I HE TRUE STORY OF AH Q, a representative work of Lu Hsun, is looked upon as a masterpiece in modern , of which Lu Hsun is a fotetunnet, This story was written in r92I, set in the of r9rr, the China of the period of the old-demo- ctatic revolution. It is the trage- dy of Ah Q, farm labourer, who sufiets a lifetime of humiliation and persecution, dreams of rev- olution and ends up on the execu- tion ground. The story colour- fully reflects the rural conditions in semi-feudal and semi-colonial China - a situation of sharp class contradictions and the peasant masses' demand for revolution. The last three chaptets of the book deal mainly with the bour- geois.ie, which led the Revolution of rgrr and refused to let the THE peasants take part in the revolu- TRUE STORY tionary sttuggle. These chapters criticize the weakness and tend- OFAHQ ency to comptomise of China's oational bourgeoisic.

The story penetratingly analyses the charactet of Ah Q, rvhose THE TRUE STORY OE' AHO

BY LU HSUN

FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS PEKING 1972 First Edition 195i Fifth Edition l9lZ

T'ranslatcd by- ?ry ,,%rrztTt' aod 3A4, %,

f, ' h .^ - ! -i',, !& ll r L

Printed in tbe People's Republic of Cbina 9) %',,o,, Pencil clrawing by Yual-ching forutents

CbtrPter Page 1 INTRODUCTiON I 2 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF AH Q'S VICTORIES 7 3 A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF A}I Q,S VICTORIES T4 4 THE TRAGEDY OF LOVtr 2t 5 TIIE PROBLEM OF LIVELIHOOD 2e 6 IROM RESTORATION TO DECLINII' 36 7 TI{E REVOLUTION 14 B BARRED F}TOM TFIE, REVOLUTION '2 9 T]TU GRAND FINALT, 6O

Abort the Autbor CHAPTER I

fntroduction

Fon several years flow I have been meaning to write the true story of Ah Q. But while wanting to rvrite I was in some trepidation, too, which goes to show that I am not one of those who achieve glory by rvriting; for an immortal pen has always been tequired to rccord the dceds of an immortal man, thc man becoming knorvn to postcrity through thc writing and the writing known to posterity through thc man - until finally it is not clear who is making whonr known. But in the cnd, as though possesscd by somc ficncl, d I always camc back to thc idea of writing thc story of Ah Q. And yct flo sooncr had I taken up my pen than I bccamc conscious of tremcndous difiiculties in writing this far-from- immortal work. Thc first was the qucstion of what to call it. Confucius said, "If thc name is rrot correct, thc words will not ring true"; and this axiom shouid be mosr scrupu- lorrsly observcd. Therc are many types of biographics: ofiicial biographics, autobiographies, trnauthotizccl biogr:rrphies, lcg- cnds, supplcmentary biographies, family histories, skctchcs . but unfortunatcly nonc of thesc suited my purposc. "Ofiicial biography?" This account will obviously not be in- cluded witlr those of many eminent people in somc authentic T'hc seconcl difiiculty co,nfronting 1ne was that a biography history. ':Autobiography?" But I am Lbviorsly nor Ah e, of this typc should start off somcthing like this: "So-and-so, If I were to call this an "unauthorized biography,,, then r,vhosc other namc was so-and-so, was a n:rt:,ve of such-and- whcre is his "authenticated biography"? T'he use of "lcgencl', sr.rch a place"; but I clrn'r rcrlly knorv rvhat A[.r Q's sut- is impossible, because Ah Q was no legendary figure. "Sup- flamc was. Orrcc, lrc secrnecl to bc named Chao, but the plementary biography?" But no president has ever ordcrecl ncxt da1, therc vrs somc confusion about the mattcr agaiu. the National Historical Institute to write a "star.rdard lifc', 'I'his 'nvas aftcr Mr:. Chao's sou had passecl the county exanr- of Ah Q. It is true that although therc are no "livcs of irration, ancl, to thc sound of gor-rgs, his strccess rr,,as announccd gamblers" in authentic English history, thc famous author in thc villagc. Ah Q, rvho hacl just drunk tw-o borvls of Conan Doyle nevertl.rcless wtote Rodney Stane ;L but while ycllorv u,inc, bcgan to p(arce about clcclaring that this rc- this is permissible for a famous author it is not permissible for Ilcctcd creclit oo hirn too, since he bclongcd to the same clan such as I. Then thcre is "family history"; but I do nor know as Mr. Chao, :rr.rd by an cxact rcckoning was thrcc gencrations whether I belong to the same family as Ah Q or not, nor senior to the successftrl canclidate. At the time sevcral bystand- have his children or grandchildren ever entrusted me r.vith ers cven bcgan to stand slightly in awe of Ah Q. But tire such a task. If I were to use "sketch," it might be objected ncxt day the bailiff sulnmoned him to Mr. Chtro's housc. that Ah Q has no "complete account." fn short, this is really When the old gentlernafl set eyes on him his face tr-rrncd a "life," but sincc I write in vulgar vein using the Ianguage crimson with fury and he roa(ed: of huckstcrs and pcdlars, I dare not presume to give it so "Ah Q, you miserable wretcl'r! Did you say I belonged high-sounding a titlc. So from thc stock phrasc of thc nov- to the samc clan as you?" elists, who are not rcckoned among thc Three Cults and Ah Q made no teply. Nine Schools,2 "Enough of this cligression, and back to the The more he looked at him the ar-rgricr Mr. Chao becamc, true story!" I will take tl.rc last two words as my title, and and advancing menacingly a few steps he said, "How darc if this is reminiscent of thc True Story ot' Calligrapbys of the you talk such nonsense! How could I have sucl'r a relative ancients, it cannot be helped. as you? Is your surname Chao?" Ah Q made no reply, and was planning a rctreat, when 1 Chao dartcd forward and gave him a slap on the face. In Chinese this lovel was called Suqplenentdry Biographies ol thc Mr. Gambl,er:. "How coLrld you be lamed Chao!- Do you think you 2The Three Cults were Corfucianisrn, Buddhism and 'Iaoism. Thc are worth), of the name Chao?" Nine Schools included the Confucian, Taoisr, Legalisr and Moist schools, Ah made no attempt to defcnd his right to thc name as wcll as othcrs. Novelists, who clicl lot bclong to aly of thcsc, wcre Q considcrcd not quite respectablc. Chao, but rubbing his left cheek went out with thc bailiff. 3 A book by Feng Wu of thc Ching dynasty (t644-t9t). Oncc outside, he had to listcn to another toi:rellt of abuse

2 from the ballifr, and thank him to the tune of two hundred elder or younger brothcr called Ah Fu (prosperity), thcn caslr. Al1 who heard this said Ah Q was a great fool to he would certainly be called Ah Quei (nobility). But he ask for a beating like that. Even if his surname r,L,era Chao - was all on his own: thus there is no iustification for writing wi'rich wasn't likely - he should have known bettcr than Ah Quei (nobility). All the other, unusual characters with to boast likc thar whcn there was a Mr. Chao living in the the sound Quei are even less suitable. I once put this village. After this no further mention was made of Ah Q's question to Mr. Chao's soo, the successful county candidate, :rncestry, so that I still don't know what his surname really but cven such a learned man as he was bafflcd by it. Ac- was. cording to him, however, the teason why this name could The thitd ciifficulty I encountered in writing this work not be traced r.vas that Chen T'u-hsiut had brought out the was that I don't know how Ah Q's personal name should magazine Nett Youtb, advocating the use of the Western be writtcn either. During his lifetime everybody called him alphabet, so that the national culture was going to the dogs. As a last resort, I asked someone lrom my district to go AI'r Quci, but aftcr his death not a soul mentioned Ah Quei and look up the legal documents recording Ah case, but again; for he was obviously not one of those whose namc is Q's after eight months he sent me a letter saying that there was "prcserved on bamboo tablets and silk."r If thcre is any no name anything like Ah in those records. Although question of prcserving his name, this essay must be the first Quei uncertain whether this was the ttuth or whether my friend attempt at doirrg so. Hence I am confronted with this difii- had simply donc nothing, after failing to trace the rrame this culty at the outset. I have given the question carcful thought: way I could think of no other meafls of finding it. Since Ah would t[.rat bc thc "Quci" mcaning cassia or the Quei - I am afnid the new system of phonetics has not yet come "Quei" meaning nobility? If his othcr nan.rc had bcen Moon 'W'estern itrto common use, there is nothing for it but to use the Pavilion, or he had cclcbratccl l'ris birthday if in the month alphabet, rvriting the name according to the English spelling of the Moon Fcstival, thcn ir would certainly be the "Quei" as Ah Quei and abbreviating it to Ah Q. This approximates for cassia.2 But since he hacl no other name - or if he had, to blindly following the Neo Youtb magazine, and I am tlo one knew it - and sincc hc lrever sent out invitations on thoroughly ashamed of myself ; but since even slrch a learned his birthday to secure complimentary verses, it would be ar- mafl as Mr. Chao's son could not solve my problem, what birrary to writc Ah Quci (cassia). Again, if he had had an else can I do? My fourth difficulty was with Ah place of otigin. If IA Q's pJrrasc 6rst usecl irr thc thircl centurl B.C. Bamboo aLrd silk werc his surname were Chao, then according to the old custom writing mirtcrial in ancieni Chirra. 2Thc cassil blooms in nronth A4ooLr thc oI thc FcstivLrl. Also, ac- t 7880-1942. A professor of Peking University at this time, he edited cordirrg to Chincsc folklorc, it is bclicvccl thar thc shlclow on the moolt the monthly Nero Youth. Later he became a renegade from the Chioese ts a cttssla ttce. Communist Party. 4 which still prcvails of classifying pcoplc by thcir c,listricts, onc nright look up the commentary ir-t Tlic Ilttnrl.red Stt- namesl and find "A native of Tienshui in Kansu provincc.,, CHAPTER 2 But unfortunately this surname is open to qucstion, with the result that Ah Q's place of origin must also remain uncertain. Although he lived for the most part in \X/eichuang, he oftcn stayecl in othet places, so that it would be wrong to call him J Bri{ Account o1f a native o[ $Teichuang. It wou1d, in fact, omollrt to a clis, tortion of history. Jh Q's L'ictories Tlie only thing that consolcs me is thc fact that thc char- actct "Ah" is absolut-ely corrcct. This is clefinircly nor thc result of falsc analogy, aocl is well ablc to stancl the tcst of scholarly criticism. As for the otlrcr problcrns, it is not IN addition to thc uncertainty regarding Ah e's surname, for sr-rch unlcarned pcople as myself to solve thcm, ancl I can personal namc, and place of origin, there is evcn some Lrn- only hope ,,a that disciples of Dr. Hu Shih, rvho has such certaitty rcgarding his "background." This is becausc the passion for history and antiquitics,"r may be ablc in futurc people of \ili/eichuang only made use of his serviccs or to throw ncw lighr on thcm. I am afraid, hon,evcl:, that by trcated him as a laughing-stock, without cvcr paying thc tlrat tioc nty'1'rtre Slctt.1t of Alt C) tt'il| havc lon11 sincc passecl slightest attentiolr to his "background." Ah himsclf re- into oblivion. Q mainecl silent on this subjcct, except that when quarrelling The foregoing lrrry [rc consitlcrcrl ils an inlrrduction. with someone l-re might glance at him and say, "\(/e uscd to bc nruch better off than you! Who do you think you are anyway?" Ah Q had no lamily but livcd in the Tutelary God's Tem- ple at Weichuang. Hc had no regular work either, simply doing odd jobs for othcrs: v/erc thcre whcat to be cut he would cut it, rvere there rice to be ground he would grind it, wcre therc a boat to be punted he r.vould punt it. If the work lastcd for a considerable period he might stay in the lA school primer, in wlrich thc sLItflamcs Y'erc wfrLtcll Litto vcfsc. housc of his tcmporary employer, but as soou as was 2 This phrase v'as oftcn usecl in scll praisc by IIu Shih, the rvcll- it known rcactr'orrary politician encl $' f rtfl I. finished he u,,orrld leavc. Thus whcncver pcople had work

6 to bc clone they would remember 41, Q, but what ttrcy re- ridiculous!" But the Weichuang villagers were rcally igno- memberccl was his service and not his "background"; and tant rustics who had never scen fish fried in town! by the timc the job was clone even Ah Q himsclf was for- Ah Q who "used to bc much better ofi," rvho was a man gotten, to say nothing of his "background." Oncc indeed of the world and "a good worker," would have been almost an old man remarkcd, "\i7hat a good v'orker Ah Q is!" the perfect man had it not been for a few unfortunate phys- At that time Ah Q, stripped to the waist, listless and lean, ical blemishcs. The most annoying rvere sofl1e places on was standing before him, and other peoplc dicl not know his scalp where in the past, at some uncertain date, shiny u,hether the remark was meant seriously or derisively, but ringworm scars had appeared. Although these were or.r his Ah Q was overjoyecl. own l.read, apparcntly Ah Q did not consider them as alto- Ah Q, again, had a very high opinion of himseif. He gcther honourable, for he refrained from using the word looked down on all the inhabitants of Weichuang, thinking "ringworm" o( alry words that sounded anything like it. even the t\vo young "scholars" not worth a smile, thouglt Later he improved on this, making "bright" and "light', for- most young scholars were likely to pass the ofiicial examina- bidden words, while later still cven "lamp" and "candle" 'Whencver tions. Mr. Chao and Mr. Chien were hcld in great respect were taboo. this taboo was disregarded, wl.rether by the villagers, for in addition to being rich they were both intentionally or not, Ah Q would fly into a rage, his ring- the fathers of young scholars. Ah Q alone showecl them no worm scars turning scarlet. He would look over the offender, exceptional deferencc, thinking to himsclf, "My sons may and if it were someone v,eak in repartee he would curse be much greater!" him, while if it rvere a poor fighter he v,ould hit him. yct, curiotrsly Moreover, aftcr Ah Q had bccn to town several times, enough, it rvas usually All Q rvho was worstcd he naturally becamc cvcn mo(c conceitecl, although at the in thcse encounters, untit finally he adopted new tactics, con- tenting same time he had thc greatest contempt for townspeople. himself in gcneral with a furious glare. For instance, a bench madc of a wooden plank three feet by It so happcned, howcver:, that after Ah Q had taken tcr \ili/eichuang three inches the lWeichuang villagers called a "long bench." using this furious glarc, thc idlers in grev/ even Ah Q called it a "long bcnch" too; but the townspeople more fond of making fokes at his cxpense. As soon as they saw called it a "straight bench," and hc thought, "This is \x/rong. him they would pretend to give a start, and say: "Look! How ridiculous !" Again, when they fried large-headed fish It's lighting up." in oil the lWeichuang villagers all added shallot leaves sliced Ah Q would rise to the bait as usual, and glare furiousl1.. "So half an inch long, whereas the townspeople added l1ncly there is a paraffin lamp here," they would colrtinlre, shredded shallots, and hc thought, "This is wrong too. How trot in the least intimidated.

6 confident that this time Ah was done less than Ah Q coulcl do nothing but rack his brains for some re- Q for. In tort: "You don't even deserve. ." At this iuncture it ten seconds, however, Ah Q vrould walk away al.so satisfied seemed as if the scars on his scalp were noble and honour- that he had won, thinking that hc was the "foremost self- "sel{-belittler" able, not iust orclinary ringworm scars. However, as we belittler," and that after subtracting rvhat said above, Ah Q was a man of thc world: he knew at oncc remained was "foremost." I(/as not the highest successful that hc had nearly broken the "taboo" and rehained from candidate in the official examioation also the "foremost"? saying any more. "And who do you think you are anyway?" If the idlers were still not satisfied, but continued to bait After employing such cuno.ing devices to get even with hirn, they would in the end come to blows. Then only after his enemies, Ah Q would make his way cheerfully to the Ah Q had, to all appearances, been defeated, had his brown- wineshop to drink a few bowls of wine, foke with the others ish pigtail puiled and his head burnped against the lvall four again, quarrel u,ith them again, come ofi victorious again, or five timcs, would the idlers walk away, satisfied at having and return cheerfully to the Tutelary Gocl's Temple, therc won. Ah Q would stand there for a seconcl, thinking to to fall aslcep as soon as his head touched the pillow. If he himself, "It is as if I were beaten by my son. What is the had money he would gamble. A gtoup of men would squat coming ." Thercupon he too would world to nowadays. on thc ground, Ah Q sandwiched in their midst, his face walk away, satisfied at having won. streaming with perspiration; and his voicc would shout the rWhatevcr tell people later; Ah Q thought hc was sure to loudesi: "Irour hundred on the Green Dragon!" thus almost all whtl maclc fun of Ah l

t1 Chao before the villagers thought it worth talking about. But once they thought it worth talking about, since the beater CHAPTER 3 was famous, the one beaten er-rioyed some of his rcflected fame. As for the fault bcing Ah Q's, that was naturally taken for granted, the reason being that Mr. Chao could not possibly be wrong. But if Ah Q were wrong, why did -1 Jurtfier of everybody sccm to treat him with unusual respect? This is "lccottot difiicult to explain. \We may put forv/ard thc hypothesis -1/r Q's Tictories tb.at it was because Ah Q had said he belonged to the samc family as Mr. Chao; thus, although he had bcen beaten, people were still afraid there might be some truth in what he said and therefore thought it safer to treat him more Ar-tnoucs Ah Q was always gaining victories, it was respectfully. Or, aTternatively, it may have been like the only after he was favoured with a slap on the face by case of the sacrificial beef in thc Confucian temple: although Mr. Chao that he became famous. the beef was in the same category as the sacrificial pork and After paying the bailifi two hundred cash he lay down mutton, being of animal origin just as they were, later Con- not touch since the sage angrily. Later hc said to himself, "What is the world coming fucians did dare it had cnioycd it. After this Ah prospered for several years. to nowadays, with sons bcating thcir parents. ." Then Q One spring, when he was walking along a state of the thought of thc prcstigc of Mr. Chao, who was now his in happy intoxication, he saw rWhiskers rWang sitting stripped son, gradually raiscd his s1-ritits, and hc got up and went to thc waist in the sunlight at the foot of a wall, catching to the wineshop singing Tbe Young\X/icloz,t at Het Husband's lice; ancl at this sight his own body began to itch. Sincc time hc did fcel that Mr. Chao v'as a cut Graoe. At that - Whiskers \Wang was scabby and bewhiskered, everybody above most people. \X/hiskcrs called him "Ringworm $7ang." Although Ah Q true that every- After this incident, strange to relate, it was ornitted the word "Ringworm," hc had the greatest contempt unusual respect. He probably body seemed to pay him for the man. Ah Q felt that while scabs were nothing to attributed this to the fact that hc was Mr' Chao's father, take exception to, such hairy cl-reeks r.verc really too out- but actually such was not the case' In !(eichuang, as a rule, landish, and could excite nothing but scorn. So Ah Q sat hit if the seventh child hit the cighth child or Li So-and-so down by his side. lf it had been any other idler, Ah Q Chang So-and-so, it was not taken seriously. A beating had would nevcr have dared sit down so casually; but what to be connecteC with somc important personagc like Mr' lrad he to fear by the side of Whiskers Vang? To tell the

t4 r) truth, the fact that he was willing to sit down was an honour catre down, \Whiskers rWang had aheady seized him and for \X/ang. given him a tug rvhich sent him staggering. Then Whiskers Ah Q took off his tattered lined jacket, and turned it Wang seized Ah Q's pigtail and started dragging him towards irlsidc out; but either because he had washed it reccntly the wall to knock his head in thc time-honoured manner. or becarise he was too clumsy, a long search yielded only thrce "'A gentlemau uses l.ris tongue but not his handsl"' pro- or four lice. He saw that l7hiskers \Wang, on the other tested Ah Q, his he,rd on one side. hand, was catching first one and then another in swift suc- Apparently V/hiskers \XIang was no gentleman, for without ccssion, cracking thcm in his teeth with a popping sound. paying thc slightest attention to what Ah Q said he knocked Ah Q felt first disappointed, then resentful: the des- his head against the wall five timcs in succession, and gavc picable \Whiskers !flang could catch so many while he himself him a grcat shove which sent him staggering two yards had caught so few - what a great loss of face! He Ionged away. Only then did \X/hiskers \il/ang walk away satisfiecl. to catch one or two big ones, but there were none, and it \;vas As far as Ah Q could remember, this was the first hu- only with considerable difiiculty that he managed to catcl-r miliation of his life, because he had always scoffed at a middle-sized onc, which he thrust fiercely into his mouth rJThiskers !7ang on account of his ugly bewhiskered cl-reeks, and bit savagely; but it only gaye a small sputtering sound, but had never becn scoffcd at, much lcss bcatcn by him. again inferior to the noise l7hiskers Vflang was making. And now, contraly to all cxpectations, \')Thiskers rJTang had All Ah Q's scars turned scarlet. Flinging his jacket on beatcn him. Perhaps what they said in the market-place the ground, he spat ancl said, "Hairy worm!" was really truc: "Thc Emperor hcs abolishcd the official "Mangy dog, wl'ro arc yoLr calling namcs?" Whiskers exa-rninations, so that scholars who have passed them arc Wang looked up contcmptuously. no trongcr in clemand." As a result of this thc Chao fanily Although thc relative rcspcct accorded him in recent years must -have lost prestige. \)ras it a result of this, too, that had increased Ah Q's pridc, when confronted by loafers who pcoplc u/ere treating him contemptuousll,f were accustomed to fighting he remained rather timid. On Ah Q stood tl.rere irresolutcll.. this occasion, howcvcr, hc was feeling exceptionally pugna- From the distance approacl.red anothcr of Ah Q's encmics. cious. How dare a hairy-cheeked creature like this insult him? This was Mr. Cl-rien's eldest son whom Ah Q also despised. "Anyone who the name Iits," said Ah Q standing up, After studyir.rg ir.r a foreign school in the city, it seemed he his hands on his hips. l.rad gone to Japan. Iff/hen he came home half a year later "Are your bones itching?" demanded lWhiskers Wang, his legs were straightl ancl his pigtail had disappeared. His standing up too and putting or.r his coat. 1 \X/lien thc Chincsc of those clays saw foreigners walJring with big Thinking that meant run away, stepped \Vang to Ah Q stricles-unlike the usual Chincse gait-thcy imagined that foreigners forward raising his fist to punch him. But before his fist had no joints at the knees. fi 17 mother cried bittcrly a doze^ times, and his wife tried tliree cven felt somewhat relicvcd. Moreover, the precious "abllity times to jump into the well. Later his mother told everyone, to forget" handed down by his anccstors stood him in good "His pigtail v/as cut off by some scoundrel when he was stead. He walked slowly avay and by the time he approached drunk, He would have been able to be an ofiicial, but now the wineshop door he felt quitc happy again. he will have to wait until it has grown again before he Just then, howcvcr, a small nun from the Convent of thinks of that." Ah Q did not, however, believe this, and Quiet Self-inrprovcmcnt came walking towards him. The insisted on "Imitation calling him Foreign Devil,, and,,Traitor sight of a nun always made Ah Q swear; how much more in Foreign Fa1,." As soon as Ah Q saw him hc would start so, then, after these humiliations? When he recalled what cursing under his breath. had happened, all his anger revived. What Ah despised and dctested Q most in him was his "So all my bad luck today was because I had to see you!" false pigtail. !7hen came it to having a false pigtail, a man he thought to himself. could scarcely be considered human; and the fact his that He went up to her and spat noisily. "Ugh! . Pahl" wife had nor attempted to into the well a fourth time iurnp The small nun paid not the least attention, but walked showed that she was not a good v/oman either. on with lowered head. Ah went up to her ancl shot out Now this "Lnitation Foreign Dcvil" was approaching. Q a hand to tub her newly shavcd scalp, then laughing stupidly "Baldhcad Ass " In the past Ah had cursed under - - e said, "Raldhcad ! Go back quickly, your monl< is waiting his breath only, ir.raudibly; but today, bccause he was in a for you. ." bad tempcr and wantcd to work off his fcclings, the words slipped out involunt:rrily. "\rVho are you pawing? ." demanded the nun, blush- ing crimson as she began to hurry away. Unfortunately this "balclhcircl" rvas cr-rrrying a shiny, brown The mcn in the wineshop roared rvith laughter. Seeing stick which Ah Q cal lccl a "staff carriecl by the mournef.,, that his feat was admired, Ah began to feel elatcd. !7ith great stridcs hc borc clown on Ah e who, guessing at Q "If paws you, pinching once that a beating was impcncling, hastily braced hirnsclf the monk why cafi't I?" said he, her cheek. to wait with a stiffencd back. Sure cnough, therc was a resounding thwack which sccmed to have alighted on his head. Again the mcn in the wincshop roared with laughter. Ah "I meant him!" explainccl Ah Q, pointing to a nearby Q lelt even more pleased, and in order to satisfy those who child. were expressing approval, he pinched her hard again bclore Thwack! Thwack! Thrvack! letting her go. As far as Ah Q could remember, this was the second During this encounter he had akeady forgotten Whisker:s humiliation of his life. Fortunarely aftcr the thwacking stop- Wang and the Imitation Foteign Devil, as if all the day's ped it scemcd to him that the matter was closccl, and hc bad lr-rck bad bccn avcngccl. And, strange to telatc, cvcn

rB more relaxed than aftcr the beating, he fclt ligtrt and buoyant as if ready to float into the air. "Ah Q, may yoll die sonless!" sounded the littlc nun's CFIAPTI]R 4 voice tearfully in the distance. Ah Q roared with delighted laughter. The men in the wineshop roared too, with only slightly less satisfaction. T/te Tr ugc,/1 of f,oyc

Tsrnr are said to be some victors who take no pleasurc in a victory unless their opponents are as fierce as tigers or eaglcs: if their adversaries are as timid as shccp or chickens they find their triumph empty. T'here are other victors who, having carried all before them, with the enemy slain or surrendered, cowering in utter subjection, tealize that now no foe, rivaL, or lriend is left - they have only them- selves, supreme, solitary, desolate, and fodorn. Then they find their triumph a ttagedy. But our hero was not so spine- less. He was always exultant. This may be a proof of the moral supremacy ol China over the rest of the world. - Look at Ah Q, light and elated, as if about to fly! This victory was not without strange consequences, though. For quite a time he seemed to be flying, and he flew into the Tutelary God's Temple, where he would norm.ally have snored as soon as he lay down. This evening, however, he found it very difiicult to close his cyes, for he felt as if there were something the matter with his thumb and first finger, which seemed to bc smoother than usual. It is impossible to say wl.rethcr something soft atrd smooth on the little nun's

2t face had stuck to his fingers, or whether his Er-rgcrs had beer.r woman lvc shall probably r.rot bc fat wrong. And it is a {act rubbed smooth against her cheek. that Tung Cho's death was causcd by Tiao Chan.l "Ah Q, may you die sonless!" Ah Q, too, v/as a malt of strict morals to begin with. These words sounded again in Ah e's ears, and he thought, Although we do not know r,vhcther he was guided by some "Quite right, I should take a wife; for if a man dies sonlcss good teachcr, hc hacl always shown himself most scrupulous he has no one to sacrifice a bowl of rice to his spirit . . . I in observing "strict scgfcgation of thc sexes,,, and was right- ought to have a wife." As the saying goes, "T'here are threc cous cnough to denounce snch heretics as the littlc nun ancl ,,All forms of unfilial conduct, of which the worst is to havc no thc Imitation Foreign Dcvil. FIis view rvas, nlrns must descendants,"l and it is one of the tragedics of life that carry on in sccrct with monks. I[ a woman v,alks alone on "spirits without descendants go hungry.,,2 Thus his view was thc strcct, shc must want to seducc bad men. \(/hen a man absolutely accordance in with the teachings of the saints ancl end a woman talk togethcr, it mtrst be to arraltgc to mcet.,, sages, and it is indeed a pity that later he should have run In ordcr to corrcct such people, he woLrld gJare furiously, amok. pass loucl, cutting; remarks, or, if the placc wcre desertccl, "W'omao, woman! ." he thought. thror.v a smal1 stonc from behind. T[re rnonk paws. 'Woman, woman! !/ho could tell that close on thirty, when a mall shoulcl V7onianl" hc thought again. "stancl firn,") he v.oulcl losc his head like this ovcr a littlc Iffc shall ncver know whcn Ah e finally fell aslccp that rrun? Such light-headedncss, according to the classical canons, cvening. After this, howcvcr, lrc prcbably always founcl is most reprehensiblc; thr-rs lyomen certainly are hateful his fingers rathcr soft and snrooLh, nncl alw:rys remaincd a crcatures. For if thc ]ittlc nun's facc had not bcen soft ancl little light-headcd. "\7oman ." hc kcpt thinking. smooth, Ah Q woulcl not havc becn bewitched by hcr; nor From this we can sce that woman is a menace to mankind. rvould this havc happcnecl if thc little oun's lace had been The majority of Chincsc lrrcn could become saints and covcrcd by a cloth. Fivc ot six years before, when watching sages, u/ere it not for thc unfortunate fact that they are an opcn-air opcla, hc had pirrchccl the les oI a wontan in the ruined by women. Thc Sl-rang clynasty was destroyed by Ta Chi, the Chou dynasty was underminecl pao by Szu; as I Ttr Chi, of thc trvclfth century 8.C., u,ar: thc coLrcubine oI thc ]rrst for the Chin dynasty, although therc is no historical evidcncc king of thc Shang clynasty. Fao Szu, of thc ciehth century 8.C., was the .i/estern to that effect, if we assrrme that it fell on accolrnt of somc concubinc oI the last l

24 25 something of oflicial life. This made hirn morc frightened, and ran, hoping to escape to tl'rc hulling-Iloor, not foresecing anr,l left an exccptionally deep impression on lris mincl. By that thc belmboo pole woLrld cut off his retreat; thereupon nnw, hou,ever, all thought of "'Won.ran ." had flown. he turned and ran in tl'rc othcr direction, leaving rvithout Alter this cursing and beating it seemcd as if something u/crc further ado by thc brrcl< door. ln a short timc he rvas back done r',.ith, and quite light-heartcdly he began to grir.rd ricc in the Tutelary Gocl's I'cmplc again. After grinding for some timc he felt hot, aild stoppcd r\fter Ah Q had sar clown for a time, his srkin began to to take ofl his shirt. form goosc pimplcs and he felt colcl, becausc although it riThile hc was taking olT his shirt he hcard an Lrproar was spring thc nights were still quite frosty and not suitcd outside, and sincc Ah Q alvzays liked to join in any cxcite- to barc baclis. He remembered that hc had left bis shirt in ment that rvas going, he went out ir.r search of the sound. thc Chaos' house, but he was afraid i[ hc wcnt to fetch He tracecl it gtadually right into Mr. Chao's inner couttyard. it he might get another taste of thc s,-rccessfuL canclic.late,s Althougl-r it was clusk hc could scc many people therc: all bamboo pole. the Chao family including tl're mistress who hacl not eateil Then rhc bailif[ canre in. for two days. In adclition, their neighborrr Mrs. Tsou was "Curse you, Ah Q!" said thc bailiff. "So you can't even there, as well as their relative s Chao Pai-yen ancl Chao keep your hands off the Chao family scrvants, you rebell Szu-chen. You've made mc lose my sleep, curse you! ." The young mistress was leading Amah !7u out of the Under this torrenr of abuse Ah Q naturally had nothing servants' quarte(s, saying as she dicl so: to say. Finally, since it was night-time, Ah e had to pay "Come yoLrr outside . . . don't stay brooding in orvn roorn." double and give the bailiff four hundred cash. Because he "Everybocly knows you arc zr good woman," put in Mrs. happened to have no ready money by him, he gavc his felt Tsou from the sidc. "You mustt.r't think of cornmitting hat as security, and agreed to the following fivc tcrms: suicide." 1. The next Amah \Wu merely wailcd, muttcring someihing inaudible. morning Ah Q must take a pak of red candles, weighing "This is interesting," thought Ah Q. "rWllat mischief one pound, and a bundle of incense sticks to the Chao family to arone can this little widow bc trp to?" \il7anting to {ind out, he for his misdeeds. pay was approaching Chao Szu-chen when suddenly he caught 2. Ah Q must for the Taoist priests whom the Chao family sight of Mr. Cl-rao's eldest son rushing towards him with, had called to exorcize evil spirits. what was worse, the big bamboo pole in his hand. The sight 3. Ah Q must never again set foot in the Chao household. of this big bamboo polc reminded hinr that he had been 4. If anything unfortunate should happen to Amah \rX/u, beater by it, and he realized that apparer.rtly he was con- Ah Q must be held responsible. nectcd ifl some way with this sccnc of excitement. He turncd 5. Ah Q must not go back for his wages or shirt. z6 21 Ah Q naturally agrced to evetything, but unfortunatcly he had no ready money. Luckily it was aTready spring, so it was possible to do without his padded quilt which hc pawned CHAPTER 5 for tu,o thousand cash to comply with the terms stipulatcd. After kowtowing with bare back he sti11 had a few cash Ieft, but insteacl of using these to rcdccm his felt hat from thc bailifi, he spcnt them all on cirink. T/te ?roilern Livelifiood Actually, the Chao family burned neithcr the incense nor thc f canclles, because thcse could be used whcn thc mistress worshippcd Buddha and were put aside for that purpose. IVIost of thc raggecl shirt was made ir.rto diapers for the baby Arrnn Ah Q had kowtowed and complied with the Chao which was born to the young mistress in the eighth moon, family's terms, he went back as usual to the Tutelary r.vhilc the tatte(ed remainder u,as used by Amah !7u to make God's Tcmple. The sun had gone down, and he began to shoe solcs. feel that something was wrong" Careful thought led him to the conclusion that this was probably because his back was bare. Remembering that he still had a ragged lined jacket, he put it on and lay down, and when he opened his eyes again the sun was already shining on the top of the west wall. He sat up, saying, "Curse it. ." After getting up he loafed about the srreets as usual, until he began to feel that something else was v/rong, though this was not to -back. be compared to the physical discomfort of a barc Apparcntly, from that day onwards all the women riTeichuang in became shy of Ah Q: whenever they saw him coming they took refuge indoors. In fact, even Mrs. Tsou who was nearly frfty years old retreated in confusion with the rest, calling her eleven-year-old daughter to go inside. This struck Ah Q as very stran€te. "The bitchesl" he thought. "They have suddenly become as coy as young ladies. .,' A good many days later, howevcr, he felt even morc strongly that something was wrong. First, the wineshop re- [uscd him crcdit; sccoLrdly, tlia olcl man in chargc of thc A few days later he did indeed meet Young D in front Tutelaty God's T'emplc made some uncalled-for rcmarks, as of Mr. Chien's house. "lWhen two foes meet, their eyes flash fire." As Ah went up to him, Young D stood stili. if he wanted Ah Q to leave; and thirdly, for many days - Q "Stupid ass!" hissed Ah glaring furiously and foaming how many exactly he cotrld nob remember - not a sor-rl had Q, comc to hire him. To be tefused crcdit in the wincshop at the mouth. I.rc could put up with; if rhc old matr kept urging him to "I'm an inscct - will that do? ." asked Young D. leave, Ah Q could just ignore his complaints; but rvhen no Such modcsty only madc Ah Q angrier than evet, but since one camc to hirc l.rim lie had to go hungry; and this was he had no stcel mace in his hand all he could do was to leally a "crirsed" state to be in. rush forward vzith outstretched hand to seize Young D's When Ah Q could stancl it no longer he r.vent to his regular pigrarl. Young D, while protecting his pigtail with one hand, tried to seize Ah the other, whereupon also employers' houses to find out what was the mattcr - it was Q's with Ah Q only Mr. Chao's threshold that he was not allowed to cross. used one free hand to protect his own pigtail. In the past Ah But he met with a very strange reception. The one to appear Q had never considered Young D worth taking seriously, but was always a man, who looked thoroughly annoyed aud since he had recently suffeted from hunger himself he was waved Ah Q away as if he were a beggar, saying: now as thin and weak as his opponent, so that they presented "Therc is nothing, nothing at a1l! Go away!" a spectacle of evenly matched antagonists. Four hands A1, Q fotrnd it more and more cxtraordinary. "These clutched at two heads, both men bending at the waist, cast a peoplc alwnys rrccclccl hclp in thc past," hc thouglit. "They blue, rainbow-shaped shadow on the Chien family's white can't sncldcrrly hzrvc nothing to bc clonc. This looks fishy." wall for over half an hour. Af tcr: making catcIul crrclr-rirics hc foLurd out that when "A11 right! All right!" exclaimed some of the onlookers, they haci any oclcl jobs thcy all crllccl in Young D. Now probably trying to make pcace. this Young D was a lcan ancl wcakly pauper, cven lowet "Good, good!" exclaimed others, but whether to make 'pcace, in Ah Q's cyes than Whisl

10 heads and sweat pouring down the.ir chceks, Ah Q let lall for, although what exactly he was looking for he did not his hands, and in the same second Young D's hands fcll too. knorv himself. Thcy straightcned up sir-nultaneously and stepped back si- Since \Teichuang was not a big placc, hc soon left it behind. rnultaneously, pushing their way out through the crowd. Most of the country outsiclc thc village consisted of paddy "You'Il be hearing frcm me again, curse youl ." said fields, green as far as thc cyc could sec with the tender shoots Ah Q over his shoril,Cer" of young tice, clottcd hcrc and thcre with round, black, moving "Curse you ! You'll be heating from me again ." obiects, which wcrc pcasants cultivating the fields. But blind echoed Young D, aiso ovcr his shoulder. to thc clclights of country 1ife, Ah Q simply went on his This epic struggle had apparcntly ended neither in victory way, for hc lincw instinctively that this was far removed frorn his "search for food." Finally, however, he camc bo the nor clefeat, and it is not l

,2 I

the gate, only to be withdrawn again at ooce. This u,as rcappcar. Ah Q threw away thc stones and walkecl on, no other than the little nun. Now though Ah e had always cating as hc wcnt, thinl

14 on the coLrlrtcr. "Cashl" irc saicl. "Bring thc rvine!,, He was rvcaring a ltew, linccl jackct, ancl at his waist evidently CFIAP'IEIT 6 hung a large pursc, thc grcerr wcight of which causccl his belt to sag in a sharp cr-rrvc. It r.vas thc custom in \X/eichuang that rvhen there sccnrccl to be somcthing unusual about anyolte, he shoLrld lrc trcrtccl with respcct rather than insolencc, and Jrnrn 'lpstorcttion tct 'Dcc/irtc now, althr.,Lrgh thcy kneu,' quite well that this was Ah e, still hc wzrs vcly dilTcrent from the Ah e of tl.re raggcd coat. 'l-hc rncicnts say, "A scholar v.ho has bcen away threc clays rnust lrc lookccl at with ncw cycs." So thc waitcr, innkeepcr, \rX,'r:,rcnuaNc did not scc Ah again till just aftcr a customcrs ancl passers-by, all cluitc natr_rral[y cxprcsscd a kind the Moon Fcstival that ycar. Everybody was surprisccl of sr.rspicion minglcd rvith rcspect. The inr.rkcepcr startcci to hcar of his return, and this made thcm think back ancl by nodding, thcn saicl : wonder where he had been all that time. Thc few previous "Htrllo, Ah Q, so you'rc bircl

38 "Sir!" said Ah with an attcnrpt at a smilc, coming "Ah have you any mote sill< skirts?" thcy woLrld ask. Q Q, to a halt undcr the cavcs. "No? Wc witt.rt lorcign calico too. Do you havc auy?" "I hear you got rich out thcrc, Ah said Mr. Chao, This ncws laLer spread from thc poor houscholcls to thc Q," going up to him rrr.rcl lool

40 4t Mr. Chao did not agree, saying that he might bear ir took to his heels as fast as he could. FIe fled from the grudge, and that in a business like this it was probably a casc town that same night, back to Weichuang; and after this of "the eagle does flot prey on its own nest": his own villagc he dared not returfl to such a business. This story, however, need not \ilorry, and they need only be a littie more rvatchful was evefl more damaging to Ah Q, since the villagers had at night. The successful candidate, much impressecJ by this been keeping a rcspectful distance because they did not want parental instuction, immediately withdrew his proposal for to incur his cnmity; for who could have guessed that he was driving Ah Q away, but cautioned Mrs. Tsou on no account only a thief who darcd not steal again? Now they knew to repeat what he had said. he r.vas rcally too low to inspire fear. The next day, hor.'revcr, when Mrs. Tsou took her bluc skirt to be dyed black she repeatecl these insinuations about Ah Q, although not actually mentioning lvhat the successful candidate had said about driving him away. Evcn so, it was most damaging to Ah Q. L.r the first place, the bailiff ap- peared at his door and took away the door curtain. Although Ah Q protested that NIrs. Chao wanted to see ir, the baililT would not give it back, and even demanded a monthly pay- ment of hush-money. In the second place, the villagers' respect for him suddenly changed. Although thcy still dared not take liberties, they avoided him as much as possible. While this differed from thcir previous feat of his "Kill!", it closely resembled the attiiude of thc ancients to spirits: they kept a respectful distance. Some idlers who wanted to get to the bottom of the business went to question ,\1, Q carefully. And with no attempt at concealment, Ah Q told them proudly of his experiences. They learned that he had merely been a petty thief, not only unable to climb walls, but even unable to go through openings: he simply stood outsidc an opening to teceive the stolen goods. One night he had just received a package and his chief had gone in again, when he heard a great uproar inside, and

42 .t) wanted to deposit a few battered cases in Weichuang, but that Mr. Chao had scnt them back. Actually the successful CHAPTE,R 7 provincial candidate and the successful county candidate in the Chao famlly were not on good terms, so that it was scarcely logical to expcct them to prove friends in adversity; moreovcr, since Mrs. Tsou was a neighbour of the Chao Trte $fuvolatiotr family and had a bettcr idea of what was going on, she ought to have known. Then a rumour spread to rhe effect that although the scholar had not artived himself, he had seflt a long letter ON the fourtcenth day of the ninth moon of thc third tracing some distant relationship with the Chao family; and ycar in the rcign of Emperor Hsuan Tungl the duy - sincc Mr. Chao after thinking it over had decided it could, on which Ah sold his purse to Chao Pai-yen at midnight, Q - after al7, do him no harm to kcep the cases, they were now after the fourth stroke of the third watch, a large boat with stowed under his wife's bed. As for the revolutionaries, a big black awning came to the Chao family's landing placc. some people said they had entercd the town that night in This boat floated up in the darkness while thc villagers rvere white helmets and white armour - in mourning for Emperor sound asleep, so that thcy kncw nothing about it; but it lcft Tsung Cheng.l again about dawn, whcn quite a nr-rmbcr of people saw it. Ah Q had long sincc known of revolutionarics, and this Iovestigation revealed that this boat actually belonged to the year witl.r his own cycs had scen revolutionaries being de- snccessf ul provincial candidatc ! capitated. But sincc it hacl occurrccl to him that the revolu- This incident caused grcat uneasincss in Weichuang, ancl tionaries were rcbels and that a rebellion would make things before midday the hearts of all thc villagcrs v'ere bcating diflicult for him, he had always detested and kept away from faster. The Chao family l

I Tsung Chcng, thc last cmperor of rhe Ming dyoasry, rciglcd from I The dar- on which Shaohsing was frecil ir thc 191 1 Revolution 1628 to 1644. Hc hanged himsclf bcfote thc Manchus entercd pekiilg.

44 4t "Revolution is not a bad thing," thought Ah Q. "Finish "Tra la!" sang Ah Q, unable to imagine that his name off the whole lot of thcm curse them! I would could be linked with those words "old chap." Sure that like to go over to the revolutionaries myself." he had heard wrongly and was in no way concerned, Ah Q had been hard up recently, and was probably he simply went on singing, "Tra la Ia, turn ti tutn!" rather dissatisfied; added to this, he had drunk t'r,r,o bowls "Q, old chap!" of wine at noon on an empty stomach. Consequently, "I regret to baoe killed. . . ." he became drunk very quickly; and as he walked along "Ah Q!" The successful candidatc had to call his name. thinking to himself, he felt again as if he were treading Only then did Ah Q come to a stop. "ril/ellP" he asked on air. Suddenly, in some curious way, he felt as if the with his head on one side. revolutionaries v/ere himself, and all the people in V/eichuang "Q, old chap . . . now. . . ." Bur Mr. Chao was ar a loss wete his captives. Unable to contain himself for joy, he could for words again. "Are you getting rich now?" not help shouting loudly: "Getting rich? Of course. I take what I like. . . ." "Rebellion! Rebellion!" "Ah - Q, old man, poor friends of yours like us can't A11 the villagers looked at him in consternation. Ah possibly matter . . ." said Chao Pai-yen apprehensively, as Q had never seen such pitiful looks before, and found thcm if sounding out the revolutionaries' attitude. as refreshiog as a drink of iced watcr in midsummcr. So "Poor friends? Surely yolr are ticher than I am," he walked on even more happily, shouting: replied Ah Q, and walked away. "A1l right . . . I shall take what I want! I shall like whom They stood there despondent and speechless; then Mr. I please! Chao and his son went back to the house, and that evening question "Tra la, tra la! discussed the until it was time to light the lamps. When Chao Pai-yen went home he took the purse from "I regret to baoe kiLled by mistake ?'ny sioorn his waist and gave it to his wife to hide the brotbcr Cbeng. in my cups. - for him at bottom of a chest. "I regret to haoe killed . . .yab, yah, yab! For some time Ah seemed "Tra la, trct la, ttun ti tuzn tunz! Q to be v,alling on air, but by the time he reacl'red the Tutelary "I'II tbrasb you r,t,itb a steel ruAce." God's Temple he was sober again. That evening thc old man in charge of the Mr. Chao and his sorl were standing at their gate with temple was also unexpectedly friendly and ofiered him tea. two relatives discussing the rcvolution. Ah Q did not sec Then Ah Q asked him for two flat cakes, and alter eating them as he passed with his head throrvn back, singing, these demanded a four-ounce candle that had been used, and "Tra la la, tuxt ti tum!" a candlestick. He lit the candle ar,d lay down alone in his "Q, old chap!" called NIr. Chao timidly in a low voice. little room. He felt inexpressibly refresl.red and happy, while

46 Before Ah had reachecl a satisfactory conclusion, there candlelight leaped and flickered as on the Lantcrn Q thc was a sound of snoring. The four-ounce candle had burned Festival and his imagination soared with it. down only half an inch, and its flickering red light lit up "Revolt? It would be fun. . . . A group of revolutionaries his open mouth. would come, all wearing white helmets and white armour, "Ho, hol" shoutcd Ah suddenly, raising his head and carrying swords, steel maces, bombs, foreign guns, double- Q looking wildly around. But when he saw the four-ounce edged knives with sharp points and spears with hooks. Thcy candle, hc lay back and went to sleep again. come to the Tutelaty God's Temple and call out, would The next morning hc got up very late, and when he went 'Ah Come with us, come with us!'And then I would go QI out into the street evcrything was the same as usual. He rviththem.... was still hungry, but though he racked his brains he did "Then all those villagers would be in a laughable plight, not secm able to think of anything. Suddenly an idea came kneeling down and pleading, 'Ah spare our lives.' But Q, to him, and he walked slor,vly off, until either by design or who would listen to them! The first to die would be accident he reached thc Convent of Quiet Self-improvement. Young and Mr. Chao, then the successful county candi- D The convent was as peaceful as it had been that spring, date and the Imitation Foreign Devil . . . but perhaps I with its white wall and shining black gatc. After a would spare a few" I rvould once have spared lilhiskers moment's reflection, he knocked at the gate, whereupon a lVang, but now I don't evefl want him. . . . dog started barking within. He hastily picked up several "Things would go straight in and open the cases: . . . I pieces of broken bnck, then went up again to knock morc ingots, foreign coins, foreign calico First silver iackets. heavily, knocking until a number of small dents appcared move the Ningpo bed of thc successful county I would on the black gate. ,A,t last hc heard someonc coming to temple, and also move in the Chien candidate's wife to the open the door. family tables and chairs or else usc the Chao family's. - iust Holding his broken bricks, Ah Q hastily stood with his would riot lift a finger myself, but ordcr Young D to move I legs wide apalit, prcpared to do battle with the black dog. things me, and to look smart about it, unless he the for The convent door openecl a crack, and no black dog rushed wanted a slap in the face. . . . out. When he looked in all he could see was the old nun. "Chao Szu-chen's younger sister is very ugly. In a few "What arc you herc for again?" she asked, giving a start. years Mrs. Tsou's daughter might be worth considering. "There is a revolution . . . dcr.r't you know?" said Ah Foreign Devil's wifc is willing to sleep with Q The Imitation vagucly. a mafl without a pigtail, hah! She can't be a good woman! "Revolution, revolution. . . there has already becn one," The successf ul county candidate's wife has scars on her sairl the old nun, her cyes red from cryring. "What clo you eyelids. . . have not seen Amah \7u for a long time, and . I think vriil become of us r,vith ail your revolutions?" pity hcr feet are so big." don't know rvhere she is - what a 49 48 "What?" askcd Ah Q in astonishment. "Didn't you know? The revolutionaries havc alrcady been here!" "Who?" askcd Ah Q in even greater astonishment. "Thc successful county candidate and the Imitation Foreign Devil." This came as a complete surprise to Ah Q, who could not help being taken aback. When the old nun saw that he had lost his aggressiveness, she quickly shut the gate, so that when Ah Q pushed it again he could not budge it, and when he knocked again there was no aoswer. It had happened that morning. The successful county candidate in the Chao family learned the news quickly, and as soor as hc heard that the revolutionaries had cntered the town that night, he immediatety wound his pigtail up on his head and went out first thing to call on the Imitation Foreign Devil in the Chicn tamlly, with rvhom he had nevet been on good terms before. Because this was a time for all to work for reforms, thcy had a very pleasant talk and on thc spot becamc comradcs who saw eye to cye and pledged themselves to become revolutionaries. After racking their brains for somc time, they remem- bered that in the Convent of Quiet Self-improvement there was an imperial tablet inscribed "Long Live the Emperor" which ought to be done away with at once. Thereupon they lost no time in going to the convent to carry out their revolutionary activities. Because the old ntrn tried to stop them, and put in a few words, they considered her as the Manchu government and knocked her on the head many times rvith a stick and with their knuckles. The nun, pulling t FIighly clecorativc bronzc ccnscrs wcre trlildc dutiLrg thc [{suan Tc herself together after they had gone, made an inspection. pcriocl (1.426-1.435) of the Ming dynasty. io ,I It would be wrong, however, to say that there \Mere no reforms in Weichuang. DLrring thc ncxt few days the number of people who coiled their pigtails on their heads CHAPTER 8 gradually incrcased, and, as has already been saicl, the first to do so was naturally the successful county candidate; the next wcrc Chao Szu-chen and Cbao Pai-yen, and aftcr been summer it would not havc 'Borred t/te lpvo/ution them Ah Q. If it had 1fi'orn been considercd strange if everybody l-rad coiled their pigtails on their hcacls or tied thcm in knots; but this was labc autumn, so that tl-ris autumn obscrvance of a summcr practicc pigtails could be con- Tun people of \Wcichuang becarne more reassured cvcry on the part of those who coilcd their and as far as duy. From the news that was brought they knew that, sidered nothl:ng short of a heroic decision, ]il/eichuang was conccrned it could not bc said to havc had although thc rcvolutionaries had entercd thc town, thcir no conncctiofl u'ith the reforms. corning hacl lrot made a grcat dcal of cliffe rence ' The Chao Szu-chen approached with the napc of magistrate was still the highest ofiicial, it was only his titlc \7hen his ncck barc, pcople who saw him rcuarhccl, "Ah! Ilerc that hacl changcd; ancl thc succcssful provincial candidatc also had some post thc !fleichuang viltagcrs could not conres a revolutionary!" - 'Whcn Ah hcnr:d this hc was grcatly imprcssccl. Although remcmbcr thcse namcs clcarly sonlc kind o[ oi{icial post; Q - hc had long since hcard l-row thc successful county candidatc whilc the hcad of thc mititaty r'vas still thc samc t.rlcl captain' hrs pigtail on his he:,rd, it had ncvcr rlcctrtred to The only cause for alatm was that, the day af tcr their had cojled do ttre samc. Only norv when hc saw that Chao arcival, somc bad rcvolulionaries n-radc troLrblc b-v cutting him to Szu-chcn had followcd suit was hc struck with the idea of ofl pcople's pigtails. It rvas saicl that the boatman "Scvcn doing thc sarne himsclf. IIe madc up his rnind to copy I)ounder" from thc ncxt village had fallen into thcir clutches, He usecl a banrboo chopstick to twist his pigtail Lrp ancl that hc no longer lookcd prcscntablc. Still, thc dangcr thcm. cventually sr-rn'rmcinccl of this wrls not great, bccausc thc \Tcichuerng villagcr:s on his hcad, and aftcr somc hcsit:ltiou tup the couragc to go ottt" seldom wcnt to towlr Lo bcgit-r r.'"'it[r, ancl thosc v-ho hacl bccn hc rvalkecl along the strect peoplc looke d irt hinr, consiclct:l't-rg a tl:ip to town at oncc chaugccl their mincls iu As said anything,. Ah was vcry displeascd at orclcr to avoid this risk. Ah Q had bccn thinking of goiug btrt ntbody Q becan-rc vcry rcsclltful. Recently he had bccn to town to look Lrp his otd friencls, but as soon 21s hc hearcl 6r:st, thcn hc tcmpcr vcry casily. As a mattcr of fact his lifc the ncr.vs hc became rcsignccl ancl gavc up thc idca. losing his

)J was no hardcr than before the revolution, people treated o[ a ]Ian Lin.2 As a rcsult, Mr. Chao's prestige suddcnly him polit.ely, and thc shops no longer demanded payment increased, far more so in fact than when his son first passed in cash, yet Ah Q still felt dissatisfied. He thought since a the ofiicial examination; consequertly he started looking revolution had taken place, it should involve more than down on everyone e1sc, aud, when he saw Ah Q, tended to this. SThen he saw Young D, his anger boiled over. ignore him a little. Young D had also coilcd his pigtail up on his head and, Ah Q was thoroughly discontented at finding himself what was morc, he had actually used a bamboo chopstick continually ignored, but as soofl as he heard of this silvcr to do so too. Al, Q had never irnagined that Young D peach he realized at oflce why hc was left out in thc cold. 'uvould also have the colrrage to do this; he certainly could Simply to say that you had gone over was not enough to not tolerate such a thing! Who was Young D anyway? He make anyone a revolutionary; flor was it enough merely to u/as greatly tempted to seize him then and there, break his wind your pigtail up on your head; the most important thing all bamboo chopstick, lct clown his pigtail and slap his face v/as to get into touch with the revolutionary party. In scveral times into thc bargain to punish him for forgetting his life he had known only two revolutionarics, one of whom his place and for his presumption in bccoming a revolu- had already lost 1-ris head in town, leaving only the Imitation oflce to talk things over tionary. But in the end he lec him off, simply fixing him Foreign Devil. Unless he went at Devil, no way would bc left with a furious glare, spitting, ancl exclaiming, "Pahl" with the Imitation Foreign 'Ihesc last ferv days the only one to go to towfl was thc open to him. The front gate of the Chien house happened to be open, Imitation Foreign Devil. The successftrl county candidatc and Ah crept timidly in. Once inside he gave a start, in the Chao family had thoLrght of using the dcpositecl Q for there he saw the Imitation Foreign Devil standing in cases as a pretext to call on tl-rc successful ptovincial can- the middle of the courtyard dressed entitely in black, no didatc, but the danger that hc might have his pigtail cut doubt in foreign dress, and also wearing a silver peach. In off had made him clefer his visit. FIe hacl writtcn an ex- his hand he held the stick with which Ah Q was alrcady lctter, and askcd the Foreign tremcly formal Imitation acquainted to his cost, and the foot or so of hair which he he also asked to Devil to take it to town; had the latter hacl grown again fell over his shoulders, hanging dishevcllcd introdtrce him to the Liberty lrarty. Whcn thc Imitation Iike Saint Liu's.3 Standiog erect before him were Chao Foreign Devil came back he asked the successful county can- clidate for four dollars, after which the successful county l Tlre Liberty Party was callccl Tzu Ytt Tang. The villagcts, not Lrtl- Shib Yu' mcans candidate wore a silver peach on his chest. All the $Vei- clerstanding the word Liberty, tutned T7a Ytt into which persimmon oil. chuang villagers v/ere overawed, and said that this was thc 2The highest literary degree in thc Ching dynastv (1644-1911). Pcrsimmon badge of the Oil Partyt equivalent to the rank 3 An immottal in Chinese folk legeod, portrayed with flowing hair. ,4 ,t Pai-yen and three others, all of them listening rvith the Then Chao Pai-ycn atrd the others shouted, "Mt' Chien utmost defercnce to what the Imitation Foreign Devil was tells you to get out, don't You hear!" and without sayrng. Ah Q put up his hands to protect his head, gatc; but this Ah Q tiptoed inside and stooci behind Chao Pai-yen, l

51 56 It was even darker in the Tutelary God's Templc' When man suddenly rushed out in front of As soon as Ah him. he had closed the big gate he groped his way into his room, saw him, he turned and followed as fast as he could. Q and only after he had been lying down for some time did he When that man turned, Ah turned too, and after Q whcn feel calm enough to begin thinking how tl-ris affccted him' turning a corfler that man stopped, Ah stopped I{e Q too. The men in white helmets and white armour had evidently saw there v/as no one behind, and that the man Young D. was arrived, but thcy had not comc to call him; they had taken "What is the matter?" asked Ah resentfully. Q away rrrany things, but there was no share for him - this was "Chao . . . the Chao family has bcen robbed," panted all the fault of the Imitation Foreigrr Devil, who had barred Young D. him from the rebellion. Otherwise how could he have failed Ah heart went pit-a-pat. telling Q's After him this, Young to have a share this time? D left. Ah ran on, then stopped two three Q or times. How- The more Ah Q thought of it the angrier hc grew, until ever, since he had once been in the business himself, he felt lre was in a towering rage. "So no rebellion for me, only exceptionally courageous. Emerging from the street corner, for you, eh?" he exclaimed, nodding maliciously' "Cursc he listened carefully and thought he heard shouting; he also you, you Imitation Foteign Dcvil - all right, be a rcbcl ! looked carefully and thought he could see a lot of men in A rebel is punished by having his hcad choppcd off' I'11 white helrnets and white armour, cattying off cases, carrying turn informet, and sce you carricd into town to havc your ofi furniture, even carrying ofi the Ningpo bed of the success- head cut ofi - you and all your family' ' ' ' Kill, ki11!" ful county candidate's wife; he could not, however, sce thcm very clearly. He wanted to go nearer, but his feet were rooted to the ground. There was no moon that night, and l7eichuang was very still in the pitch darkness, as quiet as in the peaceful days of the ancienc Emperor Fu Hsi.1 Ah Q stood there until hc lost interest, yet everything still seemed the same as before; in the distance people moved to and fro, carcying things, catrying off cases, carrying ofi furniture, cartyilg off the Ningpo bed of the succcssful county candidate's wife carrying until he could hardly belicve his owr-r eyes. But he decided not to go nearer, and went back to the temple.

1 One of the earlicst legendary monatchs in China. 59 y8 l-ris heels. The rest of thc room consisted of three blank walls, and when hc looked rouncl carefully he saw two other CHAPTER 9 men in a cofnet of tl-re r:oom. Although Ah Q was feeling rather uneasy, he was by no means too dcprcssed, because the room where he slept in the Tutclary God's Temple was in uo rvay superior to Trte Qrarud Jinale this. Thc two othcr men also scemed to be villagers. They gradualty fcll into conversation with him, and one of them tolcl him that the successful provincial candidatc rvanted to clrrn him for the rent owed by his grandfather; thc other Arrnn the Chao f amily was robbed most of the peo- clici not know why hc r.vas thcre. Whcn they questioncd ple in Weichuang felt pleased yet f earful, and Ah a Ah Q, hc answered quite frankly, "Because I wantecl to was no exception. But four days later Ah Q was suddenly revolt." dragged into town in thc middle of the night. It happened That afternoon l're was draggcd out through the barred to be a dark night. A squad of soldiers, a sqr.rad of militia, door and taken to a big hall, at the far end of which sat a squad of police and fivc secret servicemen made their way an olcl man with a cleaniy shaven head. Ah Q took him quietly to V/eichuang, and, after posting a machine-gun op- fot a monk at first, but wl'ren he saw soldiers standing guard positc the entrance, under cover of darkness they surrounded and a dozen men in long coats on both sides, some with their the Tutelary Gocl's Templc. Ah Q did not rush out. For a heads clean-shaven like this old man and some with a foot lor.rg timc nothing stirrcd in thc ten'rplc. The captain grew or so of hair hanging ovcr thcir shoulders like the Imitation impaticr.rt and offe red a rcward of twe nty thousand cash. Forcign Dcvil, all glaring futiously at [-rim with grim faces, Only then did two militiamen sunrnlon up courage tcl iump l're knew this man must be someone itnportant. At once the 'With over the wall and enter. their co-operation from within, joints of l.ris kr.rees rclaxed of their owtr accorcl, and l.re sanl< the others rushed in and clragged Ah Q out. But not until down. he had been carricd out of the temple to somewhere near "Stand up to speak! Don't knecl!" sl.routed all the men thc machinc-gun did hc bcgin to sobcr up. in the long coats. It was alreacly midclay by thc time thcy reached town, Although Ah Q understood, hc {elt incapablc of standing and Ah Q founcl hirnsclf catried to a dilapidated up: his body had involuntarily clropped to a squatting po- where, after taliing fivc or six turnings, he was pushed into sition, and improving on it he finally knclt down. a small room. No sooner hacl hc stumbled insicle than the "Slavc! ." cxclaimed thc long-coated mcn contemptu- door, made of woodcn bars to lorm a gratilg, closed upon ously. They dicl not insist on l'ris getting up, howevcr'

6o 6r "Tell because this was the first time in his life that his hand had the trurh and you will receive a lighter sentence,,, said ever come into contact with zr writing brush. He rvas iust the old man rvith the shaven heacl, in a low but clear .,I wondering how to holcl it when the man pointed out a place voicc, fixing his eyes on Ah know everyrhing already. e. on the paper, ancl tolcl him to sign l'ris narne. When you have confessed, I will let you go.,, "I-I can't u/r'itc," said Ah shamefaced, nervously "Confess !" repeated the long-coated men loudly. - Q, "The holding thc br:Lrsh. fact is I wauted to come .,, muttered Ah "In that casc, to nrake it easy for you, draw a circlel" Q disjointedly, after a moment,s confusecl thinking. Ah Q tricd to draw a circle, but the hand with which hc "In that case, why didn,t you come?,, asked the olcl man gently. graspccl thc brush trembled, so the man spread tl.re paper on thc grur,rncl for him. Ah Q bent dor.vn and, as painstakingly "The Imitation Foreign Devil woulcln,t let mc!,, irs if his lifc depended on ir, drew a circle. Afraid peoplc "Nonsense! It is too late to talk now. rJ7here are your accomplices ?" would laugh at him, he determined to make the circle round; "What? . ." howcvcr, not only was that wretched brush very heavy, but it v'ould not do his bidding. Instead it wobbled from side "The people who robb t night.,, to side; and iust as the line was about to close it swerved out "They didn't come to the things again, making a shape like a melon seed. away themselves." Ment inclignant. "lWhere While Ah Q was ashamed because he had not been able did they go? me rvill I to draw a round circle, the man had already taken back the let you go," repeated the old man even more gcr.rtly. "I paper and brush without any comment. A numbcr of peo- don't know thcy clidn't come to call me. .,, . ple then dragged him back for the third time through the Thcn, at a sign fronr the olcl rnan, Ah v/as draggecl e barred door. back through tl.rc barred door. The following ,norning h" particularly sup- was dragged out oncc more. .This time he did not feel irritated. FIe -posed that in this world it was the fate of everybody at some Everything was unchanged in the big ha1l. The olcl man time to be dragged in and out of prison, and to have to draw with the clean-shaven head was still sitting there, and Ah e circles paper; was because his circle not been knelt down again as before. on it only had round that he felt there was a stain on his reputation. Pres- "Have you anything else to say?,, asked the old man gcntly. ently, however, he regained composure by thinking, "Only Ah Q thought, and decided there was nothing to say, so he idiots can make perfect circles.': And with this thought he answered, "Nothing." . fe1l asleep. Then a man in a long coat brought a sheeb of paper and That night, howerret, the successful provincial candidate held a brush in front of Ah e, which he wanted to thrust into was unable to go to sleep, because he had quarrelled with the his hand. Ah Q was now nearly frightened out of his wits, 6z captain. 'Ihc srrccessf ul provincial cancliclatc had insisted was \rery like mcurning clrcss, attd to wear mourning was that thc mosl: irnportant thing \vas to rccover the sLolcu goods, unlucky. At the samc tirnc his hands were bound behind his rvhile the eaptain said the most important thing was to make back, and he rvas clraggcd nut of the yamelt. a public criample. Reccntly thc cnptain had comc to trczrt thc r\h Q was liftctl orr to arr ttncovdred cart, ancl several men successful provincial candidate quite disdainfully. So, banging in shott lacl

6t, revolved like a whirlwind: The Young Widout at Her eager to devour somcthiflg bcyot.rd his flesh and blood. And Hu..rband's Graoe \r/as not heroic enough. The worcls of "I these eycs kept following him at a sct distance. regret to have killed" inTbe Battle ot' Dragon and Tiger wcre Tl-rese eyes seemccl to have nerged into one, biting into his too poor. I'll thrash you'zaitb a steel tnd.ce was still thc best. sou1. But when he wanted to raise his hands, he remembered that "Help, help!" they were bound together; so he did not sing I'll thrash yott. But Ah Q rrcvcr trttered these words. A1l had turned black either. before his cycs, thcrc was a buzzing in his ears, and he felt "In twenty years I shall be another. ."1 In his agitation as if his wholc body wcre being scattered like so much light Ah Q uttered half a saying which he had picked up himself clust. but never used before. The crowd's roar "Good!!!" sounded As for the after-cffects of the robbery, the most affected like the growl of a wolf. \virs thc successful provincial canclidate, because the stolen The cart moved steadily forward. During the shouting Ah goocls were never recovered. Al1 his family lamented bitterly. Q's eyes turned in search of Am4h Wu, but she did not seem Ncxt came thc Chao household; for when the successful to have soen him for she was looking intently at the foreign county candidatc went into to\Mn to report the robbery, not rifles carried by the soldiers. only did he have his pigtail cut off by bad rcvolutionaries, but he had to pay a reward of twenty thousand cash the So Ah Q took another look at the shouting crowd. into At that instant his thoughts revolved again like a whirl- bargain;; so all the Chao family lamented bitterly too. From that day for:ward they gradually assumecl thc tl.re sur- wind. Four years befote, at the foot of the mountain, he had air of vivors of a fallen dynasty. met a hungry wolf which had followed him at a set distance, As for ar.ry discussion of the eveflt, no question was raised in wanting to eat him. I-Ie had ncarly died of fright, but luckily 'Wcichuang. Nattrrally all agreed that Ah had been a bacl he happened to have an axe in his hand, which gave him the Q rnan, the proof being that hc had been sl.rot; for if he had not courage to get back to \i7eichuang. He had never forgotten -been bad, l.row cotrld he have bcen shot? But thc consensus of that wolf's eyes, fierce yet cowardly, gleaming like two will- opinion in town was unfavourable. Most people wcre dissatis- o'-the-wisps, as if boring into him from a distance. Now he fied, because a shooting was not such a fine spectaclc as a saw eyes more even than the yet pene- terrible wolf's: dull dccapitation; and wl.rat a ridiculous culprit he had been too, trating eyes that, having devoured his words, seemed still to pass through s^o 1rrnfl)I strects without singing a sr'L.rgle linc from an opera. The1, hacl followed him for nr-rthing. I "In twenty years I shall be anothcr stout young fe[[ow" was a phrase often uscd by crimioals beforc exccution, to show their scorn December lgzr of death. Belicving in the transmigration of the sou1, they thought that after death theit sorrls would enter othet living bodies.

66 ABOUT THE AU'IHOR

Lu nsuu, pseurlonym of Chou Shu-icn, is the father o[ modern Chinese literature, and thc greatest standard- bearer of the Chinese cultural revolution' He v'as born in Shaohsing, Chekiang Provincc, in I8Br and died in Shanghai in 1936. As early as r9I8, the year before the May Fourth Movc- ment, hc published his story A Maclman's Diary, calling ou the Chinese pcople to risc and givc battle to feudalism. There- after Lu Hsun identified his work with tl're Chincse people's revolution for which l-rc wagccl a rclcntlcss struggle until his dcath. In l.ris latcr ycars (aftcr t9z7) l'te u'as closer than ever to the Chinesc Commtruist Par:ty, and became a fcatless fighter and gtcat thinl

68 {

thinking is influenced and poi- soned by the feudal ruling class which cxploits and oppresses him. The feudal oppression affects Ah Q to the point of a ncurosis in which he indulges in "moral vic- tories," puts up no resistance to the evils of the contemporary society and cannot be really awakened. But, while revealing Ah Q's weakness of will, the author shows deep sympathy for him. It rvrs the author's sincere hope that the broad masses of peasants, victims of feudal op- pression and imperialist aggrcs- sion, might be aroused and rise in resistance against them. The simplicity and directness of style, and the bcauty of language used by Lu Hsun in witing The True Storl of Ab Q place it high enrong Iitcrary works of the time lJ,I CJ iF- lF h il:+ for both content and style. triel,i;. )\'il\iLti) FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS /l ( lt;jr tilll',I?l:iTllfi ) PEKING rc$Irn-.)di fi1zir_qi!f|.]tr.

/,1,i L,: (4) rooso-sgl 00050 t0-E-87P SELECTED STORIES OF LU HSUN

Lu Hsun (1881-1936), chief commonder of Chino's modern culturol revolution, wos not only o greot thinker ond politicol commentotor but the founder of modern Chinese literoture. As eorly os in the Moy 1918 issue of the mogozine.ltrleti-r Youth, Lu Hsun published one of his best stories, A Madman's Diarg. This wos his "declorotion of wor" ogoinst Chino's feudol society, ond the first short story in the history of modern Chinese litero- ture. Thereofter he followed up with o succession of stories such os The True Storg of Ah Q ond The New Year's Sacrifice, which cut through ond shorply ottocked stork reolity in the dork old society, These stories were loter included in the three volumes CaLl to Arms, Wandering ond Old Tales Retold, ond hove become treosures in the Chinese people's literory heritoge. In his eorly life Lu Hsun wos o revolutionory democrot, who loter motured into o communist. His eorlier works were moinly stories, 18 of the more importont of which, plus the prefoce to CalL to Arms, his first short story collection, hove been selected for this volume. The stories show cleorly his method in this period of creotive writing, thoroughgoing criticol reolism, o method closely reloted to the outright onti-imperiolist ond onti- feudol views which he formed in his eorly doys. ln his prefoce to CalI to Arms, the outhor tells his motive in choosing Iiteroture os o weopon of struggle. This will give reoders o deeper understonding of Lu Hsun's stories. Size: 51/e" X 8Y+" 255 pages lllustrated

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