JwarngDzzz!Dzoong (as in 'book')DzorePROLOQUEIn which Three Ming Loyalists discuss the Manchu Persecution, the Ming mHistory, the Beggars Guild, and the Triad Secret SocietyThe Deerand the CauldronAlong a coastal road somewhere south of the Yangtze River, a detachment ofsoldiers, each of them armed with a halberd, was escorting a line of sevenprison carts, trudging northwards in the teeth of a bitter wind. In each of thefirst three carts a single male prisoner was caged, identifiable by his dress as amember of the scholar class. One was a white-haired old man. The other twowere men of middle years. The four rear carts were occupied by women, thelast of them by a young mother holding a baby girl at her breast. The little girlwas crying in a continuous wail which her mother's gentle words of comfortwere powerless to console. One of the soldiers marching alongside, irritated bythe baby's crying, aimed a mighty kick at the cart.'Stop it! Shut up! Or I'll really give you something to cry about!The baby,startled bythis sudden violence, cried even louder.Under the eaves of a large house, some hundred yards from the road, amiddle-aged scholar was standing with a ten- or eleven-year-old boy at his sideHe was evidently affected by this little scene, for a groan escaped his lips andhe appeared to be very close to tears.'Poorcreatures!'hemurmuredtohimself.'Papa,said thelittleboy,'what havetheydone wrong?'what indeed!' said the man, bitterly.'During these last two days they musthavemademorethanthirtyarrests.All ourbest scholars.Andall oftheminnocents, caught up in the net, he added in an undertone,for fear that thesoldiers might hear him
Jwarng Dzzz! Dzoong (as in 'book') Dzore PROLOQUE In which Three Ming Loyalists discuss the Manchu Persecution, the Ming m History, the Beggars Guild, and the Triad Secret Society The Deer and the Cauldron Along a coastal road somewhere south of the Yangtze River, a detachment of soldiers, each of them armed with a halberd, was escorting a line of seven prison carts, trudging northwards in the teeth of a bitter wind. In each of the first three carts a single male prisoner was caged, identifiable by his dress as a member of the scholar class. One was a white-haired old man. The other two were men of middle years. The four rear carts were occupied by women, the last of them by a young mother holding a baby girl at her breast. The little girl was crying in a continuous wail which her mother's gentle words of comfort were powerless to console. One of the soldiers marching alongside, irritated by the baby's crying, aimed a mighty kick at the cart. 'Stop it! Shut up! Or I'll really give you something to cry about!' The baby, startled by this sudden violence, cried even louder. Under the eaves of a large house, some hundred yards from the road, a middle-aged scholar was standing with a ten- or eleven-year-old boy at his side. He was evidently affected by this little scene, for a groan escaped his lips and he appeared to be very close to tears. 'Poor creatures!' he murmured to himself. 'Papa,' said the little boy, 'what have they done wrong?' 'What indeed!' said the man, bitterly. 'During these last two days they must have made more than thirty arrests. All our best scholars. And all of them innocents, caught up in the net,' he added in an undertone, for fear that the soldiers might hear him
That girl's only a baby,' said the boy. 'What can she possibly be guilty of? It'sverywrong.'So you understand that what the Government soldiers do is wrong,'said theman. 'Good for you, my son!' He sighed. They are the cleaver and we are themeat. They are the cauldron and we are the deer.'You explained"theyare thecleaver and we arethemeat"the otherday,papa,'said the boy. 'It's what they say when people are massacred or beheaded. Likemeat or fish being sliced up on the chopping-board. Does "they are thecauldron and wearethedeer"mean the samething?'Yes,more orless,said theman; and since thetrain of soldiers and prison cartswas nowfast receding,he tookthe boybythehand.'Let's go indoors now,' he said. 'It's too windy for standing outside.Indoors the two of them went, and into his study.The man-picked up a writing-brush and moistened it on the ink-slab, then, on-a sheet of paper, he wrote the character for a deer.The deer is a wild animal, but although it is comparatively large, it has a verypeaceable nature. It eats only grass and leaves and never harms other animals.So when other animals want to hurt it or to eat it, all it can do is run away. If itcan't escape by running away, it gets eaten.'He wrote the charactersfor'chasing the deer'on the sheet of paperThat's why in ancient times they often used the deer as a symbol of Empire.The common people, who are the subjects of Empire, are gentle and obedientLike the deer's, it is their lot to becruelly treated and oppressed. In the History of the Han Dynasty it says "Qinlost the deer and the world went chasing after it": That means that when theQin Emperor lost control ofthe Empire,ambitious men roseup everywhereand fought each other to possess it. In the end it was the first Han Emperorwho got this big, fat deer by defeating the Tyrant King of Chu.''I know,' said the boy.'In my story-books it says "they chased the deer on theCentral Plain". That means they were all fighting each other to becomeEmperor.'The scholar nodded, pleased with his young son's astuteness. He drew a picture
That girl's only a baby,' said the boy. 'What can she possibly be guilty of? It's very wrong.' 'So you understand that what the Government soldiers do is wrong,' said the man. 'Good for you, my son!' He sighed. They are the cleaver and we are the meat. They are the cauldron and we are the deer.' 'You explained "they are the cleaver and we are the meat" the other day, papa,' said the boy. 'It's what they say when people are massacred or beheaded. Like meat or fish being sliced up on the chopping-board. Does "they are the cauldron and we are the deer" mean the same thing?' 'Yes, more or less,' said the man; and since the train of soldiers and prison carts was now fast receding, he took the boy by the hand. 'Let's go indoors now,' he said. 'It's too windy for standing outside.' Indoors the two of them went, and into his study. The man-picked up a writing-brush and moistened it on the ink-slab, then, on -a sheet of paper, he wrote the character for a deer. The deer is a wild animal, but although it is comparatively large, it has a very peaceable nature. It eats only grass and leaves and never harms other animals. So when other animals want to hurt it or to eat it, all it can do is run away. If it can't escape by running away, it gets eaten.' He wrote the characters for 'chasing the deer' on the sheet of paper. That's why in ancient times they often used the deer as a symbol of Empire. The common people, who are the subjects of Empire, are gentle and obedient. Like the deer's, it is their lot to be cruelly treated and oppressed. In the History of the Han Dynasty it says "Qin lost the deer and the world went chasing after it". That means that when the Qin Emperor lost control of the Empire, ambitious men rose up everywhere and fought each other to possess it. In the end it was the first Han Emperor who got this big, fat deer by defeating the Tyrant King of Chu.' 'I know,' said the boy. 'In my story-books it says "they chased the deer on the Central Plain". That means they were all fighting each other to become Emperor.' The scholar nodded, pleased with his young son's astuteness. He drew a picture
ofa cauldron onthe sheetofpaper.'In olden times they didn't use a cooking-pot on the stove to cook their food in,they used a three-legged cauldron like this and lit a fire underneath it. Whenthey caught a deer they put it in a cauldron to seethe it. Those ancientEmperors and great ministers were very cruel. If they didn't like somebody,they would pretend that they had committed some crime or other, and thenthey would put them in a cauldron and boil them. In the Records of anHistorian Lin Xiangru says to the King of Qin, "Deceiving Your Majesty was acapital offence.I beg toapproach the cauldron."What hemeant was,"I deserveto die.Put me in the cauldron and boil me.""'Often in my story-books I've seen the words "asking about the cauldrons in theCentral Plain",'said the boy.'It seems tomean the same thing as"chasing thedeerintheCentral Plain":'It does,' said the man. 'King Yu of the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty that everwas, collected metal from all the nine provinces of the Empire and used it tocast nine great cauldrons with. "Metal" in those days meant bronze. Each ofthese bronze cauldrons had the name of one of the nine provinces on it and amap showing the mountains and rivers of that province. In later times whoeverbecame masterof theEmpire automaticallybecametheguardian of thesecauldrons.InThe Chronicleof Zuo it says that when theViscount of Chu wasreviewing his troops on Zhou territory and the Zhou king sent Prince Man tohim with his royal compliments,theViscount questioned PrinceMan aboutthesize and weight of the cauldrons. Of course, as ruler of the whole Empire, onlythe Zhou king had the right to be guardian of the cauldrons. For a mereViscount like the ruler of Chu to ask questions about them showed that he wasplanningto seizetheEmpireforhimself.'So "asking about the cauldrons" and "chasing the deer" bothmean wanting to be Emperor, 'said the boy.'And "not knowing who will killthe deer" means not knowing who is going to be Emperor.''That's right,' said the man.'As time went by these expressions came to beapplied to other situations as well, but originally they were only used in thesense of wanting to be Emperor'He sighed.'For the common people though,the subjects of Empire, our role is to be the deer. It may be uncertain who willkill the deer, but the deer gets killed all right. There's no uncertainty aboutthat.He walked over to the window and gazed outside. The sky had now turned aleaden hue showing that snow was on its way.He sighed again
of a cauldron on the sheet of paper. 'In olden times they didn't use a cooking-pot on the stove to cook their food in, they used a three-legged cauldron like this and lit a fire underneath it. When they caught a deer they put it in a cauldron to seethe it. Those ancient Emperors and great ministers were very cruel. If they didn't like somebody, they would pretend that they had committed some crime or other, and then they would put them in a cauldron and boil them. In the Records of an Historian Lin Xiangru says to the King of Qin, "Deceiving Your Majesty was a capital offence. I beg to approach the cauldron." What he meant was, "I deserve to die. Put me in the cauldron and boil me."' 'Often in my story-books I've seen the words "asking about the cauldrons in the Central Plain",' said the boy. 'It seems to mean the same thing as "chasing the deer in the Central Plain".' 'It does,' said the man. 'King Yu of the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty that ever was, collected metal from all the nine provinces of the Empire and used it to cast nine great cauldrons with. "Metal" in those days meant bronze. Each of these bronze cauldrons had the name of one of the nine provinces on it and a map showing the mountains and rivers of that province. In later times whoever became master of the Empire automatically became the guardian of these cauldrons. In The Chronicle of Zuo it says that when the Viscount of Chu was reviewing his troops on Zhou territory and the Zhou king sent Prince Man to him with his royal compliments, the Viscount questioned Prince Man about the size and weight of the cauldrons. Of course, as ruler of the whole Empire, only the Zhou king had the right to be guardian of the cauldrons. For a mere Viscount like the ruler of Chu to ask questions about them showed that he was planning to seize the Empire for himself.' 'So "asking about the cauldrons" and "chasing the deer" both mean wanting to be Emperor, ' said the boy. 'And "not knowing who will kill the deer" means not knowing who is going to be Emperor.' 'That's right,' said the man. 'As time went by these expressions came to be applied to other situations as well, but originally they were only used in the sense of wanting to be Emperor.' He sighed. 'For the common people though, the subjects of Empire, our role is to be the deer. It may be uncertain who will kill the deer, but the deer gets killed all right. There's no uncertainty about that.' He walked over to the window and gazed outside. The sky had now turned a leaden hue showing that snow was on its way. He sighed again
'He must be a cruel God up there. Those hundreds of poor, innocent souls onthe roads in this freezing weather. The snow will only add to their sufferings.Two figures caught his eye, moving along the highway from the south. Theywalked close together, side by side, each of them wearing a coolie hat and arain-cape. As they drew nearer, he recognized them with a cry of pleasure.'It's Uncle Huang and Uncle Gu, he said to the boy as he hurried out to greetthem.'Zongxi, Yanwu, what good wind blows you hither?' he called out to them.The one he addressed as'Zongxi'was a somewhat portly man with a plentifulbeard covering me lower half of his face. His full name was Huang Zongxi andhe, like his host, was a man of Zhe-jiang Province. The other one, a tall, thinman with a swarthy complexion, was Gu Yanwu, a native of Kunshan inJiangsu Province. Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu were two of the foremostscholars of their day. Both of them, from patriotic motives, had gone intoretirement when the Ming Empire collapsed, being unwilling to take officeunderaforeignpower.Gu Yanwu drew a little closer before replying.'Liuliang, we have something serious to discuss with you. That's what brings usheretoday'Liuliang was the man's name, then-Lu Liuliang. His family had lived forgenerations in Chongde, a prefecture in the Hangzhou district of ZhejiangProvince. Like Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu, to whom you have just beenintroduced, he is an historical personage, famous among those Southerngentlemen who, during the last days of the Ming dynasty and the early days oftheManchuconquest, buried themselves away on their estates and refused totakepartinpubliclife.Lu Liuliang observed the grave expression on his visitors' faces. Knowing of oldhowunfailinglyGuYanwu'spolitical judgementwasto betrusted,herealizedthat what the latter had referred to as'something serious'must be very seriousindeed. He clasped his hands and bowed to his guest politely.'Come inside,'he said.'Drink a few cups ofwine first, to
'He must be a cruel God up there. Those hundreds of poor, innocent souls on the roads in this freezing weather. The snow will only add to their sufferings.' Two figures caught his eye, moving along the highway from the south. They walked close together, side by side, each of them wearing a coolie hat and a rain-cape. As they drew nearer, he recognized them with a cry of pleasure. 'It's Uncle Huang and Uncle Gu,' he said to the boy as he hurried out to greet them. 'Zongxi, Yanwu, what good wind blows you hither?' he called out to them. The one he addressed as 'Zongxi' was a somewhat portly man with a plentiful beard covering me lower half of his face. His full name was Huang Zongxi and he, like his host, was a man of Zhe-jiang Province. The other one, a tall, thin man with a swarthy complexion, was Gu Yanwu, a native of Kunshan in Jiangsu Province. Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu were two of the foremost scholars of their day. Both of them, from patriotic motives, had gone into retirement when the Ming Empire collapsed, being unwilling to take office under a foreign power. Gu Yanwu drew a little closer before replying. 'Liuliang, we have something serious to discuss with you. That's what brings us here today.' Liuliang was the man's name, then—Lu Liuliang. His family had lived for generations in Chongde, a prefecture in the Hangzhou district of Zhejiang Province. Like Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu, to whom you have just been introduced, he is an historical personage, famous among those Southern gentlemen who, during the last days of the Ming dynasty and the early days of the Manchu conquest, buried themselves away on their estates and refused to take part in public life. Lu Liuliang observed the grave expression on his visitors' faces. Knowing of old how unfailingly Gu Yanwu's political judgement was to be trusted, he realized that what the latter had referred to as 'something serious' must be very serious indeed. He clasped his hands and bowed to his guest politely. 'Come inside, ' he said. 'Drink a few cups of wine first, to
warm yourselves up a bit.As he ushered them into the study, he gave an order to theboy.'Baozhong, tell your mother that Uncle Huang and Uncle Guare here. Ask her to slice a couple of platefuls of that goat's meat pate to go withourwine.In a minute or two the boy came in again, accompanied by his younger brotherThey were carrying three sets of chopsticks and wine-cups which they laid onthe study table. An old servant followed them carrying a wine-kettle andbalancing some plates of cold meat. Lu Liuliang waited until the two boys andthe servant were outside the room and closed the study door.'Come, my friends,'he said.'Wine first.'Huang Zongxi declined gloomily with a brief shake of the head; but Gu Yanwuhelping himself unceremoniouslyfrom the wine-kettle, downed half a dozen ofthetinycupfulsinquicksuccession.'I suppose your visit has somethingto do with this MingHistory business, ' said Lu Liuliang. 'Precisely, ' said Huang Zongxi. Gu Yanwuraised his wine-cup and, in ringing the following couplet:The cool wind sways not me, howe'er it blow; For me the bright moon stillshines everywhere.'That's a splendid couplet of yours, Liuliang, ' he said. 'Whenever I drink winenow, I have to recite it-and do it justice, too, 'he added, with a ceremoniousflourish of his wine-cup.In spite of Lu Liuliang's patriotic unwillingness to serve, a local official,impressedby whathehad heard ofLu's reputation,had once sought torecommend him as a'hidden talent'meriting a summons to the Manchu Courtfor suitable employment; but Lu had made it clear that he would die ratherthan accept such a tones, recitedsummons, and the matter had been dropped. Some timelater, however, when
warm yourselves up a bit.' As he ushered them into the study, he gave an order to the boy. 'Baozhong, tell your mother that Uncle Huang and Uncle Gu are here. Ask her to slice a couple of platefuls of that goat's meat pate to go with our wine.' In a minute or two the boy came in again, accompanied by his younger brother. They were carrying three sets of chopsticks and wine-cups which they laid on the study table. An old servant followed them carrying a wine-kettle and balancing some plates of cold meat. Lu Liuliang waited until the two boys and the servant were outside the room and closed the study door. 'Come, my friends, ' he said. 'Wine first.' Huang Zongxi declined gloomily with a brief shake of the head; but Gu Yanwu, helping himself unceremoniously from the wine-kettle, downed half a dozen of the tiny cupfuls in quick succession. 'I suppose your visit has something to do with this Ming History business, ' said Lu Liuliang. 'Precisely, ' said Huang Zongxi. Gu Yanwu raised his wine-cup and, in ringing the following couplet: The cool wind sways not me, howe'er it blow; For me the bright moon still shines everywhere. 'That's a splendid couplet of yours, Liuliang, ' he said. 'Whenever I drink wine now, I have to recite it—and do it justice, too, ' he added, with a ceremonious flourish of his wine-cup. In spite of Lu Liuliang's patriotic unwillingness to serve, a local official, impressed by what he had heard of Lu's reputation, had once sought to recommend him as a 'hidden talent' meriting a summons to the Manchu Court for suitable employment; but Lu had made it clear that he would die rather than accept such a tones, recited summons, and the matter had been dropped. Some time later, however, when