Kai Lung's Golden Hours, Page 3

  CHAPTER II

  The Inexorable Justice of the Mandarin Shan Tien

  "By having access to this enclosure you will be able to walk whereotherwise you must stand. That in itself is cheap at the price ofthree reputed strings of inferior cash. Furthermore, it is possible tobreathe."

  "The outlook, in one direction, is an extensive one," admitted KaiLung, gazing towards the sky. "Here, moreover, is a shutter throughwhich the vista doubtless lengthens."

  "So long as there is no chance of you exploring it any farther thanyour neck, it does not matter," said Li-loe. "Outside lies a barrenregion of the yamen garden where no one ever comes. I will now leaveyou, having to meet one with whom I would traffic for a goat. When Ireturn be prepared to retrace your steps to the prison cell."

  "The shadow moves as the sun directs," replied Kai Lung, and withcourteous afterthought he added the wonted parting: "Slowly, slowly;walk slowly."

  In such a manner the story-teller found himself in a highly-walledenclosure, lying between the prison-house and the yamen garden, a fewdays after his arrival in Yu-ping. Ming-shu had not eaten his word.

  The yard itself possessed no attraction for Kai Lung. Almost beforeLi-loe had disappeared he was at the shutter in the wall, had forcedit open and was looking out. Thus long he waited, motionless, butobserving every leaf that stirred among the trees and shrubs andneglected growth beyond. At last a figure passed across a distantglade and at the sight Kai Lung lifted up a restrained voice in song:

  "At the foot of a bleak and inhospitable mountain An insignificant stream winds its uncared way; Although inferior to the Yangtze-kiang in every detail Yet fish glide to and fro among its crannies Nor would they change their home for the depths of the widest river.

  The palace of the sublime Emperor is made rich with hanging curtains. While here rough stone walls forbid repose. Yet there is one who unhesitatingly prefers the latter; For from an open shutter here he can look forth, And perchance catch a glimpse of one who may pass by.

  The occupation of the Imperial viceroy is both lucrative and noble; While that of a relater of imagined tales is by no means esteemed. But he who thus expressed himself would not exchange with the other; For around the identity of each heroine he can entwine the personality of one whom he has encountered. And thus she is ever by his side."

  "Your uplifted voice comes from an unexpected quarter, minstrel," saida melodious voice, and the maiden whom he had encountered in the woodstood before him. "What crime have you now committed?"

  "An ancient one. I presumed to raise my unworthy eyes--"

  "Alas, story-teller," interposed the maiden hastily, "it would seemthat the star to which you chained _your_ wrist has not carried youinto the assembly of the gods."

  "Yet already it has borne me half-way--into a company of malefactors.Doubtless on the morrow the obliging Mandarin Shan Tien will arrangefor the journey to be complete."

  "Yet have you then no further wish to continue in an ordinaryexistence?" asked the maiden.

  "To this person," replied Kai Lung, with a deep-seated look,"existence can never again be ordinary. Admittedly it may be short."

  As they conversed together in this inoffensive manner she whom Li-loehad called the Golden Mouse held in her delicately-formed hands apriceless bowl filled with ripe fruit of the rarer kinds which she hadgathered. These from time to time she threw up to the opening, rightlydeciding that one in Kai Lung's position would stand in need ofsustenance, and he no less dexterously held and retained them. Whenthe bowl was empty she continued for a space to regard it silently, asthough exploring the many-sided recesses of her mind.

  "You have claimed to be a story-teller and have indeed made a boastthat there is no arising emergency for which you are unprepared," shesaid at length. "It now befalls that you may be put to a speedy test.Is the nature of this imagined scene"--thus she indicated theembellishment of the bowl--"familiar to your eyes?"

  "It is that known as 'The Willow,'" replied Kai Lung. "There is astory--"

  "There is a story!" exclaimed the maiden, loosening from her brow theoverhanging look of care. "Thus and thus. Frequently have I importunedhim before whom you will appear to explain to me the meaning of thescene. When you are called upon to plead your cause, see to it wellthat your knowledge of such a tale is clearly shown. He before whomyou kneel, craftily plied meanwhile by my unceasing petulance, willthen desire to hear it from your lips . . . At the striking of thefourth gong the day is done. What lies between rests with yourdiscriminating wit."

  "You are deep in the subtler kinds of wisdom, such as the weakpossess," confessed Kai Lung. "Yet how will this avail to any length?"

  "That which is put off from to-day is put off from to-morrow," was theconfident reply. "For the rest--at a corresponding gong-stroke of eachday it is this person's custom to gather fruit. Farewell, minstrel."

  When Li-loe returned a little later Kai Lung threw his two remainingstrings of cash about that rapacious person's neck and embraced him ashe exclaimed:

  "Chieftain among doorkeepers, when I go to the Capital to receive theall-coveted title 'Leaf-crowned' and to chant ceremonial odes beforethe Court, thou shalt accompany me as forerunner, and an agile tribeof selected goats shall sport about thy path."

  "Alas, manlet," replied the other, weeping readily, "greatly do I fearthat the next journey thou wilt take will be in an upward or adownward rather than a sideway direction. This much have I learned,and to this end, at some cost admittedly, I enticed into loquacity onewho knows another whose brother holds the key of Ming-shu'sconfidence: that to-morrow the Mandarin will begin to distributejustice here, and out of the depths of Ming-shu's malignity the nameof Kai Lung is the first set down."

  "With the title," continued Kai Lung cheerfully, "there goes asufficiency of taels; also a vat of a potent wine of a certain kind."

  "If," suggested Li-loe, looking anxiously around, "you have reallydiscovered hidden about this place a secret store of wine, considerwell whether it would not be prudent to entrust it to a faithfulfriend before it is too late."

  It was indeed as Li-loe had foretold. On the following day, at thesecond gong-stroke after noon, the order came and, closely guarded,Kai Lung was led forth. The middle court had been duly arranged, witha formidable display of chains, weights, presses, saws, branding ironsand other implements for securing justice. At the head of a tabledraped with red sat the Mandarin Shan Tien, on his right the secretaryof his hand, the contemptible Ming-shu. Round about were positionedothers who in one necessity or another might be relied upon to play anordered part. After a lavish explosion of fire-crackers had beendischarged, sonorous bells rung and gongs beaten, a venerablegeomancer disclosed by means of certain tests that all doubtfulinfluences had been driven off and that truth and impartiality aloneremained.

  "Except on the part of the prisoners, doubtless," remarked theMandarin, thereby imperilling the gravity of all who stood around.

  "The first of those to prostrate themselves before your enlightenedclemency, Excellence, is a notorious assassin who, under another name,has committed many crimes," began the execrable Ming-shu. "Heconfesses that, now calling himself Kai Lung, he has recentlyjourneyed from Loo-chow, where treason ever wears a smiling face."

  "Perchance he is saddened by our city's loyalty," interposed thebenign Shan Tien, "for if he is smiling now it is on the side of hisface removed from this one's gaze."

  "The other side of his face is assuredly where he will be made tosmile ere long," acquiesced Ming-shu, not altogether to his chief'sapproval, as the analogy was already his. "Furthermore, he has beendetected lurking in secret meeting-places by the wayside, and onreaching Yu-ping he raised his rebellious voice inviting all to gatherround and join his unlawful band. The usual remedy in such casesduring periods of stress, Excellence, is strangulation."

  "The times are indeed pressing," remarked the
agile-minded Mandarin,"and the penalty would appear to be adequate." As no one sufferedinconvenience at his attitude, however, Shan Tien's expression assumeda more unbending cast.

  "Let the witnesses appear," he commanded sharply.

  "In so clear a case it has not been thought necessary to incur theexpense of hiring the usual witnesses," urged Ming-shu; "but they aredoubtless clustered about the opium floor and will, if necessary,testify to whatever is required."

  "The argument is a timely one," admitted the Mandarin. "As the resultcannot fail to be the same in either case, perhaps the accommodatingprisoner will assist the ends of justice by making a full confessionof his crimes?"

  "High Excellence," replied the story-teller, speaking for the firsttime, "it is truly said that that which would appear as a mountain inthe evening may stand revealed as a mud-hut by the light of day. Hearmy unpainted word. I am of the abject House of Kai and my inoffensiverice is earned as a narrator of imagined tales. Unrolling mythreadbare mat at the middle hour of yesterday, I had raised mydistressing voice and announced an intention to relate the Story ofWong Ts'in, that which is known as 'The Legend of the Willow PlateEmbellishment,' when a company of armed warriors, converging uponme--"

  "Restrain the melodious flow of your admitted eloquence," interruptedthe Mandarin, veiling his arising interest. "Is the story, to whichyou have made reference, that of the scene widely depicted on platesand earthenware?"

  "Undoubtedly. It is the true and authentic legend as related by theeminent Tso-yi."

  "In that case," declared Shan Tien dispassionately, "it will benecessary for you to relate it now, in order to uphold your claim.Proceed."

  "Alas, Excellence," protested Ming-shu from a bitter throat, "thismatter will attenuate down to the stroke of evening rice. Kowtowingbeneath your authoritative hand, that which the prisoner only had theintention to relate does not come within the confines of hisevidence."

  "The objection is superficial and cannot be sustained," replied ShanTien. "If an evilly-disposed one raised a sword to strike this person,but was withheld before the blow could fall, none but a leper wouldcontend that because he did not progress beyond the intention therebyhe should go free. Justice must be impartially upheld and greatly do Ifear that we must all submit."

  With these opportune words the discriminating personage signified toKai Lung that he should begin.

  The Story of Wong T'sin and the Willow Plate Embellishment

  Wong Ts'in, the rich porcelain maker, was ill at ease within himself.He had partaken of his customary midday meal, flavoured the repast byunsealing a jar of matured wine, consumed a little fruit, a fewsweetmeats and half a dozen cups of unapproachable tea, and thenretired to an inner chamber to contemplate philosophically from thereposeful attitude of a reclining couch.

  But upon this occasion the merchant did not contemplate restfully. Hepaced the floor in deep dejection and when he did use the couch at allit was to roll upon it in a sudden access of internal pain. The causeof his distress was well known to the unhappy person thus concerned,nor did it lessen the pangs of his emotion that it arose entirely fromhis own ill-considered action.

  When Wong Ts'in had discovered, by the side of a remote and obscureriver, the inexhaustible bed of porcelain clay that ensured hisprosperity, his first care was to erect adequate sheds andlabouring-places; his next to build a house sufficient for himself andthose in attendance round about him.

  So far prudence had ruled his actions, for there is a keen edge to thesaying: "He who sleeps over his workshop brings four eyes into thebusiness," but in one detail Wong T'sin's head and feet went ondifferent journeys, for with incredible oversight he omitted to securethe experience of competent astrologers and omen-casters in fixing theexact site of his mansion.

  The result was what might have been expected. In excavating for thefoundations, Wong T'sin's slaves disturbed the repose of a small butrapacious earth-demon that had already been sleeping there for ninehundred and ninety-nine years. With the insatiable cunning of itskind, this vindictive creature waited until the house was completedand then proceeded to transfer its unseen but formidable presence tothe quarters that were designed for Wong Ts'in himself. Thenceforth,from time to time, it continued to revenge itself for the trouble towhich it had been put by an insidious persecution. This frequentlytook the form of fastening its claws upon the merchant's digestiveorgans, especially after he had partaken of an unusually rich repast(for in some way the display of certain viands excited its unreasoninganimosity), pressing heavily upon his chest, invading his repose withdragon-dreams while he slept, and the like. Only by the exercise of aningenuity greater than its own could Wong Ts'in succeed in bafflingits ill-conditioned spite.

  On this occasion, recognizing from the nature of his pangs what wastaking place, Wong Ts'in resorted to a stratagem that rarely failedhim. Announcing in a loud voice that it was his intention to refreshthe surface of his body by the purifying action of heated vapour, andthen to proceed to his mixing-floor, the merchant withdrew. The demon,being an earth-dweller with the ineradicable objection of this classof creatures towards all the elements of moisture, at oncerelinquished its hold, and going direct to the part of the worksindicated, it there awaited its victim with the design of resuming itsdiscreditable persecution.

  Wong Ts'in had spoken with a double tongue. On leaving the innerchamber he quickly traversed certain obscure passages of his houseuntil he reached an inferior portal. Even if the demon had suspectedhis purpose it would not have occurred to a creature of its narrowoutlook that anyone of Wong Ts'in's importance would make use of somenial an outway. The merchant therefore reached his gardenunperceived and thenceforward maintained an undeviating face in thedirection of the Outer Expanses. Before he had covered many li he wasassured that he had indeed succeeded for the time in shaking off hisunscrupulous tormentor. His internal organs again resumed theirhabitual calm and his mind was lightened as from an overhanging cloud.

  There was another reason why Wong Ts'in sought the solitude of thethinly-peopled outer places, away from the influence and distractionof his own estate. For some time past a problem that had once beenremote was assuming dimensions of increasing urgency. This detailconcerns Fa Fai, who had already been referred to by a person ofliterary distinction, in a poetical analogy occupying three writtenvolumes, as a pearl-tinted peach-blossom shielded and restrained bythe silken net-work of wise parental affection (and recognizing thejustice of the comparison, Wong Ts'in had been induced to purchase thework in question). Now that Fa Fai had attained an age when she couldfittingly be sought in marriage the contingency might occur at anytime, and the problem confronting her father's decision was this:owing to her incomparable perfection Fa Fai must be accounted one ofWong Ts'in's chief possessions, the other undoubtedly being his secretprocess of simulating the lustrous effect of pure gold embellishmenton china by the application of a much less expensive substitute. Wouldit be more prudent to concentrate the power of both influences and letit become known that with Fa Fai would go the essential part of hisvery remunerative clay enterprise, or would it be more prudent todivide these attractions and secure two distinct influences, bothconcerned about his welfare? In the first case there need be noreasonable limit to the extending vista of his ambition, and he mighteven aspire to greet as a son the highest functionary of theprovince--an official of such heavily-sustained importance that whenhe went about it required six chosen slaves to carry him, and of lateit had been considered more prudent to employ eight.

  If, on the other hand, Fa Fai went without any added inducement, amandarin of moderate rank would probably be as high as Wong Ts'incould look, but he would certainly be able to adopt another of atleast equal position, at the price of making over to him the ultimatebenefit of his discovery. He could thus acquire either two sons ofreasonable influence, or one who exercised almost unlimited authority.In view of his own childlessness, and of his final dependence on theservices of others, which arrangement promised the most regular andliberal
transmission of supplies to his expectant spirit when he hadpassed into the Upper Air, and would his connection with one veryimportant official or with two subordinate ones secure him the greateramount of honour and serviceable recognition among the more usefuldeities?

  To Wong Ts'in's logical mind it seemed as though there must be adefinite answer to this problem. If one manner of behaving was rightthe other must prove wrong, for as the wise philosopher Ning-hy waswont to say: "Where the road divides, there stand two Ning-hys." Thedecision on a matter so essential to his future comfort ought not tobe left to chance. Thus it had become a habit of Wong Ts'in's topenetrate the Outer Spaces in the hope of there encountering aspecific omen.

  Alas, it has been well written: "He who thinks that he is raising amound may only in reality be digging a pit." In his continual searchfor a celestial portent among the solitudes Wong Ts'in had of latenecessarily somewhat neglected his earthly (as it may thus beexpressed) interests. In these emergencies certain of the moreturbulent among his workers had banded themselves together into aconfederacy under the leadership of a craftsman named Fang. It was thecustom of these men, who wore a badge and recognized a mutual oath andimprecation, to present themselves suddenly before Wong Ts'in anddemand a greater reward for their exertions than they had previouslyagreed to, threatening that unless this was accorded they would castdown the implements of their labour in unison and involve in idlenessthose who otherwise would have continued at their task. This menaceWong Ts'in bought off from time to time by agreeing to theirexactions, but it began presently to appear that this way of appeasingthem resembled Chou Hong's method of extinguishing a fire by directingjets of wind against it. On the day with which this related story hasso far concerned itself, a band of the most highly remunerated andprivileged of the craftsmen had appeared before Wong Ts'in with theintolerable Fang at their head. These men were they whose skillenabled them laboriously to copy upon the surfaces of porcelain agiven scene without appreciable deviation from one to the other, forin those remote cycles of history no other method was yet known oreven dreamed of.

  "Suitable greetings, employer of our worthless services," remarkedtheir leader, seating himself upon the floor unbidden. "These whospeak through the mouth of the cringing mendicant before you are theBound-together Brotherhood of Colour-mixers and Putters-on ofThought-out Designs, bent upon a just cause."

  "May their Ancestral Tablets never fall into disrepair," replied WongTs'in courteously. "For the rest--let the mouth referred to shapeitself into the likeness of a narrow funnel, for the lengtheninggong-strokes press round about my unfinished labours."

  "That which in justice requires the amplitude of a full-sized caskshall be pressed down into the confines of an inadequate vessel,"assented Fang. "Know then, O battener upon our ill-requited skill, howit has come to our knowledge that one who is not of our Brotherhoodmoves among us and performs an equal task for a less reward. This isour spoken word in consequence: in place of one tael every man amongus shall now take two, and he who before has laboured eight gongs toreceive it shall henceforth labour four. Furthermore, he who isspeaking shall, as their recognized head and authority, always beaddressed by the honourable title of 'Polished,' and the dog who isnot one of us shall be cast forth."

  "My hand itches to reward you in accordance with the inner promptingof a full heart," replied the merchant, after a well-sustained pause."But in this matter my very deficient ears must be leading mythreadbare mind astray. The moon has not been eaten up since the daywhen you stood before me in a like attitude and bargained that everyman should henceforth receive a full tael where hitherto a half hadbeen his portion, and that in place of the toil of sixteengong-strokes eight should suffice. Upon this being granted all boundthemselves by spoken word that the matter should stand thus and thusbetween us until the gathering-in of the next rice harvest."

  "That may have been so at the time," admitted Fang, with dog-likeobstinacy, "but it was not then known that you had pledged yourself toHien Nan for tenscore embellished plates of porcelain within a statedtime, and that our services would therefore be essential to yourreputation. There has thus arisen what may be regarded as a new vistaof eventualities, and this frees us from the bondage of our spokenword. Having thus moderately stated our unbending demand, we willdepart until the like gong-stroke of to-morrow, when, if our claim benot agreed to, all will cast down their implements of labour with theswiftness of a lightning-flash and thereby involve the whole of yourtoo-profitable undertaking in well-merited stagnation. We go,venerable head; auspicious omens attend your movements!"

  "May the All-Seeing guide your footsteps," responded Wong Ts'in, andwith courteous forbearance he waited until they were out of hearingbefore he added--"into a vat of boiling sulphur!"

  Thus may the position be outlined when Wei Chang, the unassuming youthwhom the black-hearted Fang had branded with so degrading acomparison, sat at his appointed place rather than join in thediscreditable conspiracy, and strove by his unaided dexterity toenable Wong Ts'in to complete the tenscore embellished plates by theappointed time. Yet already he knew that in this commendable ambitionhis head grew larger than his hands, for he was the slowest-workingamong all Wong Ts'in's craftsmen, and even then his copy couldfrequently be detected from the original. Not to overwhelm his memorywith unmerited contempt it is fitting now to reveal somewhat more ofthe unfolding curtain of events.

  Wei Chang was not in reality a worker in the art of applying coloureddesigns to porcelain at all. He was a student of the literaryexcellences and had decided to devote his entire life to the engagingtask of reducing the most perfectly matched analogy to the leastpossible number of words when the unexpected appearance of Fa Faiunsettled his ambitions. She was restraining the impatience of apowerful horse and controlling its movements by means of a leatherthong, while at the same time she surveyed the landscape with adisinterested glance in which Wei Chang found himself becominginvolved. Without stopping even to consult the spirits of his reveredancestors on so important a decision, he at once burned the greaterpart of his collection of classical analogies and engaged himself, asone who is willing to become more proficient, about Wong Ts'in'searth-yards. Here, without any reasonable intention of ever becomingin any way personally congenial to her, he was in a positionoccasionally to see the distant outline of Fa Fai's movements, andwhen a day passed and even this was withheld he was content that theshadow of the many-towered building that contained her should obscurethe sunlight from the window before which he worked.

  While Wei Chang was thus engaged the door of the enclosure in which helaboured was thrust cautiously inwards, and presently he became awarethat the being whose individuality was never completely absent fromhis thoughts was standing in an expectant attitude at no greatdistance from him. As no other person was present, the craftsmenhaving departed in order to consult an oracle that dwelt beneath anappropriate sign, and Wong Ts'in being by this time among the OuterWays seeking an omen as to Fa Fai's disposal, Wei Chang did not thinkit respectful to become aware of the maiden's presence until apersistent distress of her throat compelled him to recognize theincident.

  "Unapproachable perfection," he said, with becoming deference, "is itpermissible that in the absence of your enlightened sire you shoulddescend from your golden eminence and stand, entirely unattended, atno great distance from so ordinary a person as myself?"

  "Whether it be strictly permissible or not, it is only on likeoccasions that she ever has the opportunity of descending from thesolitary pinnacle referred to," replied Fa Fai, not only with nooutward appearance of alarm at being directly addressed by one of adifferent sex, but even moving nearer to Wei Chang as she spoke. "Amore essential detail in the circumstances concerns the length of timethat he may be prudently relied upon to be away?"

  "Doubtless several gong-strokes will intervene before his returningfootsteps gladden our expectant vision," replied Wei Chang. "He isspoken of as having set his face towards the Outer Ways, thereperchance to come within the influence of a por
tent."

  "Its probable object is not altogether unknown to the one who standsbefore you," admitted Fa Fai, "and as a dutiful and affectionatedaughter it has become a consideration with her whether she ought notto press forward, as it were, to a solution on her own account. . . .If the one whom I am addressing could divert his attention from theembellishment of the very inadequate claw of a wholly superfluouswinged dragon, possibly he might add his sage counsel on that point."

  "It is said that a bull-frog once rent his throat in a well-meantendeavour to advise an eagle in the art of flying," replied Wei Chang,concealing the bitterness of his heart beneath an easy tongue. "Forthis reason it is inexpedient for earthlings to fix their eyes onthose who dwell in very high places."

  "To the intrepid, very high places exist solely to be scaled; withothers, however, the only scaling they attempt is lavished on thearmour of preposterous flying monsters, O youth of the House of Wei!"

  "Is it possible," exclaimed Wei Chang, moving forward with so suddenan ardour that the maiden hastily withdrew herself several paces frombeyond his enthusiasm, "is it possible that this person's hithertoobscure and execrated name is indeed known to your incomparable lips?"

  "As the one who periodically casts up the computations of the sums ofmoney due to those who labour about the earth-yards, it would bestrange if the name had so far escaped my notice," replied Fa Fai,with a distance in her voice that the few paces between them veryinadequately represented. "Certain details engrave themselves upon thetablets of recollection by their persistence. For instance, the nameof Fang is generally at the head of each list; that of Wei Chang isinvariably at the foot."

  "It is undeniable," admitted Wei Chang, in a tone of well-meritedhumiliation; "and the attainment of never having yet applied a designin such a manner that the copy might be mistaken for the original hasentirely flattened-out this person's self-esteem."

  "Doubtless," suggested Fa Fai, with delicate encouragement, "there areother pursuits in which you would disclose a more highly developedproficiency--as that of watching the gyrations of untamed horses, forexample. Our more immediate need, however, is to discover a means ofdefeating the malignity of the detestable Fang. With this object Ihave for some time past secretly applied myself to the task ofcontriving a design which, by blending simplicity with picturesqueeffect, will enable one person in a given length of time to achievethe amount of work hitherto done by two."

  With these auspicious words the accomplished maiden disclosed a plateof translucent porcelain, embellished in the manner which she haddescribed. At the sight of the ingenious way in which trees andpersons, stream and buildings, and objects of a widely differingnature had been so arranged as to give the impression that they allexisted at the same time, and were equally visible without undueexertion on the part of the spectator who regarded them, Wei Changcould not restrain an exclamation of delight.

  "How cunningly imagined is the device by which objects so varied insize as an orange and an island can be depicted within the narrowcompass of a porcelain plate without the larger one completelyobliterating the smaller or the smaller becoming actually invisible bycomparison with the other! Hitherto this unimaginative person had notconsidered the possibility of showing other than dragons, demons,spirits, and the forces which from their celestial nature may beregarded as possessing no real thickness of substance and thereforebeing particularly suitable for treatment on a flat surface. But thisengaging display might indeed be a scene having an actual existence atno great space away."

  "Such is assuredly the case," admitted Fa Fai. "Within certainlimitations, imposed by this new art of depicting realities as theyare, we may be regarded as standing before an open window. Theimportant-looking building on the right is that erected by thisperson's venerated father. Its prosperity is indicated by theluxurious profusion of the fruit-tree overhanging it. Pressed somewhatto the back, but of dignified proportion, are the outer buildings ofthose who labour among the clay."

  "In a state of actuality, they are of measurably less dignifieddimensions," suggested Wei Chang.

  "The objection is inept," replied Fa Fai. "The buildings in questionundoubtedly exist at the indicated position. If, therefore, theactuality is to be maintained, it is necessary either to raise theirstature or to cut down the trees obscuring them. To this gentle-mindedperson the former alternative seemed the less drastic. As, however, itis regarded in a spirit of no-satisfaction--"

  "Proceed, incomparable one, proceed," implored Wei Chang. "It was buta breath of thought, arising from a recollection of the many timesthat this incapable person has struck his unworthy head against theroof-beams of those nobly-proportioned buildings."

  "The three stunted individuals crossing the bridge in undignifiedattitudes are the debased Fang and two of his mercenary accomplices.They are, as usual, bending their footsteps in the direction of thehospitality of a house that announces its purpose beneath the sign ofa spreading bush. They are positioned as crossing the river to a setpurpose, and the bridge is devoid of a rail in the hope that on theirreturn they may all fall into the torrent in a helpless condition andbe drowned, to the satisfaction of the beholders."

  "It would be a fitting conclusion to their ill-spent lives," agreedWei Chang. "Would it not add to their indignity to depict them asstruggling beneath the waves?"

  "It might do so," admitted Fa Fai graciously, "but in order to expressthe arisement adequately it would be necessary to display themtwice--first on the bridge with their faces turned towards the west,and then in the flood with their faces towards the east; and thesuperficial might hastily assume that the three on the bridge wouldrescue the three in the river."

  "You are all-wise," said Wei Chang, with well-marked admiration in hisvoice. "This person's suggestion was opaque."

  "In any case," continued Fa Fai, with a reassuring glance, "it is adetail that is not essential to the frustration of Fang's malignantscheme, for already well on its way towards Hien Nan may be seen atrustworthy junk, laden with two formidable crates, each onecontaining fivescore plates of the justly esteemed Wong Ts'inporcelain."

  "Nevertheless," maintained Wei Chang mildly, "the out-passing of Fangwould have been a satisfactory detail of the occurrence."

  "Do not despair," replied Fa Fai. "Not idly is it written: 'Destinyhas four feet, eight hands and sixteen eyes: how then shall theill-doer with only two of each hope to escape?' An even moreignominious end may await Fang, should he escape drowning, for,conveniently placed by the side of the stream, this person hasintroduced a spreading willow-tree. Any of its lower branches iscapable of sustaining Fang's weight, should a reliable rope connectthe two."

  "There is something about that which this person now learns is awillow that distinguishes it above all the other trees of the design,"remarked Wei Chang admiringly. "It has a wild and yet a romanticaspect."

  "This person had not yet chanced upon a suitable title for thedevice," said Fa Fai, "and a distinguishing name is necessary, forpossibly scores of copies may be made before its utility is exhausted.Your discriminating praise shall be accepted as a fortunate omen, andhenceforth this shall be known as the Willow Pattern Embellishment."

  "The honour of suggesting the title is more than this commonplaceperson can reasonably carry," protested Wei Chang, feeling that verylittle worth considering existed outside the earth-shed. "Not onlyscores, but even hundreds of copies may be required in the process oftime, for a crust of rice-bread and handful of dried figs eaten fromsuch a plate would be more satisfying than a repast of many-coursedrichness elsewhere."

  In this well-sustained and painless manner Fa Fai and Wei Changcontinued to express themselves agreeably to each other, until thelengthening gong-strokes warned the former person that her absencemight inconvenience Wong Ts'in's sense of tranquillity on his return,nor did Wei Chang contest the desirability of a great spaceintervening between them should the merchant chance to pass that way.In the meanwhile Chang had explained many of the inner details of hiscraft so that Fa Fai should the b
etter understand the requirements ofher new art.

  "Yet where is the Willow plate itself?" said the maiden, as she beganto arrange her mind towards departure. "As the colours were still in areceptive state this person placed it safely aside for the time. Itwas somewhat near the spot where you--"

  During the amiable exchange of shafts of polished conversation WeiChang had followed Fa Fai's indication and had seated himself upon alow bench without any very definite perception of his movements. Henow arose with the unstudied haste of one who has inconvenienced ascorpion.

  "Alas!" he exclaimed, in a tone of the acutest mental distress; "canit be possible that this utterly profane outcast has so desecrated--"

  "Certainly comment of an admittedly crushing nature has been imposedon this one's well-meant handiwork," said Fa Fai. With theselightly-barbed words, which were plainly devised to restore the otherperson's face towards himself, the magnanimous maiden examined theplate which Wei Chang's uprising had revealed.

  "Not only has the embellishment suffered no real detriment," shecontinued, after an adequate glance, "but there has been imparted tothe higher lights--doubtless owing to the nature of the fabric inwhich your lower half is encased--a certain nebulous quality that addsgreatly to the successful effect of the various tones."

  At the first perception of the indignity to which he had subjected theentrancing Fa Fai's work, and the swift feeling that much more thanthe coloured adornment of a plate would thereby be destroyed, allpower of retention had forsaken Wei Chang's incapable knees and hesank down heavily upon another bench. From this dejection the maiden'swell-chosen encouragement recalled him to a position of ordinaryuprightness.

  "A tombstone is lifted from this person's mind by yourgracefully-placed words," he declared, and he was continuing toindicate the nature of his self-reproach by means of a suitableanalogy when the expression of Fa Fai's eyes turned him to a pointbehind himself. There, lying on the spot from which he had just risen,was a second Willow plate, differing in no detail of resemblance fromthe first.

  "Shadow of the Great Image!" exclaimed Chang, in an awe-filled voice."It is no marvel that miracles should attend your footsteps, celestialone, but it is incredible that this clay-souled person should beinvolved in the display."

  "Yet," declared Fa Fai, not hesitating to allude to things as theyexisted, in the highly-raised stress of the discovery, "it wouldappear that the miracle is not specifically connected with thisperson's feet. Would you not, in furtherance of this line ofsuggestion, place yourself in a similar attitude on yet another plate,Wei Chang?"

  Not without many protests that it was scarcely becoming thus to sitrepeatedly in her presence, Chang complied with the request, and uponFa Fai's further insistence he continued to impress himself, as itwere, upon a succession of porcelain plates, with a like result. Notuntil the eleventh process was reached did the Willow design begin tolose its potency.

  "Ten perfect copies produced within as many moments, and not onedistinguishable from the first!" exclaimed Wei Chang, regarding thearray of plates with pleasurable emotion. "Here is a means of bafflingFang's crafty confederacy that will fill Wong Ts'in's ears with wavesof gladness on his return."

  "Doubtless," agreed Fa Fai, with a dark intent. She was standing bythe door of the enclosure in the process of making her departure, andshe regarded Wei Chang with a set deliberation. "Yet," she continueddefinitely, "if this person possessed that which was essential to WongTs'in's prosperity, and Wong Ts'in held that which was necessary forthis one's tranquillity, a locked bolt would be upon the one until theother was pledged in return."

  With these opportune words the maiden vanished, leaving Wei Changprostrating himself in spirit before the many-sidedness of her wisdom.

  Wong T'sin was not altogether benevolently inclined towards theuniverse on his return a little later. The persistent image of Fang'soverthreatening act still corroded the merchant's throat withbitterness, for on his right he saw the extinction of his business asunremunerative if he agreed, and on his left he saw the extinction ofhis business as undependable if he refused to agree.

  Furthermore, the omens were ill-arranged.

  On his way outwards he had encountered an aged man who possessed twofruit-trees, on which he relied for sustenance. As Wong Ts'in drewnear, this venerable person carried from his dwelling two beaten cakesof dog-dung and began to bury them about the root of the larger tree.This action, on the part of one who might easily be a disguisedwizard, aroused Wong Ts'in's interest.

  "Why," he demanded, "having two cakes of dung and two fruit-trees, doyou not allot one to each tree, so that both may benefit and return toyou their produce in the time of your necessity?"

  "The season promises to be one of rigour and great need," replied theother. "A single cake of dung might not provide sufficient nourishmentfor either tree, so that both should wither away. By reducing life toa bare necessity I could pass from one harvest to another on the fruitof this tree alone, but if both should fail I am undone. To this end Isafeguard my existence by ensuring that at least the better of the twoshall thrive."

  "Peace attend your efforts!" said Wong Ts'in, and he began to retracehis footsteps, well content.

  Yet he had not covered half the distance back when his progress wasimpeded by an elderly hag who fed two goats, whose milk alonepreserved her from starvation. One small measure of dry grass was allthat she was able to provide them with, but she divided it equallybetween them, to the discontent of both.

  "The season promises to be one of rigour and great need," remarkedWong Ts'in affably, for the being before him might well be a creatureof another part who had assumed that form for his guidance. "Why doyou not therefore ensure sustenance to the better of the two goats bydevoting to it the whole of the measure of dry grass? In this way youwould receive at least some nourishment in return and therebysafeguard your own existence until the rice is grown again."

  "In the matter of the two goats," replied the aged hag, "there is nobetter, both being equally stubborn and perverse, though one may befiner-looking and more vainglorious than the other. Yet should Ifoster this one to the detriment of her fellow, what would be thisperson's plight if haply the weaker died and the stronger broke awayand fled! By treating both alike I retain a double thread on life,even if neither is capable of much."

  "May the Unseen weigh your labours!" exclaimed Wong Ts'in in atwo-edged voice, and he departed.

  When he reached his own house he would have closed himself in his ownchamber with himself had not Wei Chang persisted that he sought hismaster's inner ear with a heavy project. This interruption did notplease Wong Ts'in, for he had begun to recognize the day as beingunlucky, yet Chang succeeded by a device in reaching his side, bearingin his hands a guarded burden.

  Though no written record of this memorable interview exists, it is nowgenerally admitted that Wei Chang either involved himself in anunbearably attenuated caution before he would reveal his errand, orelse that he made a definite allusion to Fa Fai with a too suddenconciseness, for the slaves who stood without heard Wong Ts'in clearhis voice of all restraint and express himself freely on a variety ofsubjects. But this gave place to a subdued murmur, ending with theceremonial breaking of a plate, and later Wong Ts'in beat on a silverbell and called for wine and fruit.

  The next day Fang presented himself a few gong-strokes later than theappointed time, and being met by an unbending word he withdrew thelabour of those whom he controlled. Thenceforth these men, providingthemselves with knives and axes, surrounded the gate of theearth-yards and by the pacific argument of their attitudes succeededin persuading others who would willingly have continued at their taskthat the air of Wong Ts'in's sheds was not congenial to their health.Towards Wei Chang, whose efforts they despised, they raised a cloud ofderision, and presently noticing that henceforth he invariably cladhimself in lower garments of a dark blue material (to a set purposethat will be as crystal to the sagacious), they greeted his appearancewith cries of: "Behold the sombre one! Thou dark leg!
" so that thisreproach continues to be hurled even to this day at those in a likecase, though few could answer why.

  Long before the stipulated time the tenscore plates were delivered toHien Nan. So greatly were they esteemed, both on account of theiraccuracy of unvarying detail and the ingenuity of their novelembellishment, that orders for scores, hundreds and even thousandsbegan to arrive from all quarters of the Empire. The clay enterpriseof Wong Ts'in took upon itself an added lustre, and in order to dealadequately with so vast an undertaking the grateful merchant adoptedWei Chang and placed him upon an equal footing with himself. On thesame day Wong Ts'in honourably fulfilled his spoken word and themarriage of Wei Chang and Fa Fai took place, accompanied by the mostlavish display of fireworks and coloured lights that the province hadever seen. The controlling deities approved, and they had seven sons,one of whom had seven fingers upon each hand. All these sons becameexpert in Wei Chang's process of transferring porcelain embellishment,for some centuries elapsed before it was discovered that it was notabsolutely necessary to sit upon each plate to produce the desiredeffect.

  This chronicle of an event that is now regarded as almost classicalwould not be complete without an added reference to the ultimate endof the sordid Fang.

  Fallen into disrepute among his fellows owing to the evil plighttowards which he had enticed them, it became his increasing purpose tofrequent the house beyond the river. On his return at nightfall heinvariably drew aside on reaching the bridge, well knowing that hecould not prudently rely upon his feet among so insecure a crossing,and composed himself to sleep amid the rushes. While in this positionone night he was discovered and pushed into the river by a devout ox(an instrument of high destinies), where he perished incapably.

  Those who found his body, not being able to withdraw so formidable aweight direct, cast a rope across the lower branch of a convenientwillow-tree and thus raised it to the shore. In this striking mannerFa Fai's definite opinion achieved a destined end.