Kai Lung's Golden Hours
Page 10
CHAPTER IX
The Propitious Dissension between Two whose General Attributes have already been sufficiently Described
When Kai Lung had related the story of Chang Tao and had made an endof speaking, those who were seated there agreed with an undividedvoice that he had competently fulfilled his task. Nor did Shan Tienomit an approving word, adding:
"On one point the historical balance of a certain detail seemed opento contention. Accompany me, therefore, to my own severe retreat,where this necessarily flat and unentertaining topic can be looked atfrom all round."
When they were alone together the Mandarin unsealed a jar of wine,apportioned melon seeds, and indicated to Kai Lung that he should situpon the floor at a suitable distance from himself.
"So long as we do not lose sight of the necessity whereby my officialposition will presently involve me in condemning you to a painfuldeath, and your loyal subjection will necessitate your whole-heartedco-operation in the act, there is no reason why the flower of literaryexcellence should wither for lack of mutual husbandry," remarked thebroad-minded official tolerantly.
"Your enlightened patronage is a continual nourishment to the soil ofmy imagination," replied the story teller.
"As regards the doings of Chang Tao and of the various otherpersonages who unite with him to form the fabric of the narrative,would not a strict adherence to the fable in its classical simplicityrequire the filling in of certain details which under your elusivetongue seemed, as you proceeded, to melt imperceptibly into a discreetbackground?"
"Your voice is just," confessed Kai Lung, "and your harmonious earcorrects the deficiencies of my afflicted style. Admittedly in thestory of Chang Tao there are here and there analogies which may befittingly left to the imagination as the occasion should demand. Is itnot rightly said: 'Discretion is the handmaiden of Truth'? and in thatspacious and well-appointed palace there is every kind of vessel, butthe meaner are not to be seen in the more ceremonial halls. Thus hewho tells a story prudently suits his furnishing to the condition ofhis hearers."
"Wisdom directs your course," replied Shan Tien, "and propriety sitsbeneath your supple tongue. As the necessity for this very seemlyexpurgation is now over, I would myself listen to your recital of thefullest and most detailed version--purely, let it be freely stated, inorder to judge whether its literary qualities transcend those of theother."
"I comply, benevolence," replied Kai Lung. "This rendering shall be tothe one that has gone before as a spreading banyan-tree overshadowingan immature shrub."
"Forbear!" exclaimed a discordant voice, and the sour-eyed Ming-shurevealed his inopportune presence from behind a hanging veil. "Is itmeet, O eminence, that in this person's absence you should thusconsort on terms of fraternity with tomb-riflers and grain-thieves?"
"The reproach is easily removed," replied Shan Tien hospitably. "Jointhe circle of our refined felicity and hear at full length by whatmeans the ingenious Chang Tao--"
"There are moments when one despairs before the spectacle of authoritythus displayed," murmured Ming-shu, his throat thickening withacrimony. "Understand, pre-eminence," he continued more aloud, "thatnot this one's absence but your own presence is the distressingfeature, as being an obstacle in the path of that undeviating justicein which our legal system is embedded. From the first moment of ourencountering it had been my well-intentioned purpose that loyalconfidence should be strengthened and rebellion cowed by submittingthis opportune but otherwise inoffensive stranger to a sordid anddegrading end. Yet how shall this beneficent example be attained if onevery occasion--"
"Your design is a worthy and enlightened one," interposed theMandarin, with dignity. "What you have somewhat incapably overlooked,Ming-shu, is the fact that I never greet this intelligent andpainstaking young man without reminding him of the imminence of hisfate and of his suitability for it."
"Truth adorns your lips and accuracy anoints your palate,"volunteered Kai Lung.
"Be this as the destinies permit, there is much that is circuitous inthe bending of events," contended Ming-shu stubbornly. "Is it bychance or through some hidden tricklage that occasion always finds KaiLung so adequately prepared?"
"It is, as the story of Chang Tao has this day justified, and as thisdiscriminating person has frequently maintained, that the one inquestion has a story framed to meet the requirement of everycircumstance," declared Shan Tien.
"Or that each requirement is subtly shaped to meet his preparation,"retorted Ming-shu darkly. "Be that as it shall perchance ultimatelyappear, it is undeniable that your admitted weaknesses--"
"Weaknesses!" exclaimed the astonished Mandarin, looking around theroom as though to discover in what crevice the unheard-of attributeswere hidden. "This person's weaknesses? Can the sounding properties ofthis ill-constructed roof thus pervert one word into the semblance ofanother? If not, the bounds set to the admissible from the taker-downof the spoken word, Ming-shu, do not in their most elastic moodsextend to calumny and distortion. . . . The one before you has noweaknesses. . . . Doubtless before another moon has changed you willimpute to him actual faults!"
"Humility directs my gaze," replied Ming-shu, with downcast eyes, andhe plainly recognized that his presumption had been too maintained."Yet," he added, with polished irony, "there is a well-timed adagethat rises to the lips: 'Do not despair; even Yuen Yan once cast amissile at the Tablets!'"
"Truly," agreed Shan Tien, with smooth concurrence, "the line is notunknown to me. Who, however, was the one in question and under whatprovocation did he so behave?"
"That is beyond the province of the saying," replied Ming-shu. "Nor isit known to my remembrance."
"Then out of your own mouth a fitting test is set, which if Kai Lungcan agreeably perform will at once demonstrate a secret and a guiltyconfederacy between you both. Proceed, O story-teller, to incriminateMing-shu together with yourself!"
"I proceed, High Excellence, but chiefly to the glorification of yourall-discerning mind," replied Kai Lung.
The Story of Yuen Yan, of the Barber Chou-hu, and His Wife Tsae-che
"Do not despair; even Yuen Yan once cast a missile at the Tablets," isa proverb of encouragement well worn throughout the Empire; butalthough it is daily on the lips of some it is doubtful if a singleperson could give an intelligent account of the Yuen Yan in questionbeyond repeating the outside facts that he was of a humane andconsistent disposition and during the greater part of his lifepossessed every desirable attribute of wealth, family and virtuousesteem. If more closely questioned with reference to the specificincident alluded to, these persons would not hesitate to assert thatthe proverb was not to be understood in so superficial a sense,protesting, with much indignation, that Yuen Yan was of too courteousand lofty a nature to be guilty of so unseemly an action, andcontemptuously inquiring what possible reason one who enjoyed everyadvantage in this world and every prospect of an unruffled felicity inThe Beyond could have for behaving in so outrageous a manner. Thisexplanation by no means satisfied the one who now narrates, and aftermuch research he has brought to light the forgotten story of YuenYan's early life, which may be thus related.
At the period with which this part of the narrative is concerned, YuenYan dwelt with his mother in one of the least attractive of the archesbeneath the city wall. As a youth it had been his intention to take anexceptionally high place in the public examinations, and, rising atonce to a position of responsible authority, to mark himself out forcontinual promotion by the exercise of unfailing discretion andindomitable zeal. Having saved his country in a moment of acutenational danger, he contemplated accepting a title of uniquedistinction and retiring to his native province, where he would buildan adequate palace which he had already planned out down to the mosttrivial detail. There he purposed spending the remainder of his life,receiving frequent tokens of regard from the hand of the gratifiedEmperor, marrying an accomplished and refined wife who would doubtlessbe one of
the princesses of the Imperial House, and conscientiouslyregarding The Virtues throughout. The transition from this sumptuouslycontrived residence to a damp arch in the city wall, and from the highdestiny indicated to the occupation of leading from place to place acompany of sightless mendicants, had been neither instantaneous norpainless, but Yuen Yan had never for a moment wavered from theenlightened maxims which he had adopted as his guiding principles, nordid he suffer unending trials to lessen his reverence for The Virtues."Having set out with the full intention of becoming a wealthymandarin, it would have been a small achievement to have reached thatposition with unshattered ideals," he frequently remarked; "but havingthus set out it is a matter for more than ordinary congratulation tohave fallen to the position of leading a string of blind beggars aboutthe city and still to retain unimpaired the ingenuous beliefs andaspirations of youth."
"Doubtless," replied his aged mother, whenever she chanced to overhearthis honourable reflection, "doubtless the foolish calf who innocentlyputs his foot into the jelly finds a like consolation. This person,however, would gladly exchange the most illimitable moral satisfactionengendered by acute poverty for a few of the material comforts of asordid competence, nor would she hesitate to throw into the balanceall the aspirations and improving sayings to be found within theClassics."
"Esteemed mother," protested Yan, "more than three thousand years agothe royal philosopher Nin-hyo made the observation: 'Better anearth-lined cave from which the stars are visible than a golden pagodaroofed over with iniquity,' and the saying has stood the test oftime."
"The remark would have carried a weightier conviction if thebroad-minded sovereign had himself first stood the test of lying for afew years with enlarged joints and afflicted bones in the abode he soprudently recommended for others," replied his mother, and withoutgiving Yuen Yan any opportunity of bringing forward further proof oftheir highly-favoured destiny she betook herself to her own straw atthe farthest end of the arch.
Up to this period of his life Yuen Yan's innate reverence and courtesyof manner had enabled him to maintain an impassive outlook in the faceof every discouragement, but now he was exposed to a fresh series oftrials in addition to the unsympathetic attitude which his mothernever failed to unroll before him. It has already been expressed thatYuen Yan's occupation and the manner by which he gained his livelihoodconsisted in leading a number of blind mendicants about the streets ofthe city and into the shops and dwelling-places of those who mightreasonably be willing to pay in order to be relieved of theirpresence. In this profession Yan's venerating and custom-regardingnature compelled him to act as leaders of blind beggars had actedthroughout all historical times and far back into the dim recesses oflegendary epochs and this, in an era when the leisurely habits of thepast were falling into disuse, and when rivals and competitors werespringing up on all sides, tended almost daily to decrease theproceeds of his labour and to sow an insidious doubt even in hisunquestioning mind.
In particular, among those whom Yan regarded most objectionably wasone named Ho. Although only recently arrived in the city from acountry beyond the Bitter Water, Ho was already known in every quarterboth to the merchants and stallkeepers, who trembled at hisapproaching shadow, and to the competing mendicants who now countedtheir cash with two fingers where they had before needed both hands.This distressingly active person made no secret of his methods andintention; for, upon his arrival, he plainly announced that his objectwas to make the foundations of benevolence vibrate like the strings ofa many-toned lute, and he compared his general progress through thehaunts of the charitably disposed to the passage of a highly-chargedfirework through an assembly of meditative turtles. He was usuallyknown, he added, as "the rapidly-moving person," or "the one devoid ofoutline," and it soon became apparent that he was also quite destituteof all dignified restraint. Selecting the place of commerce of somewealthy merchant, Ho entered without hesitation and thrusting asidethe waiting customers he continued to strike the boards impatientlyuntil he gained the attention of the chief merchant himself."Honourable salutations," he would say, "but do not entreat thisilliterate person to enter the inner room, for he cannot tarry todiscuss the movements of the planets or the sublime Emperor's health.Behold, for half-a-tael of silver you may purchase immunity from hisdiscreditable persistence for seven days; here is the acknowledgementduly made out and attested. Let the payment be made in pieces of metaland not in paper obligations." Unless immediate compliance followed Hoat once began noisily to cast down the articles of commerce, to rollbodily upon the more fragile objects, to become demoniacally possessedon the floor, and to resort to a variety of expedients until all thecustomers were driven forth in panic.
In the case of an excessively stubborn merchant he had not hesitatedto draw a formidable knife and to gash himself in a superficial butvery imposing manner; then he had rushed out uttering cries of terror,and sinking down by the door had remained there for the greater partof the day, warning those who would have entered to be upon theirguard against being enticed in and murdered, at the same time groaningaloud and displaying his own wounds. Even this seeming disregard oftime was well considered, for when the tidings spread about the cityother merchants did not wait for Ho to enter and greet them, butstanding at their doors money in hand they pressed it upon him themoment he appeared and besought him to remove his distinguishedpresence from their plague-infected street. To the ordinary mendicantsof the city this stress of competition was disastrous, but to Yuen Yanit was overwhelming. Thoroughly imbued with the deferential systems ofantiquity, he led his band from place to place with a fitting regardfor the requirements of ceremonial etiquette and a due observance ofleisurely unconcern. Those to whom he addressed himself he approachedwith obsequious tact, and in the face of refusal to contribute to hisstore his most violent expedient did not go beyond marshalling hiscompany of suppliants in an orderly group upon the shop floor, wherethey sang in unison a composed chant extolling the fruits ofmunificence and setting forth the evil plight which would certainlyattend the flinty-stomached in the Upper Air. In this way Yuen Yan hadbeen content to devote several hours to a single shop in the hope ofreceiving finally a few pieces of brass money; but now hispersecutions were so mild that the merchants and vendors ratherwelcomed him by comparison with the intolerable Ho, and would on noaccount pay to be relieved of the infliction of his presence. "Have wenot disbursed in one day to the piratical Ho thrice the sum which wehad set by to serve its purpose for a hand-count of moons; and do wepossess the Great Secret?" they cried. "Nevertheless, dispose yourengaging band of mendicants about the place freely until it suits yourrefined convenience to proceed elsewhere, O meritorious Yuen Yan, foryour unassuming qualities have won our consistent regard; but aninsatiable sponge has already been laid upon the well-spring of ourbenevolence and the tenacity of our closed hand is inflexible."
Even the passive mendicants began to murmur against his leadership,urging him that he should adopt some of the simpler methods of thegifted Ho and thereby save them all from an otherwise inevitablestarvation. The Emperor Kai-tsing, said the one who led their voices(referring in his malignant bitterness to a sovereign of the previousdynasty), was dead, although the fact had doubtless escaped Yuen Yan'sdeliberate perception. The methods of four thousand years ago werebecoming obsolete in the face of a strenuous competition, and unlessYuen Yan was disposed to assume a more highly-coiled appearance theymust certainly address themselves to another leader.
It was on this occasion that the incident took place which has passeddown in the form of an inspiriting proverb. Yuen Yan hadconscientiously delivered at the door of his abode the last of hiscompany and was turning his footsteps towards his own arch when heencountered the contumelious Ho, who was likewise returning at theclose of a day's mendicancy--but with this distinction: that, whereasHo was followed by two stalwart attendants carrying between them asack full of money, Yan's share of his band's enterprise consistedsolely of one base coin of a kind which the charitable set aside forbestowing upon the bli
nd and quite useless for all ordinary purposesof exchange. A few paces farther on Yan reached the Temple of theUnseen Forces and paused for a moment, as his custom was, to cast hiseyes up to the tablets engraved with The Virtues, before which somedevout person nightly hung a lantern. Goaded by a sudden impulse, Yanlooked each way about the deserted street, and perceiving that he wasalone he deliberately extended his out-thrust tongue towards theinspired precepts. Then taking from an inner sleeve the base coin heflung it at the inscribed characters and observed with satisfactionthat it struck the verse beginning, "The Rewards of a Quiescent andMentally-introspective Life are Unbounded--"
When Yan entered his arch some hours later his mother could not failto perceive that a subtle change had come over his manner of behaving.Much of the leisurely dignity had melted out of his footsteps, and hewore his hat and outer garments at an angle which plainly testifiedthat he was a person who might be supposed to have a marked objectionto returning home before the early hours of the morning. Furthermore,as he entered he was chanting certain melodious words by which heendeavoured to convey the misleading impression that his chiefamusement consisted in defying the official watchers of the town, andhe continually reiterated a claim to be regarded as "one of thebeardless goats." Thus expressing himself, Yan sank down in hisappointed corner and would doubtlessly soon have been floatingpeacefully in the Middle Distance had not the door been again thrownopen and a stranger named Chou-hu entered.
"Prosperity!" said Chou-hu courteously, addressing himself to Yan'smother. "Have you eaten your rice? Behold, I come to lay before you avery attractive proposal regarding your son."
"The flower attracts the bee, but when he departs it is to his lipsthat the honey clings," replied the woman cautiously; for after Yan'sboastful words on entering she had a fear lest haply this person mightbe one on behalf of some guardian of the night whom her son had flungacross the street (as he had specifically declared his habitualtreatment of them to be) come to take him by stratagem.
"Does the pacific lamb become a wolf by night?" said Chou-hu,displaying himself reassuringly. "Wrap your ears well round my words,for they may prove very remunerative. It cannot be a matter outsideyour knowledge that the profession of conducting an assembly of blindmendicants from place to place no longer yields the wage of even afrugal existence in this city. In the future, for all the sympathythat he will arouse, Yan might as well go begging with a silver bowl.In consequence of his speechless condition he will be unable tosupport either you or himself by any other form of labour, and yourline will thereupon become extinct and your standing in the Upper Airbe rendered intolerable."
"It is a remote contingency, but, as the proverb says, 'The wise henis never too old to dread the Spring,'" replied Yan's mother, withcommendable prudence. "By what means, then, may this calamity beaverted?"
"The person before you," continued Chou-hu, "is a barber andembellisher of pig-tails from the street leading to the Three-tieredPagoda of Eggs. He has long observed the restraint and moderation ofYan's demeanour and now being in need of one to assist him hisearliest thought turns to him. The affliction which would be aninsuperable barrier in all ordinary cases may here be used toadvantage, for being unable to converse with those seated before him,or to hear their salutations, Yan will be absolved from the necessityof engaging in diffuse and refined conversation, and in consequence hewill submit at least twice the number of persons to his dexterousenergies. In that way he will secure a higher reward than this personcould otherwise afford and many additional comforts will doubtlessfall into the sleeve of his engaging mother."
At this point the woman began to understand that the sense in whichChou-hu had referred to Yan's speechless condition was not that whichshe had at the time deemed it to be. It may here be made clear that itwas Yuen Yan's custom to wear suspended about his neck an inscribedboard bearing the words, "Speechless, and devoid of the faculty ofhearing," but this originated out of his courteous and deferentialnature (for to his self-obliterative mind it did not seem respectfulthat he should appear to be better endowed than those whom he led),nor could it be asserted that he wilfully deceived even the passingstranger, for he would freely enter into conversation with anyone whomhe encountered. Nevertheless an impression had thus been formed inChou-hu's mind and the woman forbore to correct it, thinking that itwould be scarcely polite to assert herself better informed on anysubject than he was, especially as he had spoken of Yan therebyreceiving a higher wage. Yan himself would certainly have revealedsomething had he not been otherwise employed. Hearing the conversationturn towards his afflictions, he at once began to search veryindustriously among the straw upon which he lay for the inscribedboard in question; for to his somewhat confused imagination it seemedat the time that only by displaying it openly could he prove toChou-hu that he was in no way deficient. As the board was found on thefollowing morning nailed to the great outer door of the Hall of PublicJustice (where it remained for many days owing to the officialimpression that so bold and undeniable a pronouncement must havereceived the direct authority of the sublime Emperor), Yan was notunnaturally engaged for a considerable time, and in the meanwhile hismother contrived to impress upon him by an unmistakable sign that heshould reveal nothing, but leave the matter in her hands.
Then said Yan's mother: "Truly the proposal is not altogether wantingin alluring colours, but in what manner will Yan interpret thecommands of those who place themselves before him, when he hasattained sufficient proficiency to be entrusted with the knife and theshearing irons?"
"The objection is a superficial one," replied Chou-hu. "When a personseats himself upon the operating stool he either throws back his head,fixing his eyes upon the upper room with a set and resolute air, orinclines it slightly forward as in a reverent tranquillity. In theformer case he requires his uneven surfaces to be made smooth; in thelatter he is desirous that his pig-tail should be drawn out andtrimmed. Do not doubt Yan's capability to conduct himself in adiscreet and becoming manner, but communicate to him, by the usualmeans which you adopt, the offer thus laid out, and unless he shouldbe incredibly obtuse or unfilial to a criminal degree he will presenthimself at the Sign of the Gilt Thunderbolt at an early hourto-morrow."
There is a prudent caution expressed in the proverb, "The hand thatfeeds the ox grasps the knife when it is fattened: crawl backwardsfrom the presence of a munificent official." Chou-hu, in spite of hisplausible pretext, would have experienced no difficulty in obtainingthe services of one better equipped to assist him than was Yuen Yan,so that in order to discover his real object it becomes necessary tolook underneath his words. He was indeed, as he had stated, a barberand an embellisher of pig-tails, and for many years he had grown richand round-bodied on the reputation of being one of the most skilfulwithin his quarter of the city. In an evil moment, however, he hadabandoned the moderation of his past life and surrounded himself withan atmosphere of opium smoke and existed continually in themind-dimming effects of rice-spirit. From this cause his custom beganto languish; his hand no longer swept in the graceful and unhesitatingcurves which had once been the admiration of all beholders, butdisplayed on the contrary a very disconcerting irregularity ofmovement, and on the day of his visit he had shorn away the venerablemoustaches of the baker Heng-cho under a mistaken impression as to thereality of things and a wavering vision of their exact position. Nowthe baker had been inordinately proud of his long white moustaches andvalued them above all his possessions, so that, invoking the spiritsof his ancestors to behold his degradation and to support him in hisresolve, and calling in all the passers-by to bear witness to hisoath, he had solemnly bound himself either to cut down Chou-hufatally, or, should that prove too difficult an accomplishment, tocommit suicide within his shop. This twofold danger thoroughlystupefied Chou-hu and made him incapable of taking any action beyondconsuming further and more unstinted portions of rice-spirit andrending article after article of his apparel until his wife Tsae-chemodestly dismissed such persons as loitered, and barred the outerdoor.
"How attractively and in what brilliantly-coloured outlines do youpresent the various facts of existence!" exclaimed Chou-hu, withinelegant resentment. "Do not neglect to add that, to-morrow being theoccasion of the Moon Festival, the inexorable person who owns thisresidence will present himself to collect his dues, that, inconsequence of the rebellion in the south, the sagacious viceroy hasdoubled the price of opium, that some irredeemable outcast has carriedaway this person's blue silk umbrella, and then doubtless the alluringpicture of internal felicity around the Ancestral Altar of the GiltThunderbolt will be complete."
"Light words are easily spoken behind barred doors," said his wifescornfully. "Let my lord, then, recline indolently upon the floor ofhis inner chamber while this person sumptuously lulls him intooblivion with the music of her voice, regardless of the morrow and ofthe fate in which his apathy involves us both."
"By no means!" exclaimed Chou-hu, rising hastily and tearing away muchof his elaborately arranged pigtail in his uncontrollable rage; "thereis yet a more pleasurable alternative than that and one which willensure to this person a period of otherwise unattainable domestic calmand at the same time involve a detestable enemy in confusion.Anticipating the dull-witted Heng-cho _this_ one will now proceedacross the street and, committing suicide within _his_ door, willhenceforth enjoy the honourable satisfaction of haunting _his_footsteps and rending his bakehouses and ovens untenable." With thisassurance Chou-hu seized one of his most formidable business weaponsand caused it to revolve around his head with great rapidity, but atthe same time with extreme carefulness.
"There is a ready saying: 'The new-born lamb does not fear a tiger,but before he becomes a sheep he will flee from a wolf,'" saidTsae-che without in any way deeming it necessary to arrest Chou-hu'shand. "Full confidently will you set out, O Chou-hu, but to reach theshop of Heng-cho it is necessary to pass the stall of the dealer inabandoned articles, and next to it are enticingly spread out the waresof Kong, the merchant in distilled spirits. Put aside your reliablescraping iron while you still have it, and this not ill-disposedperson will lay before you a plan by which you may even yet avoid allinconveniences and at the same time regain your failing commerce."
"It is also said: 'The advice of a wise woman will ruin a walledcity,'" replied Chou-hu, somewhat annoyed at his wife so opportunelycomparing him to a sheep, but still more concerned to hear by whatpossible expedient she could successfully avert all the contendingdangers of his position. "Nevertheless, proceed."
"In one of the least reputable quarters of the city there dwells aperson called Yuen Yan," said the woman. "He is the leader of a bandof sightless mendicants and in this position he has frequently passedyour open door, though--probably being warned by the benevolent--hehas never yet entered. Now this Yuen Yan, save for one or twounimportant details, is the reflected personification of your ownexalted image, nor would those most intimate with your form andoutline be able to pronounce definitely unless you stood side by sidebefore them. Furthermore, he is by nature unable to hear any remarkaddressed to him, and is incapable of expressing himself in spokenwords. Doubtless by these indications my lord's locust-likeintelligence will already have leapt to an inspired understanding ofthe full project?"
"Assuredly," replied Chou-hu, caressing himself approvingly. "Theessential details of the scheme are built about the ease with whichthis person could present himself at the abode of Yuen Yan in hisabsence and, gathering together that one's store of wealthunquestioned, retire with it to a distant and unknown spot and therebyelude the implacable Heng-cho's vengeance."
"Leaving your menial one in the 'walled city' referred to, to shareits fate, and, in particular, to undertake the distressing obligationof gathering up the atrocious Heng-cho after he has carried his finalthreat into effect? Truly must the crystal stream of your usuallyundimmed intelligence have become vaporized. Listen well. Disguisingyour external features slightly so that the resemblance may passwithout remark, present yourself openly at the residence of the YuenYan in question--"
"First learning where it is situated?" interposed Chou-hu, with adesire to grasp the details competently.
"Unless a person of your retrospective taste would prefer to leave sotrivial a point until afterwards," replied his wife in a tone ofconcentrated no-sincerity. "In either case, however, having arrivedthere, bargain with the one who has authority over Yuen Yan'smovements, praising his demeanour and offering to accept him into thehonours and profits of your craft. The words of acquiescence shouldspring to meet your own, for the various branches of mendicancy arelanguishing, and Yuen Yan can have no secret store of wealth. Do nothesitate to offer a higher wage than you would as an affair ofordinary commerce, for your safety depends upon it. Having securedYan, teach him quickly the unpolished outlines of your business andthen clothing him in robes similar to your own let him take his standwithin the shop and withdraw yourself to the inner chamber. None willsuspect the artifice, and Yuen Yan is manifestly incapable ofbetraying it. Heng-cho, seeing him display himself openly, will notdeem it necessary to commit suicide yet, and, should he cut down Yanfatally, the officials of the street will seize him and your ownsafety will be assured. Finally, if nothing particular happens, atleast your prosperity will be increased, for Yuen Yan will prove_industrious_, _frugal_, _not addicted to excesses_ and in every way_reliable_, and towards the shop of so exceptional a barber customerswill turn in an unending stream."
"Alas!" exclaimed Chou-hu, "when you boasted of an inspired schemethis person for a moment foolishly allowed his mind to contemplate thepossibility of your having accidentally stumbled upon such anexpedient haply, but your suggestion is only comparable with a companyof ducks attempting to cross an ice-bound stream--an excessive outlayof action but no beneficial progress. Should Yuen Yan freely presenthimself here on the morrow, pleading destitution and craving to beemployed, this person will consider the petition with an open head,but it is beneath his dignity to wait upon so low-class an object."Affecting to recollect an arranged meeting of some importance, Chou-huthen clad himself in other robes, altered the appearance of his face,and set out to act in the manner already described, confident that theexact happening would never reach his lesser one's ears.
On the following day Yuen Yan presented himself at the door of theGilt Thunderbolt, and quickly perfecting himself in the simplermethods of smoothing surfaces and adorning pig-tails he took his standwithin the shop and operated upon all who came to submit themselves tohis embellishment. To those who addressed him with salutations hereplied by a gesture, tactfully bestowing an agreeable welcome yet atthe same time conveying the impression that he was desirous ofremaining undisturbed in the philosophical reflection upon which hewas engaged. In spite of this it was impossible to lead his mindastray from any weighty detail, and those who, presuming upon hisabsorbed attitude, endeavoured to evade a just payment on any pretextwhatever invariably found themselves firmly but courteously pressed tothe wall by the neck, while a highly polished smoothing blade wasflashed to and fro before their eyes with an action of unmistakablesignificance. The number of customers increased almost daily, for Yanquickly proved himself to be expert above all comparison, while otherscame from every quarter of the city to test with their
own eyes andears the report that had reached them, to the effect that in thestreet leading to the Three-tiered Pagoda of Eggs there dwelt a barberwho made no pretence of elegant and refined conversation and who didnot even press upon those lying helpless in his power miraculousointments and infallible charm-waters. Thus Chou-hu prospered greatly,but Yan still obeyed his mother's warning and raised a mask before hisface so that Chou-hu and his wife never doubted the reality of hisinfirmities. From this cause they did not refrain from conversingtogether freely before him on subjects of the most poignant detail,whereby Yan learned much of their past lives and conduct whilemaintaining an attitude of impassive unconcern.
Upon a certain evening in the month when the grass-blades aretransformed into silk-worms Yan was alone in the shop, improving theedge and reflecting brilliance of some of his implements, when he heardthe woman exclaim from the inner room: "Truly the air from the desertis as hot and devoid of relief as the breath of the Great Dragon. Letus repose for the time in the outer chamber." Whereupon they enteredthe shop and seating themselves upon a couch resumed theiroccupations, the barber fanning himself while he smoked, his wifegumming her hair and coiling it into the semblance of a bird withoutstretched wings.
"The necessity for the elaborate caution of the past no longerexists," remarked Chou-hu presently. "The baker Heng-cho is desirousof becoming one of those who select the paving-stones and regulate thenumber of hanging lanterns for the district lying around theThree-tiered Pagoda. In this ambition he is opposed by Kong, thedistilled-spirit vendor, who claims to be a more competent judge ofpaving-stones and hanging lanterns and one who will exercise alynx-eyed vigilance upon the public outlay and especially devotehimself to curbing the avarice of those bread-makers who habituallymix powdered white earth with their flour. Heng-cho is therefore veryconcerned that many should bear honourable testimony of his engagingqualities when the day of trial arrives, and thus positioned he hasinscribed and sent to this person a written message offering adignified reconciliation and adding that he is convinced of thenecessity of an enactment compelling all persons to wear a smooth faceand a neatly braided pig-tail."
"It is a creditable solution of the matter," said Tsae-che, speakingbetween the ivory pins which she held in her mouth. "Henceforth, then,you will take up your accustomed stand as in the past?"
"Undoubtedly," replied Chou-hu. "Yuen Yan is painstaking, and hasperhaps done as well as could be expected of one of his shallowintellect, but the absence of suave and high-minded conversationcannot fail to be alienating the custom of the more polished. Plainlyit is a short-sighted policy for a person to try and evade his destiny.Yan seems to have been born for the express purpose of leading blindbeggars about the streets of the city and to that profession he mustreturn."
"O distressingly superficial Chou-hu!" exclaimed his wife, "do menturn willingly from wine to partake of vinegar, or having been clothedin silk do they accept sackcloth without a struggle? Indeed, youreyes, which are large to regard your own deeds and comforts, growsmall when they are turned towards the attainments of another. In nocase will Yan return to his mendicants, for his band is by this timescattered and dispersed. His sleeve being now well lined and his handproficient in every detail of his craft, he will erect a stall,perchance even directly opposite or next to ourselves, and bysubtlety, low charges and diligence he will draw away the greater partof your custom."
"Alas!" cried Chou-hu, turning an exceedingly inferior yellow, "thereis a deeper wisdom in the proverb, 'Do not seek to escape from a floodby clinging to a tiger's tail,' than appears at a casual glance. Nowthat this person is contemplating gathering again into his own handsthe execution of his business, he cannot reasonably afford to employanother, yet it is an intolerable thought that Yan should make use ofhis experience to set up a sign opposed to the Gilt Thunderbolt.Obviously the only really safe course out of an unpleasant dilemmawill be to slay Yan with as little delay as possible. After receivingcontinuous marks of our approval for so long it is certainly verythoughtless of him to put us to so unpardonable an inconvenience."
"It is not an alluring alternative," confessed Tsae-che, crossing theroom to where Yan was seated in order to survey her hair to greateradvantage in a hanging mirror of three sides composed of burnishedcopper; "but there seems nothing else to be done in the difficultcircumstances."
"The street is opportunely empty and there is little likelihood ofanyone approaching at this hour," suggested Chou-hu. "What betterscheme could be devised than that I should indicate to Yan by signsthat I would honour him, and at the same time instruct him further inthe correct pose of some of the recognized attitudes, by making smooththe surface of his face? Then during the operation I might perchanceslip upon an overripe whampee lying unperceived upon the floor; myhand--"
"Ah-_ah_!" cried Tsae-che aloud, pressing her symmetrical fingersagainst her gracefully-proportioned ears; "do not, thou dragon-headedone, lead the conversation to such an extremity of detail, still lesscarry the resolution into effect before the very eyes of thisdelicately-susceptible person. Now to-morrow, after the midday meal,she will be journeying as far as the street of the venders of wovenfabrics in order to procure a piece of silk similar to the pearl-greyrobe which she is wearing. The opportunity will be a favourable one,for to-morrow is the weekly occasion on which you raise the shuttersand deny customers at an earlier hour; and it is really more modestthat one of my impressionable refinement should be away from the housealtogether and not merely in the inner chamber when that which is nowhere passes out."
"The suggestion is well timed," replied Chou-hu. "No interruption willthen be possible."
"Furthermore," continued his wife, sprinkling upon her hair a perfumedpowder of gold which made it sparkle as it engaged the light at everypoint with a most entrancing lustre, "would it not be desirable to usea weapon less identified with your own hand? In the corner nearest toYan there stands a massive and heavily knotted club which couldafterwards be burned. It would be an easy matter to call the simpleYan's attention to some object upon the floor and then as he bent downsuffer him to Pass Beyond."
"Assuredly," agreed Chou-hu, at once perceiving the wisdom of thechange; "also, in that case, there would be less--"
"_Ah_!" again cried the woman, shaking her upraised finger reprovinglyat Chou-hu (for so daintily endowed was her mind that she shrank fromany of the grosser realities of the act unless they were clothed inthe very gilded flowers of speech). "Desist, O crimson-mindedbarbarian! Let us now walk side by side along the river bank and drinkin the soul-stirring melody of the musicians who at this hour will bemaking the spot doubly attractive with the concord of stringed woodsand instruments of brass struck with harmonious unison."
The scheme for freeing Chou-hu from the embarrassment of Yan's positionwas not really badly arranged, nor would it have failed in most cases,but the barber was not sufficiently broad-witted to see that many ofthe inspired sayings which he used as arguments could be taken inanother light and conveyed a decisive warning to himself. A pleasantlydevised proverb has been aptly compared to a precious jewel, and asthe one has a hundred light-reflecting surfaces, so has the other adiversity of applications, until it is not infrequently beyond thecomprehension of an ordinary person to know upon which side wisdom andprudence lie. On the following afternoon Yan was seated in hisaccustomed corner when Chou-hu entered the shop with uneven feet. Thebarriers against the street had been raised and the outer door wasbarred so that none might intrude, while Chou-hu had already carefullyexamined the walls to ensure that no crevices remained unsealed. As heentered he was seeking, somewhat incoherently, to justify himself byassuring the deities that he had almost changed his mind until heremembered the many impious acts on Yan's part in the past, to avengewhich he felt himself to be their duly appointed instrument.Furthermore, to convince them of the excellence of his motive (andalso to protect himself against the influence of evil spirits) headvanced repeating the words of an invocation which in his youth hehad been accustomed to say daily in th
e temple, and thereupon Yan knewthat the moment was at hand.
"Behold, master!" he exclaimed suddenly, in clearly expressed words,"something lies at your feet."
Chou-hu looked down to the floor and lying before him was a piece ofsilver. To his dull and confused faculties it sounded an inaccuratedetail of his pre-arranged plan that Yan should have addressed him,and the remark itself seemed dimly to remind him of something that hehad intended to say, but he was too involved with himself to be ableto attach any logical significance to the facts and he at once stoopedgreedily to possess the coin. Then Yan, who had an unfaltering graspupon the necessities of each passing second, sprang agilely forward,swung the staff, and brought it so proficiently down upon Chou-hu'slowered head that the barber dropped lifeless to the ground and theweapon itself was shattered by the blow. Without a pause Yan clothedhimself with his master's robes and ornaments, wrapped his own garmentabout Chou-hu instead, and opening a stone door let into the groundrolled the body through so that it dropped down into the cave beneath.He next altered the binding of his hair a little, cut his lips deeplyfor a set purpose, and then reposing upon the couch of the innerchamber he took up one of Chou-hu's pipes and awaited Tsae-che'sreturn.
"It is unendurable that they of the silk market should be soill-equipped," remarked Tsae-che discontentedly as she entered. "Thispitiable one has worn away the heels of her sandals in a vainendeavour to procure a suitable embroidery, and has turned over thecontents of every stall to no material end. How have the events of theday progressed with you, my lord?"
"To the fulfilling of a written destiny. Yet in a measure darkly, fora light has gone out," replied Yuen Yan.
"There was no unanticipated divergence?" inquired the woman withinterest and a marked approval of this delicate way of expressing theoperation of an unpleasant necessity.
"From detail to detail it was as this person desired and contrived,"said Yan.
"And, of a surety, this one also?" claimed Tsae-che, with an internalemotion that something was insidiously changed in which she had noadequate part.
"The language may be fully expressed in six styles of writing, but whoshall read the mind of a woman?" replied Yan evasively. "Nevertheless,in explicit words, the overhanging shadow has departed and the futureis assured."
"It is well," said Tsae-che. "Yet how altered is your voice, and forwhat reason do you hold a cloth before your mouth?"
"The staff broke and a splinter flying upwards pierced my lips," saidYan, lowering the cloth. "You speak truly, for the pain attending eachword is by no means slight, and scarcely can this person recognize hisown voice."
"Oh, incomparable Chou-hu, how valiantly do you bear your sufferings!"exclaimed Tsae-che remorsefully. "And while this heedless one has beenpassing the time pleasantly in handling rich brocades you have beenlying here in anguish. Behold now, without delay she will prepare foodto divert your mind, and to mark the occasion she had alreadypurchased a little jar of gold-fish gills, two eggs branded with theassurance that they have been earth-buried for eleven years, and asmall serpent preserved in oil."
When they had eaten for some time in silence Yuen Yan again spoke."Attend closely to my words," he said, "and if you perceive anydisconcerting oversight in the scheme which I am about to lay beforeyou do not hesitate to declare it. The threat which Heng-cho the bakerswore he swore openly, and many reputable witnesses could be gatheredtogether who would confirm his words, while the written message ofreconciliation which he sent will be known to none. Let us thereforetake that which lies in the cave beneath and clothing it in my robesbear it unperceived as soon as the night has descended and leave it inthe courtyard of Heng-cho's house. Now Heng-cho has a fig plantationoutside the city, so that when he rises early, as his custom is, andfinds the body, he will carry it away to bury it secretly there,remembering his impetuous words and well knowing the net of entanglingcircumstances which must otherwise close around him. At that momentyou will appear before him, searching for your husband, and suspectinghis burden raise an outcry that may draw the neighbours to your sideif necessary. On this point, however, be discreetly observant, for ifthe tumult calls down the official watch it will go evilly withHeng-cho, but we shall profit little. The greater likelihood is thatas soon as you lift up your voice the baker will implore you toaccompany him back to his house so that he may make a full andhonourable compensation. This you will do, and hastening thenegotiation as much as is consistent with a seemly regard for youroverwhelming grief, you will accept not less than five hundred taelsand an undertaking that a suitable funeral will be provided."
"O thrice-versatile Chou-hu!" exclaimed Tsae-che, whose eyes hadreflected an ever-increasing sparkle of admiration as Yan unfolded thedetails of his scheme, "how insignificant are the minds of otherscompared with yours! Assuredly you have been drinking at some magicwell in this one's absence, for never before was your intellect sokeen and lustreful. Let us at once carry your noble stratagem intoeffect, for this person's toes vibrate to bear her on a project ofsuch remunerative ingenuity."
Accordingly they descended into the cave beneath and taking up Chou-huthey again dressed him in his own robes. In his inner sleeve Yanplaced some parchments of slight importance; he returned the jadebracelet to his wrist and by other signs he made his identityunmistakable; then lifting him between them, when the night was welladvanced, they carried him through unfrequented ways and left himunperceived within Heng-cho's gate.
"There is yet another precaution which will ensure to you thesympathetic voices of all if it should become necessary to appealopenly," said Yuen Yan when they had returned. "I will make out a deedof final intention conferring all I possess upon Yuen Yan as a mark ofesteem for his conscientious services, and this you can produce ifnecessary in order to crush the niggard baker in the wine-press ofyour necessitous destitution." Thereupon Yan drew up such a documentas he had described, signing it with Chou-hu's name and sealing itwith his ring, while Tsae-che also added her sign and attestation. Hethen sent her to lurk upon the roof, strictly commanding her to keepan undeviating watch upon Heng-cho's movements.
It was about the hour before dawn when Heng-cho appeared, bearingacross his back a well-filled sack and carrying in his right hand aspade. His steps were turned towards the fig orchard of which Yan hadspoken, so that he must pass Chou-hu's house, but before he reached itTsae-che had glided out and with loosened hair and trailing robes shesped along the street. Presently there came to Yuen Yan's waiting eara long-drawn cry and the sounds of many shutters being flung open andthe tread of hurrying feet. The moments hung about him like the wingsof a dragon-dream, but a prudent restraint chained him to the innerchamber.
It was fully light when Tsae-che returned, accompanied by one whom shedismissed before she entered. "Felicity," she explained, placingbefore Yan a heavy bag of silver. "Your word has been accomplished."
"It is sufficient," replied Yan in a tone from which every tendermodulation was absent, as he laid the silver by the side of theparchment which he had drawn up. "For what reason is the outer doornow barred and they who drink tea with us prevented from entering towish Yuen Yan prosperity?"
"Strange are my lord's words, and the touch of his breath is cold tohis menial one," said the woman in doubting reproach.
"It will scarcely warm even the roots of Heng-cho's fig-trees,"replied Yuen Yan with unveiled contempt. "Stretch across your hand."
In trembling wonder Tsae-che laid her hand upon the ebony table whichstood between them and slowly advanced it until Yan seized it and heldit firmly in his own. For a moment he held it, compelling the woman togaze with a soul-crushing dread into his face, then his featuresrelaxed somewhat from the effort by which he had controlled them, andat the sight Tsae-che tore away her hand and with a scream whichcaused those outside to forget the memory of every other cry they hadever heard, she cast herself from the house and was seen in the cityno more.
These are the pages of the forgotten incident in the life of Yuen Yanwhich this narrator has sough
t out and discovered. Elsewhere, in thelesser Classics, it may be read that the person in question afterwardslived to a venerable age and finally Passed Above surrounded by everyluxury, after leading an existence consistently benevolent and markedby an even exceptional adherence to the principles and requirements ofThe Virtues.