Hung-chien was extremely tired and sleepy, but his mind would not settle down. Sleep gathered in on all sides but did not close up, like two halves of a window curtain that are about to join when suddenly the cord becomes stuck, letting through a thread of the outside world. After he had finally fallen asleep, a small voice began crying plaintively, from deep within his dreams, “Get off my clothes! Get off my clothes!” Hung-chien instinctively rolled aside and then was immediately wide-awake. He heard a sigh by his head, very faint like a suppressed emotion escaping as a furtive breath. He was so frightened his hair stood on end. He could not make out anything in the darkness and thought of lighting a match, but he was afraid he really would see something. Hsin-mei was snoring; far away a dog was barking. He paused for a moment to collect his wits and laughed at himself for imagining things. He relaxed and was about to drift off to sleep, but it was as though some force were preventing him from sleeping, propping up his whole being, propping him up and not letting him settle down. In a semiconscious state, he had a dim sense that when awake one is suspended loosely in space but he becomes heavy the moment he falls asleep.
As he was struggling to go to sleep, he heard Miss Sun next to him breathing unsteadily as though she wanted to cry but couldn’t. When he roused himself and focused his attention, his sleep vanished again, and he very distinctly heard a sigh close to his ear, like a breath let out when work is finished. Hung-chien turned his head away to escape that sighing mouth. His throat and tongue had gone dry and stuck together in fright, so he couldn’t call out, “Who is it?” Afraid that the mouth would press close to his ear and tell him who it was, he quickly pulled the covers over his head. His heart was pounding so hard that it seemed his breast could not contain it. Through the covers he heard Hsin-mei grinding his teeth in sleep. The sound dispelled his fright and made him feel he had returned to the human world. When he stuck his head out, something scurried past his head and he heard a mouse squeak. He lit a match. The jittery flame leaped up and then died out, but he had glimpsed his watch, which read exactly twelve o’clock. Awakened by the flash of light, Miss Sun turned over. He asked her if she had had a bad dream. She told him she had dreamt that a pair of child’s hands were pushing at her body and wouldn’t let her sleep. He told her of his own impressions and urged her not to be afraid.
Before five in the morning, the sedan bearers washed and cooked rice. Hung-chien and Miss Sun, neither of whom had slept the rest of the night, also rose and went outside for a breath of fresh air. They then discovered that nothing but graves were behind the house. It looked as though the house had been built on top of the graves. Not far behind the lodge a broken door frame stuck up sharply. The main part of the building had burned down, leaving only this entrance. The two door panels had also been carted away.
Pointing to the coarse steamed bread, Hung-chien asked, “Miss Sun, do you believe in ghosts?”
Miss Sun, who since her nightmare had become much closer to Hung-chien, replied with a smile, “It’s hard to say. Sometimes I do and sometimes I definitely don’t. Like last night, for instance, I thought ghosts were really scary. But now, even though there are graves all around, I don’t feel there’s such a thing as a ghost.”
Hung-chien said, “That’s a very fresh thought. There’s definitely a time factor involved in the existence of ghosts, like certain flowers of spring that are gone by summer.”
Miss Sun said, “You said the voice you heard was like a child’s, and the hands in my dream were like a child’s, too. It’s just too strange.”
“Maybe the place where we were sleeping was once a child’s grave. See how small those graves are. They don’t seem like adults’.”
“Why don’t ghosts grow up?” asked Miss Sun innocently. “Children who’ve been dead for decades are still children.”
Hung-chien replied, “That’s why separation or death is preferred to ‘spending a lifetime together.’ It can keep people from aging. Not only do ghosts not grow old, but friends we haven’t seen for a long time remain just as dashing in our mind’s eye as they were then, even though we ourselves have already grown old—Hey, Hsin-mei.”
Hsin-mei laughed loudly and asked, “What did you two come to this godforsaken place to talk about so early in the morning?”
They both related what had happened during the night. Hsin-mei said sardonically, “So you really had a communion of souls in your dreams. How wonderful! I didn’t feel a thing myself. But of course I’m too vulgar. No ghost would bother to pay me a visit. By the way, the sedan bearers say we can get to the school by this afternoon.”
In his sedan chair Fang Hung-chien wondered what it would be like when they reached the school that day. In any case he no longer entertained any hopes. That broken-down door behind the lodge was a good symbol. It was like an entrance, concealing behind it deep palaces and high towers. One was lured inside only to find nothing there: an entrance into nothing, a place that went nowhere. “All hope abandon, ye who enter here!” In spite of this, an irrepressible curiosity and anticipation, like water boiling on the stove, pushed up against the lid of the kettle. He hated the way the sedan bearers meandered along and preferred to get off the chair and walk by himself.
Stirred by a similar feeling, Hsin-mei had also grown restless in his chair and began to walk. “Hung-chien,” he said, “we’ve really gained a lot of experience during this trip. Ultimately everything came out well, and we reached the Western Paradise [Buddhist heaven]. At least from now on we can keep a respectful distance from Li Mei-t’ing and Ku Er-chien. In the case of Li it goes without saying, but Ku’s fawning obsequiousness is really unbearable.”
Hung-chien said, “I’ve found that flattery is just like love. It doesn’t allow a third party to look on disinterestedly. Next time we start praising someone, we should be careful that no one else is around.”
Hsin-mei said, “A trip like this really tests a person’s character. Traveling is so exhausting and vexing; it’s apt to show a person’s true self. People who go through a long hard journey together without incurring each other’s dislike can become good friends—but hold on, let me finish. The honeymoon trip after marriage is an exception. People should take a month’s trip together first and then after a month of the rigors of travel, if neither one has seen through the other and doesn’t detest the other, if they haven’t quarreled and fallen out and still want to stick to the original marriage agreement, then such a couple is sure never to divorce.”
“Why don’t you tell that to Mr. and Mrs. Ts’ao Yüan-lang?”
“Sorry, but I’m saying this to you alone. Now that you’ve made this trip, Miss Sun doesn’t annoy you, does she?”
As he spoke, Hsin-mei took a look back at Miss Sun’s sedan chair, then turned around and laughed heartily.
“Don’t talk rubbish. Tell me, now that you’ve made this trip, what do you think of me? Do you find me annoying?”
“You’re not annoying, but you’re completely useless.”
Hung-chien had not expected such a blunt answer from Hsin-mei and was so enraged that he could do no more than smile bitterly. His high spirits completely destroyed, he walked on in silence for a few more steps; then with a wave at Hsin-mei, he said, “I’m going to go ride in the chair.” Once in the sedan chair he sat dejectedly, not knowing why it was considered a virtue to speak frankly.
6
KAO SUNG-NIEN, the president of San Lü University, was an “old science scholar.” The word “old” here is quite bothersome. It could describe science or it could just as well be describing a scientist. Unfortunately, there is a world of difference between a scientist and science. A scientist is like wine. The older he gets, the more valuable he is, while science is like a woman. When she gets old, she’s worthless. Once Mandarin grammar reaches its full development, the time will come when “old science scholar” can be clearly distinguished from “scholar of old science” or one will say “science old scholar” or “old science scholar.” But as it’s stil
l too early for that yet, a general term of reference will have to do in the meantime.
Kao Sung-nien’s fat but firm face was like an unleavened millet-flour steamed bread. “Voracious time” (Edax vetustas) could not make a dent on it. There was not a single tooth mark or crease. If a coed who had violated a school rule were extremely pretty, President Kao would only want her to beg for mercy and admit her mistake before him; then perhaps he would not carry out the law to the fullest extent but would let her off with a light punishment. This proves that this scientist wasn’t old yet. Twenty years ago he studied entomology abroad. Apparently the insects of twenty years ago had evolved into university students and professors, and so he had been invited to act as an “example to scholars.” As a university president, his prospects were unlimited.
University presidents fall into two categories—those from the liberal arts and those from the natural sciences. Those from liberal arts rarely accede to this position, and when they do they don’t look upon it as an honor, since they probably came to it after having been turned out of public office.
Failing as an official, they turn to scholarly pursuits, cultivating mind and body with the riches of the classics and the sounds of music and chanting. For those from the natural sciences, the situation is quite different. China is the greatest promoter of science of any country in the world; no other governmental body is so willing to offer high posts to scientists. As Western science moves forward, Chinese scientists move upward. In the West, scholarship devoted to the study of human sentiments and to the study of nature’s laws have always been kept separate. In China, however, one need only have a knowledge of hydroelectrics, civil engineering, mechanics, plant and animal technology, and so on, to be able to run public affairs and govern people. That is the greatest triumph of the “uniform law of nature.” For someone from the natural sciences to be a university president is merely the beginning of a career in government. Heretofore, the Way of Great Learning1 lay in ruling the country and pacifying the land; now ruling the country and pacifying the land lies in the Way of the University (literally, great learning), which in addition is wide and open. For the former category, a university is a rocking chair for resting; for the latter, it is a cradle for nurturing—as long as the person takes care not to rock himself to sleep.
Kao Sung-nien worked furiously day and night without rest. He was so keen he literally slept with his eyes wide open and his glasses on, so that he was never hazy even in his dreams. The cradle had been very well chosen. It was the garden of a local millionaire, in the countryside of the P’ing-ch’eng district; it faced a stream with mountains in the background. This country town was definitely not strategically important. The one thing that the Japanese were generous and unsparing with—bombs—would be wasted there. Thus the town, no more than half a li from the school, was prospering every day, featuring photo shops, restaurants, bathhouses, theaters, a police station, and high and grade schools.
That spring when Kao Sung-nien received his appointment to set up the school, a few old friends in Chungking gave him a farewell party. During the dinner they remarked on the large number of universities and the scarcity of professors in the interior, and since San Lü was a new and as yet unknown university in a remote area, they wondered if he could recruit any prominent professors.
Kao Sung-nien replied with a smile, “My view is quite different from yours, gentlemen. Of course, it’d be nice to have a well-known professor. With his prestige, the school would gain from his affiliation, while he himself would not be dependent on the school. If he were haughty or temperamental, he would not devote himself fully to the school nor obey absolutely the commands of his superior. If he threatened to quit, you’d have a hard time finding a replacement, and the students would find some excuse to make trouble. I think a school shouldn’t merely train its students but should train its faculty as well. If unknowns are brought in, they will have to look to the school for favors and depend on the school for their status, while the school will not be beholden to them. They can really work with the school and be willing to work hard for the good of everyone. The school is also an organization, and as such it certainly requires scientific management. There are never any special persons in a sound organization, only individual units dutifully carrying out orders. So, there is nothing difficult about recruiting professors.”
His listeners were overcome with admiration. Kao had not always held this view but had merely spouted it out on the spur of the moment. After receiving the adulation of his friends, he gradually believed it to be the gospel truth and was overcome with self-admiration. From then on he was constantly expounding this idea, giving it an added sanction by saying, “I’m a student of biology, and a school is an organism, too. The faculty should be to the school as the cells are to the organism—” This gospel truth was transformed into scientific law.
Thanks to this scientific law, Li Mei-t’ing, Ku Er-chien, and Fang Hung-chien were all honored with professorial appointments. They arrived at the school that afternoon after two. After he learned of their arrival, Kao hurried over to the faculty dormitory to greet them, then returned to his office, no longer able to dismiss the matter that had been troubling him for the past month. Since the crisis at Ch’angsha, nine out of ten professors he hired had sent telegrams canceling their contracts on one pretext or another. Everything was topsy-turvy and many classes had to be canceled; fortunately, the war had affected the students also, and only 158 of them had shown up. Having four professors arrive all at once was a real boost to his morale, and it would look a little better when he wrote a report to the Ministry of Education.
But how was he to explain things to Li Mei-t’ing and Fang Hung-chien? Vice-minister Wang of the Ministry of Education had recommended Wang Ch’u-hou to be chairman of the Department of Chinese Literature. Meanwhile he had already written and appointed Li Mei-t’ing to the post—but Wang Ch’u-hou was Vice-minister Wang’s uncle and for that reason was better qualified than Li Mei-t’ing. The succession of telegrams from professors declining appointments at that time had put his head in a spin. Afraid that the group from Shanghai would turn back halfway, he decided he had better humor Vice-minister Wang first. He felt Wang Ch’u-hou could not be easily handled, while Li Mei-t’ing was an old friend and as such could always be brought around. He was worried that Li’s temper would be hard to deal with. Very hard indeed! That young Fang fellow, on the other hand, should be easy to handle. Fang was a friend of Chao Hsin-mei. Not wanting to come himself, Hsin-mei had at first recommended Fang, saying Fang was a returned student with a doctorate from Germany. What absolute nonsense that was! According to the resumé sent by Fang himself, Fang had no degree at all and was nothing but a student drifter who had led a life of dissipation in one country after another. Furthermore, Fang had never even studied political science. To hire Fang as a professor would be an injustice! At the most Fang could start as an associate professor and work his way up step by step. Young people shouldn’t climb too high in their jobs. He could have Hsin-mei tell Fang that. The difficulty still lay with Li Mei-t’ing. In any case, Li had been through hell and high water to get here, so Li certainly wouldn’t just break off and leave immediately. Since getting here had been so difficult, leaving wouldn’t be so easy either. He would make Li some empty promises and let it go at that. After all, wasn’t it through his influence that Li had made it from a private school to a national university in one leap? One had to show some gratitude. In any case, all this could wait till the next day. No use worrying about it now. Meanwhile, there was dinner at the police chief’s house that night. The dinner was the usual social affair. The great banquets in the small village always came down to the same few dishes. Kao had had his fill of them, but it was now past four, and he was getting a little hungry. At the thought of dinner, his mouth watered.
When travelers reach their destination, they disperse like the wave splashing in all directions upon reaching shore. But that day Hung-chien and the other three men s
till went to the village together to get a haircut and take a bath. When they returned to the school, they saw on the bulletin board an announcement written on a piece of pink paper stating that the Chinese literature students were holding a tea in the social room at seven-thirty that evening to welcome Mr. Li Mei-t’ing.
“What a nuisance! What a nuisance!” said Li in delight. “I’m so tired; I was planning to go to bed early today! Those kids are too enthusiastic for their own good. Mr. Chao, aren’t they quick at getting the news!”
“Of all the nerve!” said Hsin-mei. “Why don’t the Political Science Department students throw a party to welcome me?”
Li said, “What’s your hurry? Why don’t you take my place at today’s reception? I’d rather sleep.”
Ku Er-chien nodded and said with a sigh, “People in Chinese studies know the proper etiquette, all right. I don’t think the students in any other department would ever pay their teacher such honor and respect.” With that he smiled sweetly at Li. God must have regretted at that moment not having appended a waggable dog’s tail to man’s body, thereby reducing by no one knows how much man’s power of expression.
Hung-chien said, “All of you are affiliated with one department or another. I still don’t know which department I will be teaching in. President Kao didn’t make it clear in his telegram.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Hsin-mei quickly. “You can teach philosophy, Chinese—”
Li Mei-t’ing said with a sly smile, “You’ll have to get my permission to teach Chinese, Mr. Fang. Do a good job of currying favor with me, and we can come to terms on anything.”
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