concerning the obvious misunderstanding which has entwined
itself about a revered parent’s faculties of passionless
discrimination. the all-water disportment and the two, of
different sexes, who after regarding me conflictingly from
the beginning, ended in a like but inverted manner.
venerated sire,—your gem-adorned letter containing a thousand burnished words of profuse reproach has entered my diminished soul in the form of an equal number of rusty barbs. can it be that the incapable person whom, as you truly say, you sent, “to observe the philosophical subtleties of the barbarians, to study their dynastical records and to associate liberally with the venerable and dignified,” has, in your own unapproachable felicity of ceremonial expression, “according to a discreet whisper from many sources, chiefly affected the society of tea-house maidens, the immature of both sexes, doubtful characters of all classes, and criminals awaiting trial; has evinced an unswerving affinity towards light amusement and entertainments of a no-class kind; and in place of a wise aloofness, befitting a wearer of the third gold button and the horn belt-clasp, in situations of critical perplexity, seems by his own ingenuous showing to have maintained an unparalleled aptitude for behaving either with the crystalline simplicity of a kan-su earth-tiller, or the misplaced buffoonery of a seventh-grade body-writher taking the least significant part in an ill-equipped swatow one-cash hall of varied melodies.” assuredly, if your striking and well-chosen metaphors were not more unbalanced than the ungainly attitude of a one-legged hunchback crossing a raging torrent by means of a slippery plank on a stormy night, they would cause the very acutest bitterness to the throat of a dutiful and always high-stepping son. there is an apt saying, however, “a quarrel between two soldiers in the market-place becomes a rebellion in the outskirts,” and when this person remembers that many thousand li of mixed elements flow between him and his usually correct and dispassionate sire, he is impelled to take a mild and tolerant attitude towards the momentary injustice brought about by the weakness of approaching old age, the vile-intentioned mendacity of outcasts envious of the house of kong, and, perchance, the irritation brought on by a too lavish indulgence in your favourite dish of stewed mouse.
having thus re-established himself in the clear-sighted affection of an ever mild and perfect father, and cleansed the ground of all possible misunderstandings in the future, this person will concede the fact that, not to stand beneath the faintest shadow of an implied blemish in your sympathetic eyes, he had no sooner understood the attitude in which he had been presented than he at once plunged into the virtuous society of a band of the sombre and benevolent.
these, so far as his intelligence enables him to grasp the position, may be reasonably accepted as the barbarian equivalent of those very high-minded persons who in our land devote their whole lives secretly to killing others whom they consider the chief deities do not really approve of; for although they are not permitted here, either by written law or by accepted custom, to perform these meritorious actions, they are so intimately initiated into the minds and councils of the upper ones that they are able to pronounce very severe judgments of torture—a much heavier penalty than merely being assassinated—upon all who remain outside their league. as some of the most objurgatory of these alliances do not number more than a score of persons, it is inevitable that the ultimate condition of the whole barbarian people must be hazardous in the extreme.
having associated myself with this class sufficiently to escape their vindictive pronouncements, and freely professed an unswerving adherence to their rites, i next sought out the priests of other altars, intending by a seemly avowal to each in turn to safeguard my future existence effectually. this i soon discovered to be beyond the capacity of an ordinary lifetime, for whereas we, with four hundred million subjects find three religions to be sufficient to meet every emergency, these irresolute island children, although numbering us only as one to ten, vacillate among three hundred; and even amid this profusion it is asserted that most of the barbarians are unable to find any temple exactly conforming to their requirements, and after writing to the paper to announce the fact, abandon the search in despair.
it was while i was becoming proficient in the inner subtleties of one of these orders—they who drink water on all occasions and wear a badge—that a maiden of some authority among them besought my aid for the purpose of amusing a band which she was desirous of propitiating into the adoption of this badge. it is possible that in the immature confidence of former letters this person may already have alluded to certain maidens with words of courteous esteem, but it is now necessary to admit finally that in the presence of this same helena they would all appear as an uninviting growth of stunted and deformed poppies surrounding a luxuriant chrysanthemum. at the presumptuous thought of describing her illimitable excellences my fingers become claw-like in their confessed inadequacy to hold a sufficiently upright brush; yet without undue confidence it may be set down that her hands resembled the two wings of a mandarin drake in their symmetrical and changing motion, her hair as light and radiant-pointed as the translucent incense cloud floating before the golden buddha of shan-si, thin white satin stretched tightly upon polished agate only faintly comparable to her jade cheeks, while her eyes were more unfathomable than the crystal waters of the keng-kiang, and within their depths her pure and magnanimous thoughts could be dimly seen to glide like the gold and silver carp beneath the sacred river.
when this insurpassable being approached me with the flattering petition already alluded to, my gratified emotions clashed together uncontrollably with the internal feeling of many volcanoes in movement, and my organs of expression became so entangled at the condescension of her melodious voice being directly addressed to one so degraded, that for several minutes i was incapable of further acquiescence than that conveyed by an adoring silence and an unchanging smile. no formality appeared worthy to greet her by, no expression of self-contempt sufficiently offensive to convey to her enlightenment my own sense of a manifold inferiority, and doubtless i should have remained in a transfixed attitude until she had at length turned aside, had not your seasonable reference to a swatow limb-contorter struck me heavily and abruptly turned off the source of my agreement. might not this all-water entertainment, it occurred to this one, consist in enticing him to drink a potion made unsuspectedly hot, in projecting him backwards into a vat of the same liquid, or some similar device for the pleasurable amusement of those around, which would come within the boundaries of your refined disapproval? as one by himself there was no indignity that this person would not cheerfully have submitted to, but the inexorable cords of an ingrained filial regard suddenly pulled him sideways and into another direction.
“but, mr. kong,” exclaimed the bee-lipped maiden, when i had explained (as being less involved to her imagination,) that i was under a vow, “we have been relying upon you. could you not”—and here she dropped her eyes and picked them up again with a fluttering motion which our lesser ones are, to an all-wise end, quite unacquainted with—“could you not unvow yourself for one night, just to please me?”
at these words, the illuminated proficiency of her glance, and her honourable resolution to implicate me in the display by head or feet, the ever-revered image of a just and obedience-loving father ceased to have any further tangible influence. let it be remembered that there is a deep saying, “a virtuous woman will cause more evil than ten river pirates.” as for the person who is recording his incompetence, the room and all those about began to engulf him in an ever-increasing circular motion, his knees vibrated together with unrestrained pliancy, and concentrating his voice to indicate by the allegory some faint measure of his emotion, he replied passionately, “let the amusement referred to take the form of sitting in a boiling cauldron exposed to the derision of all beholders, this one will now enter it wearing yellow silk trousers.”
it is characteristic of these illogical out-countries that the all-water diversion did not, as a matter to record, concern itself with that liquid in any detail, beyond the contents of a glass vessel from which a venerable person, who occupied a raised chair, continually partook. this discriminating individual spoke so confidently of the beneficial action of the fluid, and so unswervingly described my own feelings at the moment—as of head giddiness, an inexactitude of speech, and no clear definition of where the next step would be arrived at—as the common lot of all who did not consume regularly, that when that same helena had passed on to speak to another, i left the hall unobserved and drank successive portions, in each case, as the night was cold, prudently adding a measure of the native rice spirit. his advice had been well-directed, for with the fourth portion i suddenly found all doubtful and oppressive visions withdrawn, and a new and exhilarating self-confidence raised in their place. in this agreeable temper i returned to the place of meeting to find a priest of one of the lesser orders relating a circumstance whereby he had encountered a wild maiden in the woods, who had steadfastly persisted that she was one of a band of seven (this being the luckiest protective number among the superstitious). though unable to cause their appearance, she had gone through a most precise examination at his hands without deviating in the slightest particular, whereupon distrusting the outcome of the strife, the person who was relating the adventure had withdrawn breathless.
when this versatile lesser priest had finished the narration, and the applause, which clearly showed that those present approved of the solitary maiden’s discreet stratagem, had ceased, the one who occupied the central platform, rising, exclaimed loudly, “mr. kong will next favour us with a contribution, which will consist, i am informed, of a chinese tale.”
now there chanced to be present a certain one who had already become offensive to me by the systematic dexterity with which he had planted his inopportune shadow between the sublime-souled helena and any other who made a movement to approach her heaven-dowered outline. when this presumptuous and ill-nurtured outcast, who was, indeed, then seated by the side of the enchanting maiden last referred to, heard the announcement he said in a voice feigned to reach her peach-skin ear alone, yet intentionally so modulated as to penetrate the furthest limit of the room, “a chinese tale! why, assuredly, that must be a pig-tail.” at this unseemly shaft many of those present allowed themselves to become immoderately amused, and even the goat-like sage who had called upon my name concealed his face behind an open hand, but the amiably-disposed helena, after looking at the undiscriminating youth coldly for a moment, deliberately rose and moved to a vacant spot at a distance. encouraged by this fragrant act of sympathy i replied with a polite bow to indicate the position, “on the contrary, the story which it is now my presumptuous intention to relate will contain no reference whatever to the carefully-got-up one occupying two empty seats in the front row,” and without further introduction began the history of kao and his three brothers, to which i had added the title, “the three gifts.”
at the conclusion of this classical example of the snares ever lying around the footsteps of the impious, i perceived that the jocular stripling, whom i had so delicately reproved, was no longer present. doubtless he had been unable to remain in the same room with the commanding helena’s high-spirited indignation, and anticipating that in consequence there would now be no obstacle to her full-faced benignity, i drew near with an appropriate smile.
it is somewhere officially recorded, “there is only one man who knew with accurate certainty what a maiden’s next attitude would be, and he died young of surprise.” as i approached i had the sensation of passing into so severe an atmosphere of rigid disfavour, that the ingratiating lines upon my face became frozen in its intensity, despite the ineptness of their expression. unable to penetrate the cause of my offence, i made a variety of agreeable remarks, until finding that nothing tended towards a becoming reconciliation, i gradually withdrew in despair, and again turned my face in the direction of that same accommodation which i had already found beneath the sign of an encompassed goat. here, by the sarcasm of destiny, i encountered the person who had drawn the slighting analogy between this one’s pig-tail and his ability as a story-teller. for a brief space of time the ultimate development of the venture was doubtfully poised, but recognising in each other’s features the overhanging cloud of an allied pang, the one before me expressed a becoming contrition for the jest, together with a proffered cup. not to appear out-classed i replied in a suitable vein, involving the supply of more vessels; whereupon there succeeded many more vessels, called for both singly and in harmonious unison, and the reappearance of numerous bright images, accompanied by a universal scintillation of meteor-like iridescence. in this genial and greatly-enlarged spirit we returned affably together to the hall, and entered unperceived at the moment when the one who made the announcements was crying aloud, “according to the programme the next item should have been a chinese poem, but as mr. kong ho appears to have left the building, we shall pass him over—”
“what ho?” exclaimed the somewhat impetuous one by my side, stepping forward indignantly and mounting the platform in his affectionate zeal. “no one shall pass over my old and valued friend—this ho—while i have a paw to raise. step forward, mandarin, and let them behold the inventor and sole user of the justly far-famed g. r. ko-ho hair restorer—sent in five guinea bottles to any address on receipt of four penny stamps—as he appeared in his celebrated impersonation of the human-faced swan at doll and edgar’s. come on, oh, ho!”
“assuredly,” i replied, striving to follow him, “yet with the wary greeting, ‘slowly, slowly; walk slowly,’ engraved upon my mind, for the barrier of these convoluted stairs—” but at this word a band of maidens passed out hastily, and in the tumult i reached the dais and began weng chi’s immortal verses, entitled “the meandering flight,” which had occupied me three complete days and nights in the detail of rendering the allusions into well-balanced similitudes and at the same time preserving the skilful evasion of all conventional rules which raises the original to so sublime a height.
the voice of one singing at the dawn;
the seven harmonious colours in the sky;
the meeting by the fountain;
the exchange of gifts, and the sound of the processional drum;
the emotion of satisfaction in each created being;
this is the all-prominent indication of the spring.
the general disinclination to engage in laborious tasks;
the general readiness to consume voluminous potions on any
pretext.
the deserted appearance of the city and the absence of the
come-in motion at every door;
the sportiveness of maidens, and even those of maturer age,
ethereally clad, upon the shore.
the avowed willingness of merchants to dispose of their wares
for half the original sum.
this undoubtedly is the summer.
the yellow tea leaf circling as it falls;
the futile wheeling of the storm-tossed swan;
the note of the marble lute at evening by the pool;
the immobile cypress seen against the sun.
the unnecessarily difficult examination paper.
all these things are suggestive of the autumn.
the growing attraction of a well-lined couch.
the obsequious demeanour of message-bearers, charioteers, and
the club-armed keepers of peace.
the explosion of innumerable fire-crackers round the convivial
shines,
the gathering together of relations who at all other times
shun each other markedly.
the obtrusive recollection of a great many things contrary to
a spoken vow, and the inflexible purpose to be more
resolute in future.
these in turn invariably attend each winter.
it certainly had not presented itself to me before that the words “invariably attend” are ill-chosen, but as i would have uttered them their inelegance became plain, and this person made eight conscientious attempts to soften down their harsh modulation by various interchanges. he was still persevering hopefully when he of chief authority approached and requested that the one who was thus employed and that same other would leave the hall tranquilly, as the all-water entertainment was at an end, and an attending slave was in readiness to extinguish the lanterns.
“yet,” i protested unassumingly, “that which has so far been expressed is only in the semblance of an introductory ode. there follow—”
“you must not argue with the chair,” exclaimed another interposing his voice. “whatever the chair rules must be accepted.”
“the innuendo is flat-witted,” i replied with imperturbable dignity, but still retaining my hold upon the rail. “when this person so far loses his sense of proportion as to contend with an irrational object, devoid of faculties, let the barb be cast. after that introduction dealing with the four seasons, the twelve gong-strokes of the day are reviewed in a like fashion. these in turn give place to the days of the month, then the moons of the year, and finally the years of the cycle.”
“that’s fair,” exclaimed the perverse though well-meaning youth, whom i was beginning to recognise as the cause of some misunderstanding among us. “if you don’t want any more of his poem—and i don’t blame you—my pal ho, who is one of the popular flip-flap troupe, offers to do some trick cycle-riding on his ears. what more can you expect?”
“we expect a policeman very soon,” replied another severely. “he has already been sent for.”
“in that case,” said the one who had so persistently claimed me as an ally, “perhaps i can do you a service by directing him here”; and leaving this person to extricate himself by means of a reassuring silence and some of the larger silver pieces of the island, he vanished hastily.
with some doubt whether or not this deviation into the society of the professedly virtuous, ending as it admittedly does in an involvement, may not be deemed ill-starred; yet hopeful.
kong ho.
the three gifts
related by kong ho on the occasion of the all-water
disportment, under the circumstances previously set forth.
beyond the limits of the township of yang-chow there dwelt a rich astrologer named wei. reading by his skilful interpretation of the planets that he would shortly pass above, he called his sons chu, shan, and hing to his side and distributed his wealth impartially among them. to chu he gave his house containing a gold couch; to shan a river with a boat; to hing a field in which grew a prolific orange-tree. “thus provided for,” he continued, “you will be able to live together in comfort, the resources of each supplying the wants of the others in addition to his own requirements. therefore when i have departed let it be your first care to sacrifice everything else i leave, so that i also, in the upper air, may not be left destitute.”
now in addition to these three sons wei also had another, the youngest, but one of so docile, respectful, and self-effacing a disposition that he was frequently overlooked to the advantage of his subtle, ambitious, and ingratiating brothers. this youth, kao, thinking that the occasion certainly called for a momentary relaxation of his usual diffidence, now approached his father modestly, and begged that he also might be included to some trivial degree in his bounty.
this reasonable petition involved wei in an embarrassing perplexity. although he had forgotten kao completely in the division, he had now definitely concluded the arrangement; nor, to his failing powers, did it appear possible to make a just allotment on any other lines. “how can a person profitably cut up an orange-tree, a boat, an inlaid couch, or a house?” he demanded. “who can divide a flowing river, or what but unending strife can arise from regarding an open field in anything but its entirety? assuredly six cohesive objects cannot be apportioned between four persons.” yet he could not evade the justice of kao’s implied rebuke, so drawing to his side a jade cabinet he opened it, and from among the contents he selected an ebony staff, a paper umbrella, and a fan inscribed with a mystical sentence. these three objects he placed in kao’s hands, and with his last breath signified that he should use them discreetly as the necessity arose.
when the funeral ceremonies were over, chu, shan, and hing came together, and soon moulded their covetous thoughts into an agreed conspiracy. “of what avail would be a boat or a river if this person sacrificed the nets and appliances by which the fish are ensnared?” asked shan. “how little profit would lie in an orange-tree and a field without cattle and the implements of husbandry!” cried hing. “one cannot occupy a gold couch in an empty house both by day and night,” remarked chu stubbornly. “how inadequate, therefore, would such a provision be for three.”
when kao understood that his three brothers had resolved to act in this outrageous manner he did not hesitate to reproach them; but not being able to contend against him honourably, they met him with ridicule. “do not attempt to rule us with your wooden staff,” they cried contemptuously. “sacrifice it if your inside is really sincere. and, in the meanwhile, go and sit under your paper umbrella and wield your inscribed fan, while we attend to our couch, our boat, and our orange-tree.”
“truly,” thought kao to himself when they had departed, “their words were irrationally offensive, but among them there may stand out a pointed edge. our magnanimous father is now bereft of both comforts and necessities, and although an ebony rod is certainly not much in the circumstances, if this person is really humanely-intentioned he will not withhold it.” with this charitable design kao build a fire before the couch (being desirous, out of his forgiving nature, to associate his eldest brother in the offering), and without hesitation sacrificed the most substantial of his three possessions.
it here becomes necessary to explain that in addition to being an expert astrologer, wei was a far-seeing magician. the rod of unimpressionable solidity was in reality a charm against decay, and its hidden virtues being thus destroyed, a contrary state of things naturally arose, so that the next morning it was found that during the night the gold couch had crumbled away into a worthless dust.
even this manifestation did not move the three brothers, although the geniality of shan and hing’s countenances froze somewhat towards chu. nevertheless chu still possessed a house, and by pointing out that they could live as luxuriantly as before on the resources of the river and the field and the tree, he succeeded in maintaining his position among them.
after seven days kao reflected again. “this avaricious person still has two objects, both of which he owes to his revered father’s imperishable influence,” he admitted conscience-stricken, “while the being in question has only one.” without delay he took the paper umbrella and ceremoniously burned it, scattering the ashes this time upon shan’s river. like the rod the umbrella also possessed secret virtues, its particular excellence being a curse against clouds, wind demons, thunderbolts and the like, so that during the night a great storm raged, and by the morning shan’s boat had been washed away.
this new calamity found the three brothers more obstinately perverse than ever. it cannot be denied that hing would have withdrawn from the guilty confederacy, but they were as two to one, and prevailed, pointing out that the house still afforded shelter, the river yielded some of the simpler and inferior fish which could be captured from the banks, and the fruitfulness of the orange-tree was undiminished.
at the end of seven more days kao became afflicted with doubt. “there is no such thing as a fixed proportion or a set reckoning between a dutiful son and an embarrassed sire,” he confessed penitently. “how incredibly profane has been this person’s behaviour in not seeing the obligation in its unswerving necessity before.” with this scrupulous resolve kao took his last possession, and carrying it into the field he consumed it with fire beneath hing’s orange-tree. the fan, in turn, also had hidden properties, its written sentence being a spell against drought, hot winds, and the demons which suck the nourishment from all crops. in consequence of the act these forces were called into action, and before another day hing’s tree had withered away.
it is said with reason, “during the earthquake men speak the truth.” at this last disaster the impious fortitude of the three brothers suddenly gave way, and cheerfully admitting their mistake, each committed suicide, chu disembowelling himself among the ashes of his couch, shan sinking beneath the waters of his river, and hing hanging by a rope among the branches of his own effete orange-tree.
when they had thus fittingly atoned for their faults the imprecation was lifted from off their possessions. the couch was restored by magic art to its former condition, the boat was returned by a justice-loving person into whose hands it had fallen lower down the river, and the orange-tree put out new branches. kao therefore passed into an undiminished inheritance. he married three wives, to commemorate the number of his brothers, and had three sons, whom he called chu, shan, and hing, for a like purpose. these three all attained to high office in the state, and by their enlightened morals succeeded in wiping all the discreditable references to others bearing the same names from off the domestic tablets.
from this story it will be seen that by acting virtuously, yet with an observing discretion, on all occasions, it is generally possible not only to rise to an assured position, but at the same time unsuspectedly to involve those who stand in our way in a just destruction.
