Explore Chapter 13 of "牛天赐传" with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
By the third grade, Tianci's enthusiasm for school had waned. Whether he went or not, he had learned to ask for leave. A slight headache, or a bit of rain-fine, he wouldn't go. Staying home for a day had its own flavor. The reason for his slackening was that nothing at school was certain; today one thing, tomorrow another. His heart... he just muddled through.
Meetings at school had to be attended, and those outside school couldn't be avoided. Promoting domestic products, promoting national arts, promoting traditional Chinese medicine, promoting the national language-all had to be done by elementary school students. They carried lanterns, they ran, they shouted slogans, they waved flags, and they had no idea what it was all about. Tianci disliked attending these meetings because his legs couldn't take it. But he had to go. Those who were good-looking or skilled in handicrafts or drawing could skip them; teachers took special care to protect the stars of athletic meets and performances. But the meetings outside school were for people like Tianci-if they didn't go, they'd be expelled. He didn't understand why he had to go, to be jostled, endure cold or heat, and run around. He would have preferred to quietly tell or listen to a story, but he had to go to those noisy, crowded places, where lanterns got crushed, paper flags were blown away, and throats were shouted dry-that was the end of it. These meetings were even more unbearable than the school's own: during school meetings, he could slip away and go to the library to enjoy picture books, enriching his mind. But outside meetings did nothing except make his legs sore and turn him into a dust monkey.
In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, the motherly rules and discipline that he usually wanted to rebel against became endearing. He had never liked washing his face as a child, but after so much training he didn't want to turn into a dust monkey. He resented his mother forbidding him to talk and laugh loudly, but shouting on the streets disgusted him even more. He didn't want to be constrained at home, yet the chaos on the streets made him love order. The restraints of home made him miserable, and the clamor of street gatherings left him bewildered. He didn't know what to do; he only felt lonely and had to muddle through. Only by muddling through could he get through the day. He no longer wanted to get to the bottom of things. If he had to go, he went; if he had to carry a lantern, he carried it; if he had to wave a flag, he waved it. None of it mattered.
He treated his classmates the same way-play if he wanted to, forget it if not. If someone bullied him, he would look for a chance to get back; if he couldn't retaliate, he would dream up many unworkable revenge plans. They especially liked to call him bowlegs, flat head! He would also scrutinize their features, using flapping ears, crooked noses, and the like to fight back; when he couldn't find any, he would resort to, "bowlegs is your father!" Today they'd give you a piece of art paper, tomorrow they'd ask for it back, or yesterday they'd ask you to keep a small note for them, but today they'd say you stole something from them. He understood boundaries-whose things belonged to whom; don't touch others', and don't let others touch yours. But damaging something of someone else's a little, if there was no great danger-like throwing dirt on a hat or dropping a book on the ground-that was okay. Everyone took pride in dirtying others' belongings; the richer one's father, the bolder one was in doing so. "I'll pay you! I'll pay you!" was their favorite slogan. Those older students were even more impressive, with watches on their wrists, leather shoes on their feet, and fountain pens clipped to their chests. They looked down on teachers, and the teachers dared not provoke them. <<<Tianci>> had none of these things; his mother didn't allow children to be so extravagant. He envied them greatly and no longer cared for bricks and tiles, which made Sihu very sad. Sihu had never in his life thought about the use of a watch, but Tianci often complained to him, "Everyone is so rich, they have watches on their hands!"
Moreover, those students with watches could freely go into the teachers' rooms and chat and laugh with them, while Tianci had never exchanged intimate words with a teacher, nor did the teachers take his hand or pat his head. Naturally, he could also pretend not to care about such things, but in the end he had to hold his nose high to maintain his dignity.
Envy and contempt are natural companions. He resented those who had watches, and at the same time looked down on Old Hei's children. He longed to play with them, but when the chance came, he couldn't join them anymore. Before, he had loved their freedom, bare feet, and oil-black backs; now, he thought they were wild, dirty, and boring. They had body odor, snot smeared like butterflies, and they cursed; while he was a student from affiliated elementary school. He no longer valued their wild experiences. The things he knew, they didn't. They went to catch dragonflies and dig for crickets; he could use money to buy dragonflies and crickets. The more money he spent, the bigger and stronger the crickets he could get. Which of his classmates didn't have a few cricket jars? Who would care about the "old rice mouths" and "club heads" they caught themselves? He couldn't run around with them anymore; he wore a snow-white uniform while they had bare legs. What if a classmate saw? What if a teacher saw? And they played with flies! Hadn't the teacher said flies spread disease? When they caught a kitten or puppy, they might skin it alive; hadn't the teacher said to be kind to animals? In his heart, he really wanted to kill a small animal, but he had to pretend to be compassionate-he was a student! He didn't truly know anything, but he had plenty of principles learned from teachers and classmates. These principles were absolutely correct. Bringing a snack from home to eat at school was shabby or embarrassing. Buying at school was the truth. Watching Old Hei's children gnaw on corn on the cob, he forced himself to swallow his saliva and refused to take a bite-they didn't understand hygiene! At school, compared to those with watches, he was insignificant; compared to Old Hei's children, he felt he was something special.
As graduation approached, he felt even more extraordinary. Eight-Edge Head, it was said, would have to repeat the year; everyone else could graduate and get a diploma. Tianci knew that graduation was nothing difficult; he understood clearly: these four years had passed so easily, and he hadn't done anything remarkable. But compared to Eight-Edge Head, he felt that he at least had something in his head. Eight-Edge Head had only scored five points in arithmetic! The teacher had said that if Eight-Edge Head got ten points, he would be allowed to graduate, but he only managed five. Tianci had scored forty-five! And seventy-five in national language and literature! As for the bean craft, he had picked up a rejected one from someone else and still got sixty points! He was sure to graduate.
Even his mother respected him-a student about to graduate! He wanted a pair of leather shoes, a pencil with a clip that twisted out lead, and a box of twelve colors! His mother agreed to everything. Mother had to go to the graduation ceremony; Father had to go too! He told Father to wear his silk gown. Had Father ever graduated? He asked Mother. Mother had to tell the truth: "Father never went to school." Tianci began to look down on his father: "Father never got a score in national language and literature!" He nodded and smacked his lips, with that smug look of an elementary school graduate-especially one from Cloud City.
But he dared not provoke Sihu. First, because of the affection between them, and second, because Sihu held his weaknesses. "Let us ask you," he said, still using the language of years past, "Where is Shanghai?" "Shanghai? Not far from Tianjin!" "You don't know, that's it, that's done!" "What if I don't know?" Sihu counterattacked. "Wait till I get my national language and literature book." Tianci changed the subject. "Nobody wants to look at your stinking national language and literature! I ask you, who carried you home when it rained? Speak!" "It was our buddy!" Tianci backtracked, knowing how dangerous it was to be caught in a downpour without a ride. "That's it, that's done," Sihu deliberately mimicked his enemy's phrase, "Don't get smart with me; if I'm unhappy, I'll drop you in the river to feed the turtles when I'm carrying you on my back. I don't care about your graduation or not! Where is Shanghai? Nonsense!" "Anyway, anyway, that's it!" Tianci retreated. "Don't get cocky, you garlic-big kid!" "You're the garlic, a single-clove garlic, a garlic sprout!" "Go on, get away, don't bother me!" "I'll bother you anyway!" Tianci went over to tickle Sihu, but Sihu didn't laugh. Tianci felt humiliated, but he knew Sihu wasn't truly angry, and he admitted to himself that he was being a bit pretentious. From then on, he no longer flaunted his learning or his status in front of Sihu. He had to sincerely treat Sihu as a friend. Sihu knew everything about him.
He really graduated. On the day of the graduation ceremony, Tianci was extremely excited. He put on his new leather shoes and clipped the twist-out-lead pencil in his chest pocket. He walked with force to make the shoes squeak louder; unfortunately, being pigeon-toed, his toes often bumped together, scuffing two small spots on the tips. He urged his mother and father to hurry to the ceremony. He didn't feel that school had given him anything, but today he especially loved the school, because today the school was giving him a diploma-something even his father had never received! Sihu stuck out his tongue at him again at the door.
His classmates were also neatly dressed, almost all in leather shoes, listening to the sound of the soles. Eight-Edge Head, though he had to repeat the grade, also wore leather shoes, as if seeing others graduate was his greatest joy. The class monitor-a fair, chubby boy-held a piece of paper, looked at it, muttered to himself, looked again, then looked up and muttered, his face turning red and pale by turns; he was preparing his "commencement speech." Tianci led his parents to look at the grades. His father saw his composition-seventy-five points. "Is it decent?" his mother asked softly. "Not bad," his father calculated in his mind, "Seventy-five points, seven qian five, that's about one liang: heavier than a silver dollar!"
Tianci dared not point out his bean craft, though it had also scored sixty points, because he hadn't made it himself, and he felt a bit guilty. He looked for his arithmetic exam paper but didn't find it; probably those below sixty were not displayed. He was very grateful to the teachers. His classmates were also leading their parents to look at the grades. The parents fanned themselves, looked slowly, nodded with a "Not bad!"; if a paper was held upside down, the student would quickly go and correct it. Their manner was very casual, pointing here and there, sneaking a candy into their mouths, holding it in their cheeks until it was moist, then chewing silently.
The meeting began. The graduates sat in front, the parents behind. On the stage were the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the principal of the Normal School, and other important figures. The teachers sat on the left and right below the stage, as if the students were taught by the Chamber of Commerce president. The national anthem and school anthem were sung in unison, and they bowed to the national flag. Old Niu had originally taken off his straw hat, but when he saw others bowing with their hats on, he quickly put it back on. The old ladies hadn't even stood up properly when the bowing was already over, so they had to sit down again. Those holding children couldn't stand up at all; the child was blocked by the shadow of the people in front, couldn't see anything, and started crying in frustration. Several neighbor ladies helped calm him down until the crying stopped. Then they looked at the stage; the director of the affiliated elementary school was giving a report. The director was wearing a Western suit, rolling his eyes upward with every sentence, and spoke for forty minutes. The gist was that these graduates were future pillars of the nation; but graduation was only a section in the course of learning, knowledge was infinite... He sat down, and the Normal School principal stood up. He spoke in a very small voice, as if impatient to be talking to elementary students. But he too spoke for thirty minutes: learning never stops, graduation is merely a section... Then it was the Chamber of Commerce president's turn. The applause was especially fervent. The president quoted startling phrases from the Four Books and terms from national language and literature: "After learning, one realizes one's ignorance; whether one is a bank manager or a sage of old, it is the same. Whether at land or water ports, or commercial centers, it is the same. Live until old, learn until old. You are future magistrates, future managers, but you must know that after learning, one realizes one's ignorance. Learning is so, and personal wealth is also so: with ten thousand, you can earn five thousand; with fifteen thousand, you earn eight thousand; put together, that's over twenty thousand!" The audience applauded like thunder, and even the children perked up. The president took the opportunity to change the subject: "propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame,Four Pillars of the State! Everything must be measured by the principles of the sages; the sages' teachings are like the rules and discipline set by the Chamber of Commerce!" He spoke for over forty minutes in total.
Tianci listened, eating candy beans. The air in the room grew increasingly stuffy; his eyes slowly closed, and his jaw mechanically chewed the candy beans. After the Chamber of Commerce president, there were five or six more speakers, but he heard none of them. Suddenly he heard a voice: "Niu Tianci!" He felt an elbow in his ribs and woke up: "I wasn't eating candy beans!" Go and get the diploma!