Chapter 518: Using the Past to Criticize the Present

Linzi had a huge population and was the place where urban commoner culture flourished most in all the realm. Its people were prosperous and pleasure-loving; in their leisure time, everyone played the yu pipes, struck the zither, beat the zhu stick, plucked the qin, fought cocks, raced hounds, played liubo, or kicked cuju. Beyond these amusements, in the streets, lanes, and wineshops, entertainers and dwarfs were often active, performing during banquets to win the favor of patrons and incidentally help the wineshops draw in business.

Most entertainers' performances tended toward mockery, buffoonery, even self-abasement and self-uglification. They would beat a drum while singing and do somersaults on the low tables to make people laugh — the "Eastern Han Drumming Storyteller Figurine" unearthed by later ages is a portrait of this very group.

But among them were some of a different sort, who did not regard themselves as lowly performers. Taking Chunyu Kun of King Wei of Qi's time as their model, they lived by their wits and told stories in the wineshops. Though the tales were drawn from street gossip and hearsay, some were ancient matters that people relished recounting — for instance, "Yanzi's Mission to Chu" and "Chunyu Kun Wisely Admonishes the King of Qi" — and the people of Qi loved listening to them.

In the bustling Zhuang and Yue markets of Linzi, there was a famous wineshop that year-round invited an entertainer named "You Xiu" to hold the floor.

It was said that You Xiu had once been the servant of a "Xiaoshuo Jia." The Xiaoshuo Jia would compile stories and have him tell them; You Xiu told them better and better, and his fame spread throughout Linzi. Before the Xiaoshuo Jia died, he restored You Xiu's freedom, and You Xiu continued to make his living telling stories, appearing at this wineshop on every first and fifteenth of the month. Whenever that happened, the wineshop was packed with guests, and You Xiu would sit in the center, surrounded three layers deep and three layers thick by patrons who had come because of his reputation.

Today was the first of the ninth month, and it was no exception. You Xiu stood barely six chi tall, wore a headwrap, his shoulders hunched high, dressed in a child's long robe, yet sported an exaggerated splayed mustache. He looked somewhat comical, but his expression was utterly serious.

He sat on the mat in the center of the wineshop, swept his gaze around once, and then, in his uniquely booming voice, began the story…

"Shi Kuang was a grandee in the time of Duke Ping of Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. He was a blind music official, broadly learned and multi-talented, especially versed in music and skilled at playing the qin. The Xiaoshuo Jia composed six chapters of 'Shi Kuang' for him; today I shall speak only of the one matter within them, 'The Music of a Doomed State.'"

As You Xiu spoke with eloquence, a quarter-hour later, the story was gradually drawing to its close.

"When Shi Kuang played 'Pure Shang,' sixteen black cranes flew down and gathered before the corridor gate below the hall; when he played 'Pure Zhi,' the black cranes stretched their necks and cried out, dancing to the sound of the qin. Duke Ping of Jin, seeing this, was overjoyed. He rose and toasted Shi Kuang, then asked him, 'Is there a melody even more stirring than this?'"

"Shi Kuang replied, 'There is the music of "Pure Jiao," but only a person of profound virtue may hear this piece. My lord is not yet worthy. If you force yourself to listen, I fear the state and your house will suffer ruin and calamity!'"

"Duke Ping of Jin was displeased and said, 'This solitary one's greatest love in life is music alone.' He then compelled Shi Kuang to play, and if he refused, he would be put to death! Shi Kuang had no choice. He took up his qin and began to play. With the first movement, white clouds appeared from the northwestern sky, and heaven and earth instantly changed color. With the second movement, a great gale, mixed with driving rain, came sweeping down from the sky, so fierce that the corridor tiles flew sideways, and everyone around fled in panic!"

The wineshop had been full of murmuring voices, but at this point they all fell silent, astonished by Shi Kuang's almost divine skill.

You Xiu continued: "Duke Ping was so terrified that he prostrated himself, hiding among the corridor chambers, shouting repeatedly for Shi Kuang to stop playing. Shi Kuang stopped his hands, and at once the wind ceased, the rain retreated, and the clouds parted and mist dispersed."

"But it was already too late. Thereafter, Jin suffered a great drought for three years — not a blade of grass grew. Duke Ping of Jin also fell gravely ill, and from then on, Jin declined…"

At this, You Xiu slapped the low table, ending the day's story. Only then did the patrons come back to their senses, and one after another they began praising the tale. But someone also laughed and said:

"It's just listening to a qin — can it really be so exaggerated as to stir wind and clouds and change the very weather?"

You Xiu, however, smiled and said: "This gentleman is not wrong, but 'rites and music' — the two characters are never separated. Music is that which embodies virtue, and therefore music is divided into many kinds."

He stood up and began counting them off on his fingers: "There is the music of the Son of Heaven, the music of the feudal lords, the music of ministers and grandees, the music of the shi, and the music of the common people and the black-headed masses — many and varied. The music of us common people and black-headed masses is of no consequence, but other kinds of music must not be presumptuously stirred. One's status and virtue must match it, or else baleful events will follow. This is what Confucius meant by, 'A great drought in the state — could it not be a failure in punishments and virtue?'"

"Does You Xiu also recite the learning of Confucius?" asked a young scholar in a Confucian cap from within the wineshop.

You Xiu explained: "Though I have never formally taken a Confucian as my teacher, nor wear Confucian robes or caps, I have heard the words of Confucius from friends."

His tone suddenly shifted: "In truth, are the affairs of this world not just the same? If a ruler's own virtue is insufficient, yet he emulates Duke Ping of Jin and forcibly undertakes certain things, heaven and earth will surely deem it a breach of propriety and will inevitably send omens to warn and chastise him!"

At these words, the crowd in the wineshop burst into an uproar. The young scholar in the Confucian cap whispered to the person beside him: "Doing things that do not match one's virtue brings warnings? Then I've heard that last month, when the Emperor went to Mount Tai to perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices, he encountered a rainstorm as soon as he ascended and was drenched all over. How should that be reckoned?"

"The Emperor met with rain at the Feng and Shan sacrifices?"

Many were hearing this for the first time and their interest was immediately piqued. Over the past few years, under the government's regulation, the price of wine in Linzi had multiplied several times over. Those who could come here for leisure were basically never poor. The people of Qi were naturally fond of debate, and this group, free from worries about food and clothing, was even more so.

Amid the passing of cups and clinking of goblets, the patrons began discussing this "affair of state."

The young scholar relayed to everyone the news he had heard from his teachers — from how the First Emperor of Qin rejected the counsel of the Confucian scholars, violated ancient precedents, and used rites from the Guanzhong region of Qin, mixed with "the customs of the Rong and Di barbarians," to perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices, to the sudden change of wind and clouds atop Mount Tai.

After a few cups of horse-piss wine, the young scholar's courage swelled, and in the end he even shouted: "My teachers and friends said that Mount Tai has a spirit and will not accept the Feng and Shan sacrifices of a ruler of meager virtue. Back then, even Duke Huan of Qi was unqualified — let alone this so-called First Emperor of Qin! In my view, he is no true Son of Heaven ordained by Heaven!"

At these words, the wineshop fell utterly silent, and then a chorus of agreement rang out. The standard of living for the people of Linzi had dropped several notches under Qin rule, and their discontent had long been accumulating in their hearts. Though they dared not take any action, they could vent it through words. You Xiu merely drank his wine, watching the scene before him with a beaming smile.

Emboldened, the young scholar shouted again: "The Emperor is without virtue, cruel and tyrannical, yet he forcibly used the rites of the Rong and Di to perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices, angering Heaven above, which sent down a sudden rainstorm as a warning. In my view, just like Duke Ping of Jin forcing himself to listen to 'Pure Jiao,' in the coming years, the realm will likely see upheaval and chaos!"

"Hear, hear!" The crowd all toasted the young scholar.

Only a few quick-witted individuals sensed that the topics being discussed in this wineshop were growing more and more improper, so they placed a few ban-liang coins on the low tables and began making their way out.

But before anyone could leave the wineshop, the sound of uniform footsteps came to a halt outside.

A group of Qin soldiers had surrounded the place.

The men of Qi turned pale with fright. You Xiu hastily stood up, intending to flee out the back door, only to find it blocked as well. The wineshop owner, hearing the commotion and coming out, was also ashen-faced.

A band of black-clad Qin soldiers, swords in hand, charged in like wolves and tigers, leveling their weapons at all the patrons.

Next, a Qin prison clerk wearing a law cap entered the wineshop, swept his eyes over the people inside, and fixed his gaze on You Xiu and the now-drunken young scholar. He gave a cold laugh and, with a wave of his hand, declared:

"All those in this wineshop who use the past to criticize the present and slander His Majesty — arrest them all! Not a single one is to escape!"

…

The First Emperor of Qin had already left Jixia and arrived at the "traveling palace" within the city of Linzi — which was, in fact, the former royal palace of Qi.

The people of Qi were fond of extravagance. Ever since the Jiang clan's Qi, nearly every ruler had built a high terrace exclusively for himself, and the successive rulers of the Tian clan's Qi had inherited this hobby as well. Thus, within the palace city in the southwest of Linzi, countless high-terrace structures stood like pyramids, their foundations broad and massive, their sides inlaid with smooth stone blocks — a magnificent sight to behold.

The First Emperor of Qin stayed in the Grand Chamber Hall, built by King Xuan of Qi. It covered a hundred mu in area, and the hall atop it was also enormous, with a full three hundred rooms. This project was so vast that, despite the wealth of Qi, it still had not been completed after three years of construction — yet now it conveniently served the Qin.

Inside the hall of the Grand Chamber, the assembled ministers accompanying the Emperor on his eastern tour, along with the chief officials of Linzi, were all present. The atmosphere was solemn, as if a great battle were imminent.

"This is indeed a war… a life-and-death battle without smoke, yet with far-reaching consequences!"

Heifu stood in the middle section of the hall, sighing inwardly. Just as he had expected, the group of Confucian scholars waiting at the foot of Mount Tai, upon hearing that the First Emperor's Feng and Shan sacrifices had been hindered by wind and rain, had actually spoken out in mockery. If they had only said it behind closed doors, that would have been one thing, but a few loose-tongued ones had even spread the matter to Linzi through letters and other means, making it the talk of the entire city.

They would not die unless they courted death. In the eyes of the First Emperor and the Qin officials, openly questioning the legitimacy of Qin and calling the Emperor "of meager virtue" was clearly a challenge to the Emperor's authority! Enraged, the Emperor immediately instructed Li Si and the Linzi officials to dispatch men. Anyone discussing this matter was to be arrested en masse, and those spreading the rumors were to be charged with the crime of slander.

The Governor and the Commandant of Linzi were currently reporting on the arrests made in Linzi over the past few days.

"Your Majesty, within Linzi, all those who dared to criticize the Feng and Shan sacrifices in wineshops, streets, and lanes have been apprehended!"

Based on the confessions of You Xiu and the others, the authorities traced the matter to its root and found the Erudite who had first leaked the news and slandered the Emperor. From him, over a dozen others were implicated, mostly Confucian scholars. In this way, of the seventy Erudites, two out of ten were gone, and the rest were all in a state of panic — after all, when the Emperor had left them stranded at the foot of Mount Tai, everyone had grumbled more or less.

According to the statutes, the first to spread the rumors had committed the crime of slander, and in severe cases could be beheaded and their bodies exposed in the marketplace. The others who echoed them would also be convicted of "group drinking" — gathering a crowd to cause trouble — and of knowing of a crime but failing to report it. They would either be fined or made convict laborers and sent to build the Mount Li mausoleum.

But the First Emperor was not willing to let the matter rest there. He assembled the ministers to discuss how this affair should be handled.

As the patron of the Confucian scholars, Left Chancellor Wang Wan could not shirk responsibility. Yet during the deliberations, he still insisted that this incident was merely a handful of ignorant Confucian scholars nursing grievances. They should be identified one by one and punished, but there was no need to implicate all the Erudites.

"Your Majesty, the people of Qi and Lu are naturally fond of debate. This is merely the idle alley-talk of foolish men for a time — nothing worth worrying about."

"The Left Chancellor is mistaken! It is precisely because the realm is full of foolish men that we cannot allow these scholars to slander freely. Otherwise, if the people of the realm believe it to be true, their hearts will surely grow unsettled, and chaos will ensue!"

Right Chancellor Li Si, however, clashed with him head-on. He knew that the moment to thoroughly defeat Wang Wan and ensure he never recovered had arrived!

Heifu stood at the back and watched as, in contrast to Wang Wan's stooped silhouette, Li Si strode forward, stepped out of the ranks, bowed to the First Emperor, and declared in a loud voice:

"Your Majesty, in the past, when the feudal lords rose and contended, they recruited large numbers of itinerant persuaders, allowing them to debate without holding office and giving them excessive license. This has made it so that this group simply cannot control their own tongues! In their speech, they constantly cite the ancients to harm the present, and they adorn empty words to confound name and reality."

"Now the realm is settled, and laws and decrees issue from Your Majesty alone, distinguishing black from white and establishing a single supreme authority. Under the Son of Heaven, the common people and black-headed masses should devote themselves to agriculture and crafts, creating wealth for Your Majesty. Literate scholars should study the laws, ordinances, and prohibitions, becoming Qin officials and governing the people on Your Majesty's behalf. This is the proper use of study and learning!"

"But now, these scholars do not take the present as their teacher but study the past. They esteem only the knowledge of their private schools and denounce the legal and institutional system established by the court, using it to slander Your Majesty's governance and delude the hearts of the people. Whenever they hear of a matter, each one discusses it according to what he has learned, taking the lead in fabricating slander among the populace. If such things are not prohibited, they will inevitably cause unrest. Above, they weaken the authority of the court; below, they form factions and cliques…"

At this, Li Si bowed again and proposed:

"In this minister's view, after each incident, punishing only the chief culprit is far from sufficient. A new statute should be enacted to forbid all private scholarship and street-corner debate throughout the realm. Let the official historians take the collected histories of the six kingdoms and burn them all! Classical texts shall be permitted only in the custody of the Erudites' office in Xianyang for study and preservation. Beyond that, wherever in the realm copies of the Odes, the Documents, or the discourses of the Hundred Schools are kept, the local governors and commandants shall burn them too! Henceforth, whoever uses the past to denigrate the present shall be exterminated clan-wide! Those who dare gather in groups to discuss ancient affairs, the Odes, or the Documents shall be beheaded and their corpses exposed in the marketplace! Those who privately hoard the Odes, the Documents, or the words of the Hundred Schools shall be tattooed and sentenced to hard labour on the city walls! I beseech Your Majesty's gracious approval!"

"What!"

The words had barely fallen when the hall erupted in uproar. Zhang Cang, standing at the very end, was especially horrified, staring at his senior fellow apprentice Li Si with disbelief.

Li Si had once studied the art of emperorship under the Jixia masters in Lanling and possessed a solid understanding of the Hundred Schools' discourses, which had deeply nourished him. Why now would he want to slash everything away with a single stroke and ban them all outright?

If this were carried out, never mind the "new Jixia" that Heifu had spoken of as brewing in the world — the entire forest of learning under heaven would likely end up like the Qi palace gardens outside: a hundred flowers withered, a desolate silence, with only a few chrysanthemums left standing!

He was about to step forward and plead that this must absolutely not be done — when, unexpectedly, Heifu ahead of him had already sensed his movement. To prevent this fat man who carried the future scientific hopes of Huaxia from once again incurring punishment for his words, Heifu pre-empted him by striding out first and declaring loudly:

"Your Majesty, the Right Chancellor's words — most excellent!"

Everyone turned to look at Heifu. He had rushed to second the proposal before the crowd had even recovered from their shock? Far too hasty.

Ye Teng was also astonished. Vying to stick his neck out — this did not seem like something his son-in-law's character would do.

The First Emperor had yet to express his stance, but he too looked at Heifu and said with a musing smile: "You also find the Right Chancellor's proposal feasible?"

"The Mount Tai Feng and Shan sacrifices were clearly an auspicious sign, perfectly matching Qin's Water Virtue. Those who slandered them were all ill-intentioned schemers and deserved execution! As for the Erudites and private academies, they have been allowed to run wild and disordered for years now — it is indeed high time they were properly reined in and rectified!"

Heifu declared his position, but then his tone shifted as he continued:

"However, Qin law has always been: severe punishment for the guilty, lenient pardon for the innocent — except in clan extermination, and even then only the father's, mother's, and wife's three clans are executed. This minister is dull-witted, but though the world's learning is collectively called the 'Hundred Schools,' in practice each goes its own way, some even mutually hostile, growing old and dying without contact. They are not only not kin — they do not even count as neighbours. Now, because a few Confucian scholars have transgressed, all other private schools are to be banned outright and their books entirely burned. Would this not… smack somewhat of implicating the innocent fish in the pond?"

PS: A big 4,000-character chapter. The second chapter will be up at twelve. My apologies for the past few days — I've been busy with a "major life event" — buying a house, with all sorts of paperwork and loans, my head's been spinning. Everything's sorted out today, and from now on I'm going full throttle into catch-up-and-repay mode.

(End of chapter)