Explore Chapter 17 of 'Cat Country' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
I didn't make it explicit to Young Scorpion, and he didn't ask me to stay, but I stayed there nonetheless.
On the other side of the street, I hadn't seen many children-it turned out they were all on this side. I felt a flicker of pleasure: the felinoids at least had this one merit-they hadn't forgotten to educate their young. Since this side of the street was lined with cultural institutions, the children must be here to study.
Cat children are the happiest little beings in the world. Dirty, unspeakably dirty; thin, smelly, ugly, with missing noses and squinty eyes, heads and faces covered in sores-yet all were utterly joyful. I saw one whose face was swollen like a bloated jar, his mouth too swollen to open, cheeks streaked with bloodstains, yet he wore a grin and still jumped and ran with the others. That flicker of pleasure in my heart vanished into thin air. I couldn't associate such children with wholesome homes or schools. Happy? Precisely because families, schools, society, and the state are all muddle-headed fools, they raise such muddle-headed children-dirty, thin, smelly, ugly, missing-nosed and squinty-eyed, yet blissfully happy. This brood is a microcosm of society and the state, the punishers of adults. When they grow up, they will not make the country clean, plump, fragrant, or fair. Again I saw the giant finger of destruction pressing down on the hope of this cat nation. No hope! Polygamy, freedom unions, they carry on like that, with no one giving a thought to their race. A life of love-to speak of love under that crushing finger! Ghosts who know not death!
I shouldn't leap to conclusions. Better to observe first, then speak. I followed a group of children to a school: a large gate, walls on four sides enclosing an empty yard. The children all went in. I watched from outside. Some rolled into a heap on the ground, others climbed the walls, some drew on them, others huddled in corners, intently examining each other's secrets-all in high spirits. No teacher in sight. I waited for what felt an eternity before three adults arrived. They were as thin as skeleton specimens, as if they'd never had a full meal since birth. Leaning on the wall, they shuffled along slowly; at every slight breeze, they'd halt and tremble for ages. They inched through the school gate. The children kept rolling, climbing, making noise, probing secrets. The three sat on the ground, panting open-mouthed. The children grew even noisier. The three shut their eyes and covered their ears, as if terrified of offending the students. After another interminable wait, they rose together and urged the children to sit properly. The students seemed determined never to sit still. After at least an hour, they still hadn't settled. Fortunately, the three gentlemen-they must be teachers-caught sight of me. "There are foreigners outside!" With just those words, every child turned to face the wall and sat stiffly, not one daring to glance back.
The middle one of the three was likely the principal. He announced: "First item: sing the national anthem." No one sang. Everyone stared blankly for a moment. The principal continued: "Second item: bow to the emperor." No one bowed. Another stunned silence. "Silent prayer to the great god." Now the students seemed to have forgotten the foreigners. They began shoving and cursing each other. "There are foreigners!" Instant quiet again. "Principal's address." The principal stepped forward and spoke to the backs of their heads:
"You are graduating from the most exalted seats of learning. What an honor! Here, you have grasped all knowledge, understood everything. Henceforth, the great affairs of the state will rest on your shoulders. What a glorious event!" The principal let out a long, melodious yawn. "That is all!" The two teachers clapped frantically, and the students erupted into chaos again.
"Gentlemen, to graduate today from the most exalted seats of learning is such an honor!" A teardrop fell. "All schools in our land are the most exalted seats of learning. What a glorious thing!" Another teardrop fell. "Gentlemen, do not forget the kindness of your principal and teachers. It is our highest honor to instruct you. But yesterday my wife starved to death. What a..." His tears fell like rain. After a long struggle, he managed to continue: "Gentlemen, remember the teachers' plight. Those with money, spare a coin; those with intoxicating leaves, share a leaf! You must know we haven't been paid for twenty-five years? Gentlemen..." He could say no more and slumped to the ground.
The principal gathered some thin stone slabs from the wall's base-likely inscribed with words, though I couldn't see clearly. He placed them at his feet and said: "In this graduation, all are first. What an honor! The certificates are here; take them as you please. Since all are first, order is unnecessary. Meeting adjourned."
Young Scorpion and Mi were both out. I had no choice but to continue observing, then question him all at once.
Diagonally beside the school I'd just seen was another, with students around fifteen or sixteen. Seven or eight were pinning someone down, cutting and dissecting with tools. Nearby, others were tying up two people. This must be practical anatomy for interns, I thought. But dissecting live, bound people seemed too cruel. I steeled myself to watch, determined to see it through. Soon, they finished tying the two and tossed them against the wall. Neither made a sound, probably scared senseless. The dissectors cursed as they worked:
Perhaps the principal and teachers had long deserved death. But I couldn't stand by while students slaughtered live people. Right or wrong, on humanitarian grounds, I couldn't watch students-or anyone-murder at will. I drew my pistol. True, a shout might have scattered them, but I was seething. These creatures seemed fit only for a bullet, though they weren't worth one. Pah! I fired. Crash-all four walls collapsed. Walls after heavy rain couldn't withstand the shock. I'd done another wrong thing. In trying to save the principal, I'd buried him and the students under the rubble! I was at a loss. Even the murderous students were lives; I couldn't just walk away. But how to save so many? Luckily, the walls were mere piled earth. Lately, my heart had grown strangely base-amid the chaos, it struck me: the principal probably did deserve to die. Judging by the school's flimsy construction, he'd pocketed all the funds, using only dirt for walls. A schoolmaster embezzling public money deserved death. Though I thought this, my hands kept busy. Pulling and dragging, I quickly extracted many. Each time I hauled out an earth-caked wretch, without even a glance at me, they dashed off like mad, like pigeons released from a cage. No one was badly hurt. Not only was I relieved, but I found the whole farce rather amusing. Finally, I pulled out the principal and teachers. Their limbs bound, they couldn't run. I set them aside and began kicking around, checking for anyone left in the dirt. Probably none, but I kicked once more. Certain no one remained, I returned and untied the two bound, earth-covered ghosts.
After a long while, the two gentlemen opened their eyes. I had no emergency medicine or fortifying wine, so I could only watch. Though eager to ask many things, I couldn't bring myself to question them right away. They slowly sat up, eyes still wide with fear. I smiled gently and whispered, "Which of you is the principal?"
The two gentlemen stealthily, slowly, gingerly rose. I didn't move, thinking they meant to stretch. They stood, nodded to each other, and-swift as dragonflies darting past-in a blink, they were far away. Chase was futile; I'd no hope outrunning felinoids. I sighed and sat on the earth pile.
What was all this? Oh, suspicion! Pettiness! Cunning! Who was the principal? They'd pointed at each other. Fresh from death's door, they'd sought to sacrifice the other to save themselves, thinking I meant harm. Stealthily rising, flitting off like dragonflies! Haha! I laughed wildly-not at them, but at their society: riddled with suspicion, pettiness, self-interest, cruelty. Not a trace of honesty, magnanimity, righteousness, or generosity! Students dissect their principal; the principal dares not claim his title. Darkness, darkness, utter darkness! Couldn't they see I'd saved them? Oh, in a dark society, there is no salvation. I thought of Madam Envoy and those eight little imps, likely still rotting in their stench!