Kin Yen

should happen to be passing this ill-constructed office in about six

months’ time--”

“The brush of Kin Yen will never again depict funerals, or labourers

arranging themselves to receive pay or similar subjects,” exclaimed this

person impetuously, “for, as it is well said, ‘The lightning discovers

objects which the paper-lantern fails to reveal.’ In future none

but tales dealing with the most distinguished persons shall have his

attention.”

“If this be the true word of the dignified Kin Yen, it is possible that

we may be able to animate his inspired faculties,” was the response.

“But in that case, as a new style must be in the nature of an

experiment, and as our public has come to regard Kin Yen as the

great exponent of Art Facing in One Direction, we cannot continue the

exceedingly liberal payment with which we have been accustomed to reward

his elegant exertions.”

“Provided the story be suitable, that is a matter of less importance,”

replied this person.

“The story,” said the one in the easy-chair, “is by the refined

Tong-king, and it treats of the high-minded and conscientious doubts

of one who would become a priest of Fo. When preparing for this

distinguished office he discovers within himself leanings towards

the religion of Lao-Tse. His illustrious scruples are enhanced by his

affection for Wu Ping, who now appears in the story.”

“And the ending?” inquired this person, for it was desirable that the

two should marry happily.

“The inimitable stories of Tong-king never have any real ending, and

this one, being in his most elevated style, has even less end than

most of them. But the whole narrative is permeated with the odour of

joss-sticks and honourable high-mindedness, and the two characters are

both of noble birth.”

As it might be some time before another story so suitable should be

offered, or one which would afford so good an opportunity of wafting

incense to Tien, and of displaying her incomparable outline in dignified

and magnanimous attitudes, this was eagerly accepted, and for the next

week this obscure person spent all his days and nights in picturing the

lovely Tien and his debased self in the characters of the nobly-born

young priest of Fo and Wu Ping. The pictures finished, he caused them to

be carefully conveyed to the office, and then, sitting down, spent

many hours in composing the following letter, to be sent to Tien,

accompanying a copy of the printed leaves wherein the story and his

drawing should appear:

“When the light has for a period been hidden from a person, it is

no uncommon thing for him to be struck blind on gazing at the sun;

therefore, if the sublime Tien values the eyes of Kin Yen, let her hide

herself behind a gauze screen on his approach.

“The trembling words of Tien have sunk deep into the inside of Kin Yen

and become part of his being. Never again can he depict persons of the

quality and in the position he was wont to do.

“With this he sends his latest efforts. In each case he conceives his

drawings to be the pictures of the written words; in the noble Tien’s

case it is undoubtedly so, in his own he aspires to it. Doubtless the

unobtrusive Tien would make no claim to the character and manner of

behaving of the one in the story, yet Kin Yen confidently asserts that

she is to the other as the glove is to the hand, and he is filled with

the most intelligent delight at being able to exhibit her in her true

robes, by which she will be known to all who see her, in spite of her

dignified protests. Kin Yen hopes; he will come this evening after

sunset.”

The week which passed between the finishing of the pictures and the

appearance of the eminent printed leaves containing them was the longest

in this near-sighted person’s ill-spent life. But at length the day

arrived, and going with exceedingly mean haste to the place of sale, he

purchased a copy and sent it, together with the letter of his honourable

intention, on which he had bestowed so much care, to Tien.

Not till then did it occur to this inconsiderable one that the

impetuousness of his action was ill-judged; for might it not be that the

pictures were evilly-printed, or that the delicate and fragrant words

painting the character of the one who now bore the features of Tien had

undergone some change?

To satisfy himself, scarce as taels had become with him, he purchased

another copy.

There are many exalted sayings of the wise and venerable Confucious

constructed so as to be of service and consolation in moments of strong

mental distress. These for the greater part recommend tranquillity

of mind, a complete abnegation of the human passions and the

like behaviour. The person who is here endeavouring to bring this

badly-constructed account of his dishonourable career to a close

pondered these for some moments after twice glancing through the matter

in the printed leaves, and then, finding the faculties of speech and

movement restored to him, procured a two-edged knife of distinguished

brilliance and went forth to call upon the one who sits in an

easy-chair.

“Behold,” said the lesser one, insidiously stepping in between this

person an the inner door, “my intellectual and all-knowing chief is not

here to-day. May his entirely insufficient substitute offer words of

congratulation to the inspired Kin Yen on his effective and striking

pictures in this week’s issue?”

“His altogether insufficient substitute,” answered this person, with

difficulty mastering his great rage, “may and shall offer words of

explanation to the inspired Kin Yen, setting forth the reason of his

pictures being used, not with the high-minded story of the elegant

Tong-king for which they were executed, but accompanying exceedingly

base, foolish, and ungrammatical words written by Klan-hi, the Peking

remover of gravity--words which will evermore brand the dew-like Tien

as a person of light speech and no refinement”; and in his agony this

person struck the lacquered table several times with his elegant knife.

“O Kin Yen,” exclaimed the lesser one, “this matter rests not here. It

is a thing beyond the sphere of the individual who is addressing you.

All he can tell is that the graceful Tong-king withdrew his exceedingly

tedious story for some reason at the final moment, and as your eminent

drawings had been paid for, my chief of the inner office decided to use

them with this story of Klan-hi. But surely it cannot be that there is

aught in the story to displease your illustrious personality?”

“Judge for yourself,” this person said, “first understanding that the

two immaculate characters figuring as the personages of the narrative

are exact copies of this dishonoured person himself and of the willowy

Tien, daughter of the vastly rich Pe-li-Chen, whom he was hopeful of

marrying.”

Selecting one of the least offensive of the passages in the work, this

unhappy person read the following immature and inelegant words:

“This well-satisfied writer of printed leaves had a highly-distinguished

time last night. After Chow had departed to see about food, and the junk

had been fastened up at the lock of Kilung, on the Yang-tse-Kiang, he

and the round-bodied Shang were journeying along the narrow path by the

river-side when the right leg of the graceful and popular person who

is narrating these events disappeared into the river. Suffering no

apprehension in the dark, but that the vanishing limb was the left leg

of Shang, this intelligent writer allowed his impassiveness to melt away

to an exaggerated degree; but at that moment the circumstance became

plain to the round-bodied Shang, who was in consequence very grossly

amused at the mishap and misapprehension of your good lord, the writer,

at the same time pointing out the matter as it really was. Then it

chanced that there came by one of the maidens who carry tea and jest for

small sums of money to the sitters at the little tables with round white

tops, at which this remarkable person, the confidant of many mandarins,

ever desirous of displaying his priceless power of removing gravity,

said to her:

“‘How much of gladness, Ning-Ning? By the Sacred Serpent this is plainly

your night out.’

“Perceiving the true facts of the predicament of this commendable

writer, she replied:

“‘Suffer not your illustrious pigtail to be removed, venerable Wang; for

in this maiden’s estimation it is indeed your night in.’

“There are times when this valued person wonders whether his method

of removing gravity be in reality very antique or quite new. On such

occasions the world, with all its schools, and those who interfere in

the concerns of others, continues to revolve around him. The wondrous

sky-lanterns come out silently two by two like to the crystallized music

of stringed woods. Then, in the mystery of no-noise, his head becomes

greatly enlarged with celestial and highly-profound thoughts; his

groping hand seems to touch matter which may be written out in his

impressive style and sold to those who print leaves, and he goes home to

write out such.”

When this person looked up after reading, with tears of shame in his

eyes, he perceived that the lesser one had cautiously disappeared.

Therefore, being unable to gain admittance to the inner office, he

returned to his home.

Here the remark of the omniscient Tai Loo again fixes itself upon the

attention. No sooner had this incapable person reached his house than he

became aware that a parcel had arrived for him from the still adorable

Tien. Retiring to a distance from it, he opened the accompanying letter

and read:

“When a virtuous maiden has been made the victim of a heartless jest or

a piece of coarse stupidity at a person’s hands, it is no uncommon thing

for him to be struck blind on meeting her father. Therefore, if the

degraded and evil-minded Kin Yen values his eyes, ears, nose, pigtail,

even his dishonourable breath, let him hide himself behind a fortified

wall at Pe-li-Chen’s approach.

“With this Tien returns everything she has ever accepted from Kin Yen.

She even includes the brace of puppies which she received anonymously

about a month ago, and which she did not eat, but kept for reasons of

her own--reasons entirely unconnected with the vapid and exceedingly

conceited Kin Yen.”

As though this letter, and the puppies of which this person now heard

for the first time, making him aware of the existence of a rival lover,

were not enough, there almost immediately arrived a letter from Tien’s

father:

“This person has taken the advice of those skilled in extorting money by

means of law forms, and he finds that Kin Yen has been guilty of a grave

and highly expensive act. This is increased by the fact that Tien had

conveyed his seemingly distinguished intentions to all her friends,

before whom she now stands in an exceedingly ungraceful attitude. The

machinery for depriving Kin Yen of all the necessaries of existence

shall be put into operation at once.”

At this point, the person who is now concluding his obscure and

commonplace history, having spent his last piece of money on joss-sticks

and incense-paper, and being convinced of the presence of the spirits of

his ancestors, is inspired to make the following prophecies: That Tieng

Lin, who imposed upon him in the matter of picture-making, shall come

to a sudden end, accompanied by great internal pains, after suffering

extreme poverty; that the one who sits in an easy-chair, together with

his lesser one and all who make stories for them, shall, while sailing

to a rice feast during the Festival of Flowers, be precipitated into the

water and slowly devoured by sea monsters, Klan-hi in particular being

tortured in the process; that Pel-li-Chen, the father of Tien, shall

be seized with the dancing sickness when in the presence of the august

Emperor, and being in consequence suspected of treachery, shall, to

prove the truth of his denials, be submitted to the tests of boiling

tar, red-hot swords, and of being dropped from a great height on to the

Sacred Stone of Goodness and Badness, in each of which he shall fail to

convince his judges or to establish his innocence, to the amusement of

all beholders.

These are the true words of Kin Yen, the picture-maker, who, having

unweighed his mind and exposed the avaricious villainy of certain

persons, is now retiring by night to a very select and hidden spot in

the Khingan Mountains.