Writing
President Qiu (Extract 2)
Translated by: Li Xiaowen
iii. How could the descendants of Juren curse others?
Qiu 8 should have been the child that held the most important position amongst the eight children in the Qiu family, and the one most loved by the Qiu seniors. But this wasn't the case.
The first reason was Qiu 8's build.The first seven children had all grown as precociously as willows. Only when it got to Qiu 8 had the sap run dry, because he was short and skinny. As a matter of fact, being short and skinny was the will of Heaven, it was not Qiu 8's fault. But Uncle Qiu always felt let down whenever he caught sight of the 8th Qiu, as if seeing a seedling that could have grown into a mighty tree but had instead stopped growing half way; or as if forseeing that the Qiu family line would come to an end with his eighth child. All in all, he carried a displeasure in his heart that couldn't be put into words.
There was one thing that depressed Uncle Qiu most; gossip from the neighbours.
Qiu 8 was the most warm hearted of all the Qiu boys. Ever since elementary school, he would help families in the "Si Fei" yard with such chores as carrying the gas cannister for the Zhang family, and dumping trash for the Li family. And when he grew up he was interested in wireless equipment, and repaired radios and TV sets door to door. Therefore the neighbours were particularly fond of the eighth Qiu and were apt to give compliments such as these to Qiu's parents:
"Mr. Qiu! Your eighth son is like Lei Feng in every way!" [1]
His father was furious at this comment. He wasn't angry at people's praising his son's good deeds, but he was suspicious that they might be being sarcastic. It wasn't just Qiu 8's moral qualities, even his build was like Lei Feng. [2]
Later Qiu 8, for better or worse, got married, fulfilling Uncle Qiu's wish. Uncle Qiu should have been able to ignore the gossip by now, but people's remarks were getting more and more displeasing to the ears, and that made Uncle Qiu unhappy.
The reason was that Qiu 8 had grown somewhat plump after marriage. During the first few years of marriage it was as if someone had installed an air pump under his feet, inflating him more every day. By the time Qiu 8's child had reached the age of five, he was as fat as a planet during an eclipse - so much like a ball that people couldn't help but want to pat him. Therefore the neighbors gave him a nickname:"The Eight Ball".There were even some people who praised him to Uncle Qiu, saying: 'Your eighth son is looking more and more like a government leader!'
On hearing this, straight away Qiu Senior's nose was put out of joint and he started fuming.
Another reason that the eighth Qiu upset Old Qiu was that he didn't win his father any credit in his studies.
According to Qiu senior's standard, the least his children could do was to gain a Master's degree. The reason was simple: The Qiu family was the offspring of a Juren. If the Zhuangyuan title was equivalent to a doctorate , then Juren should be reckoned as a master's degree. Therefore, if the descendants of the family failed to gain a Master's degree, it would go to show that the Qiu family was on a downwards slide. And that would bring great shame on to the Qiu family. [3]
The first few Qiu children, from the oldest son to the second daughter didn't even graduate from middle school. But Qiu senior wasn't upset at all, because at that time there was no such thing as a doctorate.
Right after the resumption of university entrance examinations, the third and the fourth Qiu boys and the third sister made it on to the list of successful candidates each year in turn. During those few years, Mr. Qiu's face always glowed, and he smiled at anyone he saw, as if to say: 'Our Qiu family is an old and well-known family of Juren, we never fail in any exams. Just like Beijing's late autumn watermelon --success is guaranteed.'
Uncle Qiu could never have guessed that the good times wouldn't last long, because the fifth college entrance year was the turn of the eighth Qiu. The eighth Qiu set off for the exam hall full of dynamism, and came promptly back home with his tail between his legs. He'd failed! At the insistence of Uncle Qiu, the 8th Qiu sat the exams again the next two years, but failed again both times.
This made the old man furious. According to the neighbors' incomplete statistics, Mr. Qiu senior only held his head up three times in those three years: One time was when an airplane flew over, one time when it was hailing, and another time when a kid upstairs was pissing off the balcony.
'I knew even when you were little you were not going to amount to anything.' One night Uncle Qiu closed the door and gave his son a sharp dressing down.
Actually, the 8th Qiu lost interest in studying when he was little, thinking it was boring. Like other scamps who roamed the alleyways in Beijing, he was too fond of play. He did almost everything, such as catching crickets, cicadas, and fish, and vandalizing houses, you name it! And with his honest and loyal character, he was firmly supported by other kids. He was the acknowledged king of the kids in the 'Si Fei' yard.
Like all other little emperors in Beijing, the 8th Qiu also had a foul mouth and was apt to swear at people with great gusto and creativity. During that era swearwords were a mark of affection among children; two unfamiliar children would stare at each other across the road for a moment, then one would start off with: "Go to hell!"
The other would respond: "Go to hell!"
The two would then immediately give each other an enthusiastic hug, as if they were the Soviet Red Army and their American Allies meeting in Berlin .
Except that curse, the 8th Qiu's favorite one was "I fuck your mother's big cxxt!" This was his most natural curse, the one that came out of his mouth the most effortlessly, whatever the situation.
One time he cursed accidentally in front of Qiu senior, and was then cursed ten times more by his father. The main point was that he not only damaged the ethics and moral standards of a traditional scholarly family, but also lost "Si Fei" residents face by letting loose such unacceptable words in front of his father.
On the day he was condemned by his father, Qiu 8 swore to thoroughly rectify the error of his ways and never curse others again. But that word just like a bug in his throat, trying so hard to jump out, made him crazy, and when he really couldn't hold back, he shouted:
"I fuck your mother's......pen !"; or: "I fuck your mother's big pen!" [4]
On hearing this the neighbours in "Si Fei" yard said in front of Uncle Qiu, in a tone full of praise: "The Qiu family is indeed a Juren family, even their cursing words are linked to stationery."
Finally Uncle Qiu got some face back.
iv. It's hard to make stale dough raise
Three years ago when the seventh and eighth Rong from "San Fu" yard became rich, and "Si Fei" young and old, male and female, put all their hopes on Qiu 8, he was already thirty-seven. A person that close to forty is like the sun at four o'clock in the afternoon; though still having warmth, it is not intense. Still high in the sky, but falling little by little. The energy is still there but it is waning. The 8th Qiu was already a husband, a father, and a son. With these three responsibilities, his limbs and mouth were not as industrious as before. He occasionally caught crickets for his daughter, occasionally opened his mouth to shoot off a few curse words, that's all.
At the time he was working as a clerk in a branch of a company named "Daquan Multinational Corporation of China." He held an insignificant position, but didn't need to be responsible for anything. Just like the song said, he was a disengaged person with a disengaged heart. He went to work at eleven in the morning and at four o'clock he returned home.
Just like the four o'clock afternoon sun.
At that time when he saw the eighth Rong's car across the yard, he didn't admire him like his neighbours did. He just raised his eyebrows a little, and then took his daughter out to play. When the seventh Rong's club got "Si Fei" residents mad, he merely uttered the word "fuck", not bothering to get really upset.
That was why that night when his father had an official talk with him, asking him to take a lead in getting rich, and in so doing set an example for "Si Fei", Qiu 8 remained unmoved.
"Father! You see, I'm almost forty years old, just like a piece of stale dough. No matter how much yeast you put in, it just won't rise."
"You fool! If you were stale dough, I'd be a ship's anchor -sinking even faster! I don't blame you for not making a good showing for our family in your study. Now is a good time for the whole nation to get rich thanks to the opening up policy, so you've been given another chance by Heaven. If you don't manage to get rich for me, how will you have the nerve to face our ancestor." [5]
"He was a Juren, what has that got to do with getting rich.."
"How can you be more out-of-touch than me? Nowadays being a millionaire equals being a Juren, being a billionaire equals being a Zhuangyuan!"
The father and son continued arguing in this fashion. This talk seem to have much effect since the son didn't bear even a bit of the father's earnest and tireless preaching in mind. Another half year passed. Qiu 8 still remained the same, still catching crickets, still remaining aloof, still leaving work at four pm.
The "Si Fei" residents were concerned, and so Uncle Qiu was concerned. "Si Fei" residents turned their deeply anxious eyes to Uncle Qiu. And Uncle Qiu's expectant eyes? They turned to Yan'an.
That's right! Uncle Qiu's thoughts went back to Yan'an, the holy land to which he had once journeyed with the ideal of seeking knowledge and freedom. It was the crucible that had forged and trained him and his generation. Everyone who emerged from there went on to be the elite of that era. [6]
How true it was! What the son needed most for the time being was to be put through his paces in the cradle of the socialist market economy. On thinking this, Uncle Qiu's mind's eye put a name to the cradle of the 90's: Shenzhen. [7]
That was how Qiu 8 was transferred to the subsidiary of "Daquan Multinational Cooperation of China" in Shenzhen. The duration of his stay was to be one year.
In fact, even he himself didn't know how he got there.
- [1] Lei Feng was a People's Liberation Army solder posthumously extolled as a model revolutionary by Chairman Mao.
- [2] Lei Feng was reputed to have been short.
- [3] This section is punning on the titles of ancient academic qualifications, reputedly won by the Qiu ancestor.
- [4] A play on words. The 'C' word and the word for pen are homonyms in Chinese.
- [5] The opening up policy was launched by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, following the end of the cultural revolution.
- [6] Yanan was the revoluationary base for the Communists from 1936 following the Long March under Chairman Mao's leadership. From then, until the Communists finally won power in 1949, Yanan because a symbol of idealism and resistance to the Japanese occupation, leading many people to make a long and dangerous journey there.
- [7] Shenzhen was one of the first and most totemic 'special economic zones' to be created in China, following Deng Xiaoping's launch of the opening up policy. Foreign investors enjoyed special incentives, and the place became a symbol of China's shift towards a new economic era, and opportunity to become rich.