Explore Chapter 7 of 'The True Story of Ah Q' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
On the fourteenth day of the ninth month in the third year of Xuantong - the very day Ah Q sold his money belt to Zhao Baiyan - at the fourth watch of the third drum, a large black awning boat arrived at the Zhao family's river dock. The boat drifted out of the pitch darkness, and the villagers, fast asleep, knew nothing of it; but when it set off near dawn, quite a few people saw it. According to the results of their prying investigations, they learned it was actually the boat of the provincial graduate!
That boat brought great unrest to Weizhuang. By noon, the hearts of the entire village were stirred. The Zhao family had kept the boat's mission very secret, but people in the tea houses and wine shops said that the revolutionaries were about to enter the city, and the provincial graduate had fled to our village for refuge. Only Zou Qisao disagreed, saying it was merely a few broken chests of clothes that the provincial graduate wanted to store, but Zhao Taiye had sent him back. In fact, the graduate and Zhao the licentiate had never been on good terms, so logically there could be no bond of "sharing hardships" between them. Moreover, as Zou Qisao was a neighbor of the Zhao family and had closer knowledge of affairs, her view was probably correct.
Yet the rumors were rampant, saying that although the provincial graduate had not come in person, he had sent a long letter and claimed a distant kinship with the Zhao family. Zhao Taiye thought it over and saw no harm in it, so he accepted the chests and stuffed them under his wife's bed. As for the revolutionaries, some said they had entered the city that very night, all in white helmets and white armor, dressed in mourning for Emperor Chongzhen.
Ah Q had long heard the term "revolutionaries" and had seen some executed with his own eyes this year. But he had always held a certain notion, derived from nowhere, that revolutionaries were rebels and rebels were his enemies, so he had always detested them heart and soul. Unexpectedly, however, this made the renowned provincial graduate so fearful. This made Ah Q somewhat fascinated, and moreover, the panicked expressions of those wretched men and women in Weizhuang only added to his delight.
"Revolution might not be a bad thing," thought Ah Q. "Down with these bastards! Too despicable! Too hateful! ... Even I should surrender to the revolutionaries."
Recently Ah Q had been hard up, which gave him some displeasure. After drinking two bowls of wine on an empty stomach at noon, he got tipsy even more quickly. Walking and thinking, he began to feel light-headed. Somehow, it suddenly seemed to him that he himself was a revolutionary, and all the people of Weizhuang were his captives. In his exultation, he could not help shouting loudly: "Rebellion! Rebellion!"
The people of Weizhuang looked at him with terrified eyes. This pitiful gaze was something Ah Q had never seen before. The sight made him feel as if he had drunk snow water in the sixth month. Even more joyfully, he walked and shouted: "Good... I'll have whatever I want, I'll love whomever I please. Clang, clang! How I regret that in drunkenness I wrongfully killed my sworn brother... How I regret, ah, ah, ah... Clang, clang, clang, clang! I take the steel whip in my hand to beat you..."
"Ah... Brother Q, poor friends like us are safe..." said Zhao Baiyan nervously, as if trying to sound out the revolutionary party's views.
Everyone looked disappointed and said nothing. Master Zhao and his son went home and talked until it was time to light the lamps. When Zhao Baiyan returned home, he took the money belt from his waist and handed it to his wife to hide at the bottom of a chest.
Ah Q flew about in a daze for a while, then returned to the Tutelary God's Temple, his wine fully slept off. That evening, the old caretaker of the temple was unexpectedly friendly and offered him tea. Ah Q asked him for two cakes, and after eating them, asked for a half-burned four-ounce candle and a wooden candlestick. He lit it and lay down alone in his small room. He felt a freshness and happiness he could not describe. The candle flame flickered like on the night of the Lantern Festival, and his thoughts began to leap. "Rebellion? How interesting... A troop of white-helmeted, white-armored revolutionaries, all carrying broadswords, steel whips, bombs, foreign guns, three-pointed double-edged swords, hook-and-sickle lances, passing by the Tutelary God's Temple and shouting, 'Ah Q! Come with us! Come with us!' So I go with them. Then those wretched men and women of Weizhuang are really funny, kneeling down and crying, 'Ah Q, spare us!' Who listens to them? The first to die are Young D and Zhao Taiye, then the licentiate, and the Fake Foreign Devil... Keep a few? Wang Hu could have been kept, but not any more. Goods... go straight in and open the chests: silver ingots, foreign dollars, foreign silk gowns... First move the licentiate's wife's Ningbo-style bed to the Tutelary God's Temple, then set up the Qian family's tables and chairs - or maybe use the Zhao family's. I won't lift a finger myself. I'll call Young D to move things. He must move quickly, or I'll slap his face. Zhao Sichen's sister is really ugly. Zou Qisao's daughter can wait a few years. The Fake Foreign Devil's wife sleeps with men who have no pigtails - huh, no good! The licentiate's wife has a scar on her eyelid. ... Amah Wu hasn't been seen for a long time. I wonder where she is - too bad her feet are so big."
Before Ah Q had fully finished his daydream, he had started to snore. The four-ounce candle had only burned down half an inch, its red flame illuminating his open mouth.
"Ho ho!" Ah Q suddenly cried out, lifting his head and looking around in confusion. When he saw the candle, he fell back asleep.
The next day he got up very late. When he walked out into the street, everything was the same as before. He was still hungry. He tried to think but could recall nothing. Then he suddenly seemed to have an idea. He slowly stepped out and, as if by design or chance, made his way to the Convent of the Shrouded Lady.
Ah Q quickly gripped a brick and took a boxing stance, ready to fight the black dog. But the nunnery door opened only a crack, and no black dog burst out. Looking inside, he saw only the old nun. "What do you want again?" she exclaimed, startled. "The revolution... you know?" Ah Q said vaguely. "Revolution, revolution, you've already made one revolution... What do you want of us?" said the old nun, her eyes red. "What?" Ah Q was surprised. "Don't you know they've already come and 'revolutionized' us?" "Who?" Ah Q was even more surprised. "That licentiate and the foreign devil!" Greatly taken aback, Ah Q was momentarily stunned. Seeing his spirit broken, the old nun quickly closed the door. When Ah Q tried to push it again, it was firmly shut. When he knocked again, there was no answer.
That had happened in the morning. The licentiate Zhao, well-informed, learned that the revolutionaries had entered the city during the night. He coiled his queue on top of his head and went early to visit Qian the Foreign Devil, whom he had never gotten along with before. This was the time for "all join in reform," so they talked very congenially and at once became likeminded comrades, agreeing to go revolutionize together. After much thought, they remembered that in the Convent of the Shrouded Lady there was a dragon tablet inscribed "Long live the Emperor," which should be quickly disposed of. So they immediately went to the nunnery to carry out the revolution. When the old nun tried to stop them with a few words, they treated her as if she were the Manchu government and rained many blows and knocks on her head. After they left, the nun composed herself and checked. The dragon tablet had indeed been smashed on the ground, and, moreover, the Xuande incense burner in front of Guanyin's statue had disappeared.
Ah Q learned of this only later. He deeply regretted being asleep, but he also blamed them for not coming to summon him. He then thought, retreating a step: "Could it be they don't know I've already surrendered to the revolutionaries?"