READINGS IN ENGLISH 2

Fourth Quarter: Chinese Literature

*** Wenchang Wang, or Wenchang Dijun, is a Taoist deity in Chinese Mythology, known as the God of Culture
and Literature.

Name:
Gr. & Sec.:

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 PHILIPPINE SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL - MAIN CAMPUS
Diliman, Quezon City

English 2 (Grade 8)

FOURTH QUARTER: Chinese Literature

Reading Selections
1. Introduction to Chinese Literature
2. Analects of Confucius
3. Chinese Poetry (Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu/Poems of Mao Tse Tung/ Poems of Li Po)
4. A Country Boy Quits School
5. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
6. A Little Incident by Lu Xun
7. A Country Boy Quits School by Lao Hsiang

Grammar Points/Writing Skills/Speaking Skills

1. Formal Letter Writing (Request, Excuse, Invitation, Thank You)
2. Direct and Indirect Discourses
3. Oral Presentations
4. Elements of good writing (brevity, coherence, organization, and emphasis)

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 1. INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE LITERATURE
China owns one of the world's major literary traditions. Its texts
have been preserved for over 3,000 years. Reverence for the past
has influenced the preservation of these cultural sources, and
may have influenced the invention of woodblock printing in the
9th century and moveable type printing in the 12th century.
The practice of collecting and reproducing libraries has also
played a major role in the transmission of literary tradition.
China can boast an unbroken cultural tradition based on the * Li Po at Nalanda
Chinese script as a language — a written medium — independent of spoken dialectic difference. As
literary language became increasingly removed from spoken language, it became less vital and literature
took a natural turn toward imitation. Indeed, after the formative classical period that began with
Confucius, the literary history of China becomes one of imitation-with-variations of different models.
Literature also thus becomes more elitist, for an understanding or appreciation of a text may require
familiarity with the models being alluded to.
The principal genre of Chinese literature is poetry; early folk songs established the shi (shih) form that
crystallized during the Han dynasty and dominated for the next 1,200 years. Beginning with the simple
complaints and longings expressed in rhymed couplets of folk songs, this form gradually became more and
more complex, or "regulated," until it took years of study to master its formal rules of composition.
The short story, which began to develop during the Tang dynasty, at first emphasized either historical
events or supernatural happenings which could not be related in a formal historical work. The notion of
fiction as connected to history persisted, yet more imaginative and rationally inexplicable, culminating in
China's greatest novel, The Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone, which is at once
autobiographical and realistic, and at the same time imaginative and mystical.

Drama, one of China's least well-developed genres, had its origins also in popular entertainment. The high
point of elite drama was during the Yuan dynasty, when intellectuals dispossessed by the Mongol invaders
turned to the composition of drama both to productively employ their taste and erudition and also to
covertly criticize the foreign government. During the following centuries, dramas tended to become
longer, and the opera dominated. Spoken drama was not generally conspicuous until the 20th century.
Much Chinese literature of the 1920s and 1930s both exposed national social problems and also
expressed writers' doubts about finding viable solutions to these problems.
In 1942, Mao Zedong, in his "Talks at Yenan on Literature and Art," emphasized to his fellow communist
revolutionaries that the goal of literature was neither to reflect the dark side of society nor to express the
author's own private feelings or artistic inspirations. Instead, he said, literature and art should inspire the
masses by presenting positive examples of heroism and socialist idealism. It should also be written in the
public voice and style of the workers, peasants, and soldiers, not of the elite intellectuals.
During the Cultural Revolution period (1966-76), Mao's principle that literature and art should serve the
people and promote socialism was most rigidly upheld. The fiction of Hao Ran (Hao Jan) constitutes an
excellent example of this tendency.
Literature After 1976
With the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 came the official end of the Cultural Revolution period, and with it
increased freedom for writers. During the subsequent decade, Chinese fiction was more likely to fall into
the following five categories:

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1. Literature of the Wounded
The initial impulse of writers was to begin, tentatively at first, to express the profound suffering of the
previous decades.
Within China, the "literature of the wounded" movement began in the summer of 1977 when Lu Xinhua, a
23-year-old student at Fudan University, presented a story entitled "The Wounded" as a big-character
poster on the walls of the campus. In Liu's story, the young girl fails to achieve reconciliation with her
mother, whom she had been forced to denounce during the Cultural Revolution. An open-minded class
advisor recognizes that there is still hope for the generation of youth who suffered at the hands of the
Gang of Four. For several years, story after story poured out the guilt, regret, and pain over lost lives and
ruined careers, betrayal of friends and family members, and the need to seek restitution.
2. Humanistic Literature
A related literary trend which began in the late 1970s and early 1980s was fiction which treated the
problems of recreating the whole person after the constricting movements of the Cultural Revolution.
Since personal feelings were supposed to be subordinate to political action during the Cultural Revolution,
writers who reacted in the opposite direction after the death of Mao used the rally cry, "Love Must Not Be
Forgotten" — the title of one of Zhang Jie's short stories advocating marriage based only on love and
private desire.
3. Social Criticism
Finally allowed once again to treat in fiction the darker side of Chinese society, many writers composed
works which addressed post-Cultural Revolution social problems: alienated youth, the loneliness of the
elderly and the divorced, the housing shortage, government corruption, dissatisfaction with the system of
job assignments, etc.
4. Seeking Roots
Some writers, especially those who live outside the main cities, have turned to local themes and subject
matter in their recent fiction. For example, Lu Wenfu describes the customs of the Suzhou region and Gao
Xiaosheng depicts agricultural life in his native Hunan province. These people are seeking a meaning in life
separate from political movements and urban upward mobility.
5. Reportage
Some writers feel that the most important contribution they can make is to record the facts of Chinese life
in a way that illuminates both the problems and strengths of the Chinese people. The most famous
journalist who exposes corruption in his sophisticated reporting style is Liu Binyan, whose "People or
Monsters?" was acclaimed for its unflinching honesty in confronting deeply rooted government
corruption.
- Dr. Marsha Wagner, Columbia University.

Zhou Classic of Poetry (10th – 7th c. BCE)

Shi-jing (or Shih Ching, trans. Classic of Poetry), growing to a body of some 300 ritual hymns and ballads,
marks the beginning of the vernacular or folk tradition in Chinese poetry, characterized by simplicity of
language and emotion. Orally composed in four word verses, and passed down orally from generation to
generation, many the ancient poems, especially the "Airs" (Feng), sing of the daily life of peasants, , their
sorrows and joys, their occupations and festivities—unlike the custom of glorifying gods and heroes
dominant in many other cultures.

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The Classic of Poetry has four major sections: the Hymns (Song), the "Great Odes" (Da-ya), the "Lesser
Odes" (Xiao-ya), and the "Airs" (Feng).
1. The Hymns, the oldest dating from 10th century BCE, were used in dynastic rituals to address the deified
spirits of the founders of the Zhou Dynasty, Kings Wen and Wu. Ritualistic naming of things and actions
and formal declaration in words to describe orderly systems of relations was necessary to make it so and
serve its proper function in a system of ritual.
2. The "Great Odes" are public poetry of the dynasty, recounting crucial episodes in the founding of the
Zhou Dynasty. A number of these celebrate the dynasty’s foundation by right of receiving Heaven’s
charge, and bringing order and peace to the land and to the king’s heart.
3. The "Lesser Odes" spoke less publicly for the official political lines; they might speak, not for the Zhou
king, but for the officers and soldiers of the Zhou.
4. The "Airs" constitute more than half the 300 poems of the Classic of Poetry, and they may be the latest
poems to be added. The "Airs" represent regional song traditions, and the points of view of the common
folk and of the feudal courts of the many regions under the Zhou monarchy.
The Confucian works in particular have been of key importance to Chinese culture and history, as a set of
works known as the Four Books and Five Classics were, in the 12th century CE, chosen as the basis for the
Imperial examination for any government post. These nine books therefore became the center of the
educational system.

The Four Books include: the Analects of Confucius, a book of pithy sayings attributed to Confucius and
recorded by his disciples; Mencius, a collection of political dialogues; the Doctrine of the Mean, a book
that teaches the path to Confucian virtue; and the Great Learning, a book about education, self-cultivation
and the Dao.

The Five Classics (to 221 BCE)

The high "literary" tradition in Chinese literature is rooted in the Five "Classics":
(1) Shih Ching or Shi-jing (trans. Classic of Poetry - see above) purportedly collected and written down
by Confucius, reached its final form ca. 600 BCE.
(2) I Ching, or Yi Ching (trans. Classic or Book of Changes), a divination text;
(3) Shu Ching, or Shu-jing (trans. Classic of Documents or Book of History), a miscellanea of ancient
state documents, some probably dating from very early in the Zhou period c. 6th Century BCE);
(4) Li Chi (trans. Book of Rites), a collection of ritual and governmental codes; and
(5) Ch'un Ch'iu, or Chun-qiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), a history of the state of Lu from 722 to 481
BCE, also reportedly edited by Confucius (552-479 BCE).

Zhou Great Era of Chinese Philosophy (551 – 233 BCE)

The belief in astrology, fortune telling, and dreams was almost universal; but by the time of the Spring and
Autumn Classic" [the Ch'un Ch'iu], the intellectual temper of the times was changing, as illustrated by
these quotations:
"'The nation that listeneth to human is bound to rise;
that which listeneth to gods is doomed to ruin.'
"'The will of heaven is far off, but that of human near;
how can one claim knowledge of that which is beyond one's reach?"
(From Outlines of Early Chinese History, by Li Ung Bing)

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The great era of Chinese philosophy, or Period of "100 philosophers," was stimulated by the desire to try
to end widespread conflicts and turmoil, and to stabilize and strengthen a unified political system.
K'ung Fu-tzi (K'ung the master) or Confucius (551–478?): his search for ideal ruler and right administration
shaped Chinese society for next 2,000 years.
The Analects (Lun-yu) of Confucius were aphoristic sayings compiled by his disciples. The Analects argue
for proper proportion, humane conduct, admonishes people to conduct themselves with decorum,
propriety, ethical principles. Confucius considered it his task to restore the way (tao or dao) of the
ancients (particularly, of the early Zhou period) through emphasis upon the preservation and practice of
the ceremonies and rituals known as li, which could serve to regulate society and human conduct. He also
stressed the primary virtue of ren ("benevolence," "human-heartedness," or "love"). As practiced by the
cultivated, perfect man, li and ren included the concepts of loyalty, reciprocity, filial piety, courtesy, and
faithful friendship, and together they constituted the underpinning of the natural moral order"

Confucius believed that moral men make good rules, and that virtue, attained through right and proper
behavior, is the most important quality an official can have. Confucius also argued that that the Chinese
Emperor was the Son of "Heaven," a divine/natural force, and ruled by the Mandate of Heaven. "Among
the virtues demanded by the Confucian ethics, propriety, reverence for tradition, and filial piety are the
most important. The last especially is the foundation upon which have stood the social life and security of
the Chinese government. Filial piety not only means dutiful behavior of children towards parents, but it
also includes loyalty to the government and respect for authority. He sought to guide his fellows by
holding up to them the wisdom and virtue of the ancients. His teaching was purely ethical and practical,
confined to the daily life of humans as members of the state and of their family. He spoke little of God,
and he avoided talking about the supernatural. For this reason it is often said that he cannot be called a
religious teacher, but only a moral philosopher, and that Confucianism is rather a system of morality than
religion."
"Whoever loves the world as his self
may be entrusted to care for the world." --Lao-tzu
Laozi (or Lao-tzu, 7th or 5th century?), founder of Taoism, or Daoism and reputedly the author of the Tao Te
Ching (or Dao de Jing, trans."Classic of the Way")--though scholars dispute whether Laozi ever really
existed and, if so, whether he alone authored the Tao Te Ching. "
According to legend, when in old age Lao Tzu was leaving Ch'u he was stopped by the guardian of the pass
into the state of Ch'in and asked to write down his wisdom. After three days he produced the book of
about 5,250 characters known as the Tao Te Ching. Tradition makes Laotze a librarian of the royal court
of Zhou. After the completion of his philosophical work, he retired to an unknown place...." Another
legend has it that Confucius met and studied under Laozi.
Taoism's first premise is that Tao cannot be explained in words, but many try, nevertheless. "Tao probably
means impersonal Nature which permeates all things, and from which all things are evolved. According to
the teaching of Laotze, true peace comes from ceasing to strive and by living in harmony with the leadings
of the 'Tao.' The cause of disorder in the world is the development of what is artificial and unnatural, and
the only remedy is a return to 'Tao.'" Taoism profoundly influenced the later development of Ch’an (also
known as Zen) Buddhism.
"If men were to regard the states of others as they regard their own,
then who would raise up his state to attack the state of another?" --Mo-tzu
Mo-tzu: "Confucius died in 479 BC, and about ten years later Mo-ti was born in the same state of Lu; he
probably died about twenty years before Mencius was born in 371. According to the Huai-nan-tzu..., Mo-

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tzu had the same kind of traditional education in the six classics as Confucius but was critical of some
Confucian ideas such as elaborate funerals and therefore rejected Chou [Zhou] traditions in favor of the
older Hsia [Xia]. Judging by the wagon-load of books Mo-tzu took with him when he went to Wei as an
envoy, he was quite a scholar. Since the purpose of his learning was to practice justice and teach others to
do so also, Mo-tzu became a minister in the state of Sung and also traveled to different states to advise
rulers on how they could apply his teachings. The Huai-nan-tzu stated that Mo-tzu never stayed anywhere
long enough to make the seat warm. It goes on to say that for sages no mountains are too high and no
rivers too wide; they bear shame and humiliation to advise rulers, not for wealth or position but merely to
benefit the world and eliminate human catastrophes. Mo-tzu was such a man" (Sanderson Beck, Mo-tzu).

Mencius (or Meng-tzu, 371? to 289? BCE): Most of what we understand as Confucianism was written
down by Mencius, a disciple of Confucius, who also believed that all men were basically good. "This inborn
goodness could be developed by self-cultivation and education. Likewise, government was primarily a
matter of ethics, and a truly moral ruler would receive the spontaneous support of his people while an
immoral ruler would lose the support of heaven, as manifested by the revolt of his people. In the 12th
century A D., the book of his writings known as the Mengzi was elevated to the status of a classic, and
mastery of it was required for success in official examinations"

The Legalists: Another disciple of Confucius named Xun-zi led the Legalist school of thought, believing that
humans were basically evil and would look out for themselves first. Therefore, Legalists advocated a
severe set of laws (e.g., under Qin Huang-di--see below--burning seditious books, burning dissenters alive,
maintaining a secret police, having neighbors spy on one another) to create a general atmosphere of fear
and make the state easier to control. And since the Emperor is the Son of Heaven and rules by the
Mandate of Heaven, Legalists argued that there is no such thing as legitimate dissent.

Tang Literature & "Old Style" Prose

Chinese prose, as well as poetry, flourished during the Tang dynasty. Poetic skill was required for success
on the civil examinations for young men aspiring to become scholar-bureaucrats in the imperial system.
Literary skill was also a means of social advancement.

LI PO (701-762)
In reaction against the highly artificial "literary" prose of the era, and in the midst of mid-Tang era political
and cultural turmoil, one prose master Han Yü (768-824) advocated a "neo-classical" style—that is, a
return to simple and straightforward writing in the classical style, and the return to Confucian values,
rather than simply memorizing their content and forms. Han Yu championed "old style prose" free of
stylized formality. As a result of Han Yü's influence, political and philosophical treatises, informal essays,
and tales of the marvelous (ch'uan-ch'i) were all written in the "neoclassical" style, and encouraged the
development of longer and more complex prose narratives. In this style, tales of supernatural encounters
with ghosts and amorous fox-women, as well as human romances of daring in love and boldness of action
set in the world of courtesans, represent some of the early specimens of Chinese literary fiction.
Some Tang era court women, at times of a freer climate, gained reputations as poets and as a culture of
romance developed at the end of the 8th century, female characters appeared as heroines in stories, not
just as exemplars of virtue. The imaginative possibility of romantic love and free choice took hold, though
the social realities of arranged marriage and sexuality as a means to power remained the social and
political reality.

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 THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS

BOOK 1. ON LEARNING—MISCELLANEOUS SAYINGS

1. The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant

perseverance and application?
2. "Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant
quarters?
3. "Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no
discomposure though men may take no note of him?"
Chapter 2. Filial piety and fraternal submission are the
foundation of all virtuous practice.
1. The philosopher Yû said, "They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against
their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of
stirring up confusion.”
2. "The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being established, all practical courses
naturally grow up. Filial piety and fraternal submission! -- are they not the root of all benevolent actions?"
The philosopher Tsang said, "I daily examine myself on three points:-- whether, in transacting business for
others, I may have been not faithful;-- whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere;--
whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher."
Chapter 5. Fundamental principles for the government of a large state.
The Master said, "To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business,
and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper
seasons."
Chapter 6. Rules for the training of the young:-- duty first and then accomplishments.
The Master said, "A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders. He should
be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When
he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things, he should employ them in polite
studies."
Chapter 7. Tsze-hsiâ's views of the substance of learning. Tisza-hsiâ said, "If a man withdraws his mind
from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he
can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if, in his intercourse with his
friends, his words are sincere:-- although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has."
Chapter 8. Principles of self-cultivation.
1. The Master said, "If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will
not be solid.
2. "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
3. "Have no friends not equal to yourself.
4. "When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
Chapter 13. To save from future repentance, we must be careful in our first steps.
The philosopher Yû said, "When agreements are made according to what is right, what is spoken can be
made good. When respect is shown according to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace.
When the parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be intimate with, he can make them his
guides and masters."

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Chapter 14. With what mind one aiming to be a Chun-tsze pursues his learning.
The Master said, "He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his food does not seek to gratify his
appetite, nor in his dwelling place does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing,
and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified:-- such a
person may be said indeed to love to learn."
Tsze-kung said, "What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and the rich
man who is not proud?" The Master replied, "They will do; but they are not equal to him, who, though
poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules of propriety."
Chapter 16. Personal attainment should be our chief aim.
The Master said, "I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I will be
afflicted that I do not know men."

BOOK 4. Social Virtue—Superior and Inferior Man

Chapter 2. Only true virtue adapts a man for the varied conditions of life.
The Master said, "Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either in
a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The
virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue."
Chapter 4. The virtuous will preserves all from wickedness. The Master said, "If the will be set on virtue,
there will be no practice of wickedness."
1. The Master said, "Riches and honors are what men desire. If it cannot be obtained in the proper
way, they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike. If it cannot be avoided in the
proper way, they should not be avoided.
3. "The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In
moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it."
Chapter 8. The importance of knowing the right way.
The Master said, "If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may die in the evening without regret."
Chapter 9. The pursuit of truth should raise a man above being ashamed of poverty.
The Master said, "A scholar, whose mind is set on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food,
is not fit to be discoursed with."
The Master said, "The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against
anything; what is right he will follow."
The Master said, "The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man
thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks of favors which he may receive."
The Master said, "A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit
myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known."
The Master said, "The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean
man is conversant with gain."
Chapter 17. The lessons to be learned from observing men of different
characters.
The Master said, "When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling
them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and
examine ourselves."
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Chapter 22. The virtue of the ancients seen in their slowness to speak.
The Master said, "The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words, was that they
feared lest their actions should not come up to them."
Chapter 23. Advantage of caution. The Master said, "The cautious seldom err."
BOOK 8. SAYINGS OF TSANG—SENTENCES OF THE MASTER
Tsang said to him, "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his
words are good.
Chapter 8. The effects of poetry, proprieties, and music.
1. The Master said, "It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused.
2. "It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established.
3. "It is from Music that the finish is received."
Chapter 9. The Master said, "The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be
made to understand it."
Chapter 11. The worthlessness of talent without virtue.
The Master said, "Though a man have abilities as admirable as those of the duke of Châu, yet if he be
proud and niggardly, those other things are really not worth being looked at."
Chapter 13. The qualifications of an officer, who will always act right in accepting and declining office.
"When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a
country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of."
Chapter 14. Every man should mind his own business. The Master said, "He who is not in any particular
office has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties."
Chapter 16. A lamentation over moral error added to natural defect.
The Master said, "Ardent and yet not upright, stupid and yet not attentive; simple and yet not sincere:--
such persons I do not understand."
Chapter 17. With what earnestness and continuousness learning should
be pursued. The Master said, "Learn as if you could not reach your object,
and were always fearing also lest you should lose it."
BOOK 9. His Favorite Disciple's Opinion of Him

Chapter 4. There were four things from which the Master was entirely
free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no
obstinacy, and no egoism.
Chapter 9. Confucius's sympathy with sorrow, respect for rank, and pity for misfortune.
When the Master saw a person in a mourning dress, or any one with the cap and upper and lower
garments of full dress, or a blind person, on observing them approaching, though they were younger than
himself, he would rise up, and if he had to pass by them, he would do so hastily.
Chapter 10. Yen Yüan's admiration of his master's doctrines; and his own progress in them.
1. Yen Yüan, in admiration of the Master's doctrines, sighed and said, "I looked up to them, and they
seemed to become more high; I tried to penetrate them, and they seemed to become more firm; I looked
at them before me, and suddenly they seemed to be behind.

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 2. "The Master, by orderly method, skillfully leads men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and
taught me the restraints of propriety.
Chapter 18. That learners should not cease nor intermit their labours.
The Master said, "The prosecution of learning may be compared to what may happen in raising a mound.
If there want but one basket of earth to complete the work, and I stop, the stopping is my own work. It
may be compared to throwing down the earth on the level ground. Though but one basketful is thrown at
a time, the advancing with it is my own going forward."
Chapter 21. It is the end which crowns the work. The Master said, "There are cases in which the blade
springs, but the plant does not go on to flower! There are cases where it flowers but no fruit is
subsequently produced!"

Chapter 22. How and why a youth should be regarded with respect.
The Master said, "A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we
know that his future will not be equal to our present? If he reach the age
of forty or fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he will
not be worth being regarded with respect."
Chapter 25. The will unsubduable.
The Master said, "The commander of the forces of a large state may be
carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him."
Chapter 27. Men are known in times of adversity. The Master said, "When the year becomes cold, then
we know how the pine and the cypress are the last to lose their leaves."
Chapter 28. The sequences of wisdom, virtue, and bravery.
The Master said, "The wise are free from perplexities; the virtuous from
anxiety; and the bold from fear."
BOOK 18. GOOD MEN IN SECLUSION—DUKE OF CHOW TO HIS SON
Chapter 7. Tsze-lû then said to the family, "Not to take office is not
righteous. If the relations between old and young may not be neglected,
how is it that he sets aside the duties that should be observed between
sovereign and minister? Wishing to maintain his personal purity, he allows
that great relation to come to confusion. A superior man takes office, and
performs the righteous duties belonging to it. As to the failure of right
principles to make progress, he is aware of that."

Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the

first Chairman of the Communist
Party of China and leader of
the People's Republic of China for
nearly 30 years, wrote poetry,
starting in the 1920s, during
the Red Army's epic retreat
during the Long March of 1934-
1936, and after coming to power
in 1949. Although Mao was
radical politically, he wrote in
classical Chinese forms.
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CHINESE POETRY

LI PO (699-762AD)
Green Mountain
You ask me why I live on Green September’s yellow butterflies
Mountain – Twine together in our west garden.
I smile in silence and the quiet mind. What I feel – it hurts the heart.
Peach petals blow on mountain streams Sadness makes my beauty vanish.
To earths and skies beyond Humankind.
When you come down from far places,
Please will you write me a letter?
Wine
As far as the farthest reaches,
Drinking, I sit,
I’ll come out to welcome you.
Lost to Night,
Keep falling petals
The Long March by Mao Tse Tung
From the ground:
Translated by Robert Payne
Get up to follow
The stream’s white moon,
None in the Red Army feared the distresses of
No sign of birds,
the Long March.
The humans gone.
We looked lightly on the ten thousand peaks and
ten thousand rivers.
The River-Captain’s Wife – A Letter
The Five Mountains rose and fell like rippling
I with my hair in its first fringe
waves,
Romped outside breaking flower-heads.
In the vast darkness we walk through the muddy
You galloped by on bamboo horses.
hills.
We juggled green plums round the well.
Living in Chang-kan village,
Warm were the precipices where Gold Sand
Two small people without guile.
River dashed into them.
At fourteen I married you sir, Cold were the iron chains of the Tatu Bridge.
So bashful I could only hide, Delighting in the thousand snowy folds of the
My frowning face turned to the wall. Ming Mountains,
Called after - never looking back. The last pass vanquished, the Three Armies
smiled.
Fifteen before I learnt to smile.
Yearned to be one with you forever.
From the LAO TZU CHING (WAY OF LIFE)
You to be the Ever-Faithful.
Mao Tse Tung translated by R.B. Blakneg
I to not sit lonely, waiting.
At sixteen you sir went away, “Which is dearer, fame or self?
Through White King’s Gorge, by Yen Which is worth more, man or self?
Rock’s rapids, Which would hurt more, gain or loss?
When the Yangtze’s at its highest, The mean man pays the highest price;
Where the gibbons cried above you. The hoarder takes the greatest loss;
A man content is never shamed,
Here by the door your last footprints, And self-restraint, is not in danger
Slowly growing green mosses, He will live forever.
So deep I cannot sweep them,
Leaves so thick from winds of autumn.

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THE SNOW by Mao Tse Tung The earth is so charming,

Translated by Robert Payne
All the scenery in the North
Is enclosed in a thousand li of ice
And ten thousand li of whirling snow.
Behold both sides of the Great Wall –
There is only a vast confusion left.
On the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow
River
You can no longer see the flowing water.
The mountains are dancing silver serpents.
The hills on the plains are shining elephants.
I desire to compare our height with the skies.
In clear weather
Like red-faced girl clothed in white. 13
Such is the charm of these rivers and mountains,
Calling innumerable heroes to vie with each
other in pursuing her
The emperors Shih Huang and Wu Ti were barely
cultured,
The emperors Tai Tsung and Tai Tsu were lacking
in feeling
Genghis Khan knew only how to bend his bow at
the eagles.
These all belong to the past – only today are
there men of feeling!

Excerpts from the TAO TE CHING by Lao Tzu

I. THE EMBODIMENT OF TAO
Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself. Even the finest name is insufficient to define it.
Without words, the Tao can be experienced, and without a name, it can be known. To conduct one’s life
according to the Tao is to conduct one’s life without regrets — to realize that potential within oneself,
which is of benefit to all. Though words or names are not required to live one’s life this way, to describe it,
words and names are used, that we might better clarify the way of which we speak, without confusing it
with other ways in which an individual might choose to live.
Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words, the manifestations of the Tao are known, but
without such intellectual intent we might experience the Tao itself. Both knowledge and experience are
real, but reality has many forms, which seem to cause complexity. By using the means appropriate, we
extend ourselves beyond the barriers of such complexity, and so experience the Tao.
2. LETTING GO OF COMPARISONS
We cannot know the Tao itself, nor see its qualities direct, but only see by differentiation that
which it manifests. Thus, that which is seen as beautiful is beautiful compared with that which is seen as
lacking beauty; an action considered skilled is so considered in comparison with another that seems
unskilled. That which a person knows he has is known to him by that which he does not have, and that
which he considers difficult seems so because of that which he can do with ease. One thing seems long by
comparison with that which is comparatively short. One thing is high because another thing is low; only
when sound ceases is quietness known, and that which leads is seen to lead only by being followed. In
comparison, the sage, in harmony with the Tao, needs no comparisons, and when he makes them, knows
that comparisons are judgments, and just as relative to he who makes them, and to the situation, as they
are to that on which the judgment has been made.
Through his experience, the sage becomes aware that all things change, and that he who seems to
lead, might also, in another situation, follow. So he does nothing; he neither leads nor follows. That which
he does is neither big nor small. Without intent, it is neither difficult, nor done with ease. His task
completed, he then lets go of it. Seeking no credit, he cannot be discredited. Thus, his teaching lasts
forever, and he is held in high esteem.

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6. COMPLETION
Like the sheltered, fertile valley, the meditative mind is still, yet retains its energy. Since both 14
energy and stillness, of themselves, do not have form, it is not through the senses that they may be found,
nor understood by intellect alone (although, in nature, both abound). In the meditative state, the mind
ceases to differentiate between existences, and that which may or may not be. It leaves them well alone,
for they exist, not differentiated, but as one within the meditative mind.
8. THE WAY OF WATER
Great good is said to be like water, sustaining life with no conscious striving, flowing naturally,
providing nourishment, found even in places in which a desiring man rejects. In this way it is like the Tao
itself. Like water, the sage abides in a humble place; in meditation, he is without desire; in thoughtfulness,
he is profound; and in his dealings, kind. In speech, sincerity guides the man of Tao, and, as a leader, he is
just. In management, competence is his aim, and he ensures the pacing is correct. Because he does not act
for his own ends, nor causes unnecessary conflict, he is held to be correct in his actions towards his fellow
man.
9. WITHOUT EXTREMES
The cup is easier to hold when not filled to overflowing. The blade is more effective if not
tempered beyond its mettle. Gold and jade are easier to protect if possessed in moderation. He who seeks
titles invites his own downfall. The sage works quietly, seeking neither praise nor fame, completing what
he does with natural ease, and then retiring. This is the way and nature of Tao.
14. EXPERIENCING THE MYSTERY
The Tao is abstract, and therefore has no form. It is neither bright in rising, nor dark in sinking. It
cannot be grasped, and it makes no sound. Without form or image, without existence, the form of the
formless is beyond defining, cannot be described, and is beyond our understanding. It cannot be called by
any name. Standing before it, it has no beginning; even when followed, it has no end. In the now, it exists.
To the present apply it, follow it well, and reach its beginning.
25. THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLE OF TAO
The creative principle unifies the inner and external worlds. It does not depend on time or space. It
is ever still, and yet in motion; thereby, it creates all things, and is therefore called “the creative and the
absolute”; its ebb and its flow extend to infinity. We describe the Tao as being great; we describe the
universe as great; nature too, we describe as great; and man himself is great. Man’s laws should follow
natural laws, just as nature gives rise to physical laws, while following from universal law, which follows
the Tao.
30. A CAVEAT AGAINST VIOLENCE
When leading by the way of the Tao, abominate the use of force, for it causes resistance, and loss
of strength, showing the Tao has not been followed well. Achieve results, but not through violence, for it is
against the natural way, and damages both others’ and one’s own true self. The harvest is destroyed in
the wake of a great war, and weeds grow in the fields in the wake of the army. The wise leader achieves
results, but does not glory in them, is not proud of his victories, and does not boast of them. He knows
that boasting is not the natural way, and that he who goes against that way will fail in his endeavors.
37. THE EXERCISE OF LEADERSHIP
The way of nature is not contrived, yet nothing which is required is left undone. Observing nature,
the wise leader knows this, and replaces desire with dispassion, thus saving that energy, otherwise war be
waged, strategy and tactics used. To master one’s self, one must act without cunning. The greater the
number of laws and restrictions, the poorer the people who inhabit the land. The sharper the weapons of
battle and war, the greater the troubles besetting the land. The greater the cunning with which people are

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ruled, the stranger the things that occur in the land. The harder the rules and regulations, the greater the
number of those who will steal. The sage, therefore, does not contrive in order to bring about reform, but 15
teaches the people peace of mind, in order that they might enjoy their lives. Having no desires, all he does
is natural. Since he teaches self-sufficiency, the people who follow him return to a good, uncomplicated
life.
63. BEGINNING AND COMPLETING
Act without contriving, work naturally, and taste the tasteless. Magnify the small, increase the few,
and reward bitterness with care. Seek the simple in the complex, and achieve greatness in small things. It
is the way of nature that even difficult things are spent, which has not been wasted away. The wise leader
knows his actions must be without the use of forced energy. He knows that more is still required, for he
also knows that he must act without deliberate intent, of having no intention. To act without contrived
intent is to act without contriving, and is the way of nature, and so is the way of the Tao.
38. THE CONCERNS OF THE GREAT
A truly good man is unaware of the good deeds he performs. Conversely, a foolish man must try
continuously to be good. A good man seems to do little or naught, yet he leaves nothing undone. A foolish
man must always strive, while leaving much undone. The man who is truly wise and kind leaves nothing to
be done, but he who only acts according to his nation’s law leaves many things undone. A disciplinarian
wanting something done rolls up his sleeves, enforcing it with violence. It may be that goodness still
remains, even when the natural way is lost, and that kindness still exists when goodness is forgotten. It
may be that justice still remains when the people are no longer kind, and, when this is lost, that ritual still
remains.
However, ritual may be performed only as an act of faith, and may be the beginning of confusion,
for even divination and such are but the flowery trappings of the Tao, and are the beginning of great folly.
He who is truly great does not upon the surface dwell, but on what lies beneath. It is said that the fruit is
his concern, rather than the flower. Each must decide what it might be he seeks — the flowery trapping,
which comes to summer fullness first, or the fruit which is beneath.
46. MODERATING DESIRE AND AMBITION
When the way of nature is observed, all things serve their function — horses are drawing carts and
pulling at the plough. But when the natural way is not observed, horses are bred for battle and for war.
Desire and wanting cause discontent, while he who knows sufficiency more easily has what he requires.
57. SIMPLIFICATION
With natural justice, people must be ruled, and if done with ease, and great acts made up of
smaller deeds. The sage achieves greatness by small deeds multiplied. Promises easily made are most
easily broken, and acting with insufficient care causes subsequent trouble. The sage confronts problems as
they arise, so that they do not trouble him.
67. THE THREE PRECIOUS ATTRIBUTES
Those who follow the natural way are different from others in three respects: They have great
mercy and economy, and the courage not to compete. From mercy there comes courage; from economy,
generosity; and from humility, willingness to lead from behind. It is the way of sickness to shun the
merciful, and to acclaim only heroic deeds, to abandon economy, and to be selfish. They are sick, who are
not humble, but try always to be first. Only he who is compassionate can show true bravery, and, in
defending, show great strength. Compassion is the means by which mankind may be guarded and saved,
for heaven arms with compassion those whom it would not see destroyed.

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A LITTLE INCIDENT by Lu Xun
Six years have slipped by since I came from the country to 16
the capital. During that time I have seen and heard quite enough of
so-called affairs of state; but none of them made much impression
on me. If asked to define their influence, I can only say they
aggravated my ill temper and made me, frankly speaking, more and
more cynical.
One incident, however, struck me as significant, and aroused
me from my ill temper, so that even now I cannot forget it.
It happened during the winter of 1917. A bitter north wind
was blowing, but, to make a living, I had to be up and out early. I
met scarcely a soul on the road, and had great difficulty in hiring a
rickshaw to take me to the South Gate. Presently the wind dropped a little. By now the loose dust had all
been blown away, leaving the roadway clean and the rickshaw man quickened his pace. We were just
approaching the South Gate when someone crossing the road was entangled in our rickshaw and fell
slowly to the ground.
It was a woman, with streaks of white in her hair, wearing ragged clothes. She had left the
pavement without warning to cut across in front of us, and although the rickshaw man had made way, her
tattered jacket, unbuttoned and fluttering in the wind, had caught on the shaft. Luckily the rickshaw man
pulled up quickly, otherwise she would certainly have had a bad fall and been seriously injured.
She lay there on the ground, and the rickshaw man immediately went to her aid. I did not think the
old woman was hurt, and there had been no witnesses to what had happened, so I resented this over-
eagerness of the rickshaw man which might land him in trouble and hold me up.
“It’s alright,” I said. “Go on.”
However, he paid no attention – perhaps he had not heard – for he set down the shafts, and
gently helped the old woman to get up. Supporting her by one arm, he asked:
“Are you all right?”
“I’m hurt.”
I had seen how slowly she fell, and was sure she could not be hurt. I thought she must be
pretending, which was disgusting. The rickshaw man had asked for trouble, and now he had it. He would
have to find his own way out.
But the rickshaw man did not hesitate for a minute after the old woman said she was injured. Still
holding her arm, he helped her slowly forward. I was surprised. When I looked ahead, I saw a police
station. Because of the high wind, there was no one outside, so the rickshaw man helped the old woman
towards the gate.
Suddenly I had a strange feeling. His dusty, retreating figure seemed larger at that instant. Indeed,
the further he walked the larger he appeared, until I had to look up to him. At the same time he seemed
gradually to be exerting a pressure on me, which threatened to overpower the small self under my fur-
lined gown.
My strength seemed to be draining away as I sat there motionless, my mind a blank, until a
policeman came out. Then I got down from the rickshaw.
The policeman came up to me and said, “Get another rickshaw. He can’t pull you anymore.”
Without thinking, I pulled a handful of coppers from my coat pocket and handed them to the
policeman. “Please give him these,” I said.
The wind had dropped completely, but the road was still quiet. I walked along thinking, but I was
almost afraid to turn my thoughts on myself. Setting aside what had happened earlier, what had I meant
by that handful of coppers? Was it a reward? Who was I to judge the rickshaw man? I could not answer
myself.

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 Even now, this remains fresh in my memory. It often causes me distress, and makes me think
about myself. The military and political affairs of those years I have forgotten as completely as the classics 17
I read in my childhood. Yet this incident keeps coming back to me, often more clearly than in actual life,
teaching me shame, urging me to reform, and giving me fresh courage and hope.

A Country Boy Quits School

Lao Hsiang (Translated by Chi-Chen Wang)

A boy in the country gets to be at least half as useful as a

grownup by the time he is eight or nine years old. He can weed in the
spring or tie up harvest bundles in summer: he is able to pass bricks
when a house is built or open and shut the furrows to the irrigation
ditches. This, being the case, who'd want to send him to school? But
an official proclamation had been issued in the city to the effect that
unless a boy over six years of age.
On his first day at school, the boy came back with eight books.
His grandparents and his father and mother all gathered around him
and marveled at the pictures in the books. Said Grandfather: “The Four
Books and the Five Classics never had any pictures like these.”
“The people in the pictures are not Chinese!” Father suddenly exclaimed. “Look carefully and you’ll
see that none of them wear the kind of clothes we do. See, these are leather shoes, this is a foreign
costume, this is what is called a dog stick. They remind me of the old missionary who preaches at the cross
street in the city.”
“This woman at the spinning wheel is also a foreigner,” Grandmother said. “We use the right hand
to spin but she uses her left.”
“If that makes her a foreigner, then this driver is not Chinese either. Look, have you ever seen a
Chinese driver standing on this side of the cart?” commented Grandfather.
“The teacher says that the books cost a dollar and twenty cents.” the boy suddenly said, taking
courage in their absorption in the books. The statement stunned everyone like a sudden clap of thunder.
Grandmother was the first to speak. “They certainly have the nerve to make us pay for the books
after we give up the boy for them! He’s gone to school hardly a day and it’s cost us a dollar already. Who
can afford such schools? We can’t save that much money if we go without light for half a year, and we’ll
have to sell at least eight bushels of corn to raise that much money.
“I should think one book ought to be enough to start with. They can get another after they have
finished that,” Grandfather said.
“Moreover, why should it cost so much when there are only three or four characters on a page?”
Grandfather continued. “The almanac has both large and small characters and is closely printed and it
costs only five coppers. How could this be worth more than a dollar?”
The books which they have marveled at a few minutes before had suddenly become a cause for
depression. The family discussed the matter at supper and all through the rest of the evening and finally
decided that they would accept this calamity and pay the amount required, since it was the first time. In
order to make up the sum, the boy’s mother had to contribute the proceeds from two pairs of earrings
that she had recently sold. His father gave him a solemn lecture, saying, “You are now nine, no longer so
young. We’re sparing you from work and sending you to school, though we can’t afford it in our
circumstances. You’ll be very ungrateful if you don’t study hard and learn something.”
The boy took his father’s instruction to heart and set out for school the next day at dawn. When he
got there, however, the porter said to him in a low voice, “Classes don’t start until nine. It’s now only five-

17
thirty. The teacher is asleep and the classroom isn’t unlocked. You had better go home now.” The boy
looked around the yard and found that he was indeed the only student there; he listened outside the 18
teacher’s window and heard him snoring; he walked around the lecture room and found no open door.
There was nothing for him to do but run back home. Grandfather was sweeping the yard when he
suddenly caught sight of the boy. He threw down his broom said, “What is the use of trying to make a
scholar of a boy whom Heaven had intended for the hoe? Look at him. It’s only the second day and he is
playing truant already!” The boy was just about to explain when his mother gave him two resounding
slaps and made him tend the fire for breakfast. Needless to say, the price of the books that they had to
buy had a great deal to do with their temper.
When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already on the platform and
was holding forth on the subject of being late to school. To illustrate his point, he told a story about a little
fairy that waited by the wayside with a bag of gold to reward the earliest boy. Our boy was enchanted
with the story and the words “fairy” and “gold” but he could not figure out just what was meant by
“earliest.”
In the afternoon, our young hero came back from school at three-thirty, just as his father was
going back to work after his midday nap. Luckily his father happened to see the other boys also coming
home from school and the teacher taking a stroll with his “dog stick” and concluded that his son was not
playing truant. He kept wondering, however, about the strange ways of these foreign schools.
The first six days of school were taken up with the first lesson in the reader, with the text “This is
Mama.” It couldn’t be said that the boy was not diligent. He reviewed his lesson every day after school,
reading over and over again, “This is Mama,” until dusk. With his left hand holding the book open and his
right following the characters, he would read faithfully and conscientiously, as if afraid that the characters
would fly away if he did not fix his entire attention on them.
But every time he read “This is Mama,” his mother’s heart would jump. On the sixth day of school,
she could not stand it no longer. She snatched the book from him and said, “Let me see who your Mama
is!” Thinking that his mother was really eager to learn, the boy pointed to the accompanying picture and
said, This is Mama --- the lady with leather shoes, bobbed hair, and long dress.” One glance at the picture
and Mother burst out crying. Grandfather, Grandmother, and Father were frightened, thinking that she
might have become possessed by some evil spirits. At first, she only cried and would not say anything
when they asked her what the matter was, but when they persisted, she said, “Where did the boy get that
vampire-like mama?”
When they found the cause of her distress, Father said, "We'll have the boy ask his teacher whose
mama this really is. Maybe it is the teacher's mama."
The next morning before dawn, Mother woke up her son and made him go to school and ask the
teacher for a solution to the problem that had bothered her all night. Arriving at school, the boy found
that it was Sunday and that there would be no school. Moreover, the teacher had drunk more wine than
was good for him the night before and was still sounding asleep. The boy told Mother the circumstances,
which made her curse the institution of Sunday.
At general assembly on Monday, the teacher said gently to his charges, "One who wants to learn
must not be afraid to ask questions. Anyone who has any question should raise it at once, to his teacher at
school or to his parents at home." Thereupon our hero stood up and asked, (the reader says) "This is
Mama." Whose is she, really?” The teacher answered even more gently than before. "It is the mama of
anyone who happens to read the book, do you understand now?"
"No," the boy said. This embarrassed the teacher a little but he said patiently, "Why don't you
understand?"
"Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like this lady," the boy said. "Baldy's mother is lame
in one arm and has only one eye," Hsiao Li said.
"And you have no mama at all. She died a long time ago," Baldy said in self-defense.

18
 "Don't talk among you" the teacher said, knocking on the blackboard with his ferule. "We are
going to have the lesson plan today: This is Papa. Look, everyone. This is Papa, the man with spectacles 19
and patted hair."
After school, Mother was still warned about who the picture woman was, but when she heard her
son reiterating "this is Papa," she did not dare to pursue the question, being afraid that her husband might
want to know when she'd found a new papa for their son. She was puzzled more than ever and wondered
why the book insisted on presenting people with papas and mamas when they had them already.
A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: "The ox tends the fire; the horse eats
noodles." He read the text over thousands of times but he could not get over the feeling that there was
something queer about the assertions. They had an ox and a horse and he had himself taken them out to
tend the hills, but he had never once seen a horse eat noodles and he was sure that their ox could not
tend the fire. But could the book be wrong? Since he could not answer these questions, he obeyed his
teacher's injunction of the week before and asked his father about it. Father said, "I once went to a foreign
circus in the city and saw a horse that could ring a bell and fire a gun. Perhaps the book is talking about
such horses and oxen."
Grandmother, however, did not agree with father's explanation. She said, "The ox must be the Ox-
Head Devil King and the horse must also be a demon. Don't you see that all wear human clothing? They
haven't changed their heads if human heads yet, but that alone will take to live hundred a years." The old
lady then went on to tell stories about demons that could command the wing and summon rain; the result
was that the boy dreamed that night of being seized by a winged-wolf demon and woke up crying.
The following day, the boy asked his teacher "Is this ox that can tend the fire a foreign ox?"
The teacher laughed and said, "You are too literal! The book has only made those things up. It is
not true that oxen can really tend the fire or that horses really eat noodles."
The explanation cleared up at one stroke many things in the book that had puzzled the boy. He
had read about such things as bread, milk, park, ball, and the like, which he had never seen and which had
made him wonder, it dawned upon him that the book dealt only with make believe things.
One day, the boy and his schoolmates decided that they would play tea party as they had read
about it in their reading. They agreed that each would contribute twenty cents so that they could send to
the city for oranges, apples, chocolates, and things. Our boy knew, of course, that he would be only
inviting a beating to ask money for buying sweetmeats. Grandmother always mumbled that school would
bankrupt them yet, whenever he had to buy a sheet of writing paper. But he could not resist the
glowing picture that his book gave of the tea party, and decided to help himself to the money that his
mother had just got from selling more of her jewels and which she had set aside for buying cabbage
seedlings.
Grandfather had been suffering for a long time from a chronic cough, and someone had told him
that orange peels would give him relief. He kept on asking what orange peels were like and where they
could be gotten. Thinking that this was a chance for him to ingratiate himself into his grandfather's favor,
the boy said, "We are getting some oranges?" Grandfather asked. "What are you getting oranges for?"
”We want to hold a tea party," the boy said.
"What is a tea party?"
"It means to get together and eat things and drink tea," the boy said. "It is in the book
"What kind of book is this that is either making animals talk or tea people to eat and play? No
wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food since they went to school" Grandmother
said.
"And it is always about foreign food. There doesn't seem to be any corn stew or bean curd with
onions in it." Grandfather said.
"Remember, son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather's cough," said Mother.

19
 "Where did you get the money to buy oranges?" asked Father.
"The teacher - "but before the boy could finish making up his story, they heard Baldy, who live in 20
the next dwelling to the east, suddenly begin to cry. Then they heard his father shout, "We can't even
afford salt, and yet you want to buy candy."
This was followed by the voice of Hsiao Lin's uncle, who lives in the west. "I let you buy books with
my earned-money because it is for your good, but I haven't any money for you to buy sweetmeats. You
can ask whoever you want to hold tea parties for it."
The truth came out. The boy's father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately the table intervened. He
only upset the table and broke a few rice bowls. Grandfather was of the opinion that it might be better to
take the boy out of school, but Grandmother did not want her son to go to jail. After long arguments, it
was decided that they would let him try school for a few more days.
After this Humiliation, our young scholar vowed to study harder and to recover his lost prestige in
the family. Every day after school, he read without stopping until it was dark. He did not realize that the
source of his troubles lay in the textbook itself.
Grandmother had been feeling that her son was no longer as close to her as before his marriage
and that her position in the family had been gradually slipping. Now as she listened to the boy reading
aloud his latest lessons, she heard him say, "In my family I have a papa, a mama, a brother, and a sister,"
but nothing about Grandfather and Grandmother. She became very indignant and shouted. "So this house
is now all yours and I have no longer a share in it!" She was mad with fury. She picked up a brick and broke
their iron pot into pieces.
“Don't be angry anymore!" the boy's father said. "We won't let him read this kind of book
any longer. I would rather go to jail."
And so the next day, Father discharged a day laborer and the teacher marked the boy's absence in
the record book at school.

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