（上限長文，小說轉載）閱讀了這篇『覺世名言十二樓/16-17』 有了一種突開沼氣池的炸裂感，恐無CCP也是如此
我今天再看看書，翻到了這篇。本來我覺得CCP不好，中國人本身嘛，
現在看完了覺得難說。CCP的野蠻是工業文明的野蠻，是列寧體制下搞出來的 「共產主義就是蘇維埃權力加全俄電氣化」
中國人的野蠻則是在工業文明之前的一種野蠻，其中的方式和鄂圖曼(Ottoman）非常相近，簡直是一個味道的。一種充滿了狡詐欺騙算計的感覺，把人當物體，把不擇手段當手段，圖的東西蠅頭小利微不足道，卻捨棄那些寶貴的東西。
鄂圖曼的野蠻，用這張宣傳油畫我覺得可以比較好的總結
（但是注意這張油畫是典型的19世紀末期泛斯拉夫宣傳，通過誇大鄂圖曼的野蠻和描繪強姦殺戮來達到巴爾幹民族心向沙皇的目的）
"The Bulgarian Martyresses", 1877 painting by the Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky
按照這篇裡面的話，鄂圖曼和中國這群人糟糕的都難以被衡量出到底有多差：沒有武德也沒有信用。
古希臘的存在鏈哲學與人類社會的階級秩序
以下是我閱讀的文章，清朝初年的小說。
我覺得其中所顯示的邏輯實在是過於濃烈堪比沼氣突開，什麼誘騙絕色貌美少年被閹割當奴隸再報仇等等，看完了我簡直是被立體噁心到了。像是這種體面人怎麼會掉入這種情況呢？在我看來這些東方野蠻人幹的事情連蘇共都不如，其實這也印證了United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio在一年多前演講裡說的，如今中國比蘇聯更危險一樣。現在比較而言，似乎蘇聯還是太誠實了，各種陰謀詭計還不夠下賤
美国新任国务卿卢比奥是中國的噩夢
不過由於中文原版閱讀難度較高，我找了英語翻譯也放在了後面，如果中文讀不懂的話英語翻譯好閱讀多了。
覺世名言十二樓 第十六回 萃雅樓第二 保後件失去前件 結恩人遇著仇人
二人聽到此處，就翻然自悔起來，道：「他講得極是。」回到家中，先對汝修哭了一場，然後說出傷心之語，要他同去領價。
汝修斷然不肯，說：「烈女不更二夫，貞男豈易三主。除你二位之外，決不再去濫交一人。寧可把這些貨物算在我帳裡，決不去做無恥之事！」金、劉二人又把利害諫他，說：「你若不去，不但生意折本，連這店也難開，將來定有不測之禍。」汝修立意雖堅，當不得二人苦勸，只得勉強依從，隨了二人同去。
管門的見了，喜歡不過，如飛進去傳稟。東樓就叫快傳進來。
金、劉二友送進儀門，方才轉去。
東樓見了汝修，把他渾身上下仔細一看，果然是北京城內第一個美童 （這使我想到了鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）。心上一分歡喜，就問他道：「你是個韻友，我也是個趣人，為什麼別官都肯見，單單要迴避我？」汝修道：
「實是無心偶出，怎麼敢迴避老爺。」東樓道：「我聞得你提琴簫管樣樣都精，又會葺理花木，收拾古董，至於燒香制茗之事，一發是你的本行，不消試驗的了。我在這書房裡面少一個做伴的人，要屈你常住此間，當做一房外妾，又省得我別請陪堂，極是一樁便事。你心上可情願麼？」汝修道：「父母年老，家計貧寒，要覓些微利養親，恐怕不能久離膝下。」東摟道：
「我聞得你是孤身，並無父母，為什麼騙起我來？你的意思，不過同那兩個光棍相與熟了，一時撇他不下，所以托故推辭。難道我做官的人反不如兩個鋪戶？他請得你起，我倒沒有束脩麼？」汝修道：「那兩個是結義的朋友，同事的伙計，並沒有一毫苟且，老爺不要多疑。」東樓聽了這些話，明曉得是掩飾之詞，耳朵雖聽，心上一毫不理。還說」與他未曾到手，情義甚疏，他如何肯撇了舊人來親熱我？」就把他留在書房，一連宿了三夜。東樓素有男風之癖，北京城內不但有姿色的龍陽不曾漏網一個，就是下僚裡面頂冠束帶之人，若是青年有貌肯以身事上台的，他也要破格垂青，留在後庭相見。閱歷既多，自然知道好歹。看見汝修肌滑如油，臀白於雪，雖是兩夫之婦，竟與處子一般。所以心上愛他不過，定要相留。（這又使我想起來了鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）這三夜之中，不知費了幾許調停，指望把「溫柔軟款」四個字買他的身子過來。不想這位少年竟老辣不過，自恃心如鐵石，不怕你口墜天花。這般講來，他這般回復；那樣說去，他那樣推辭。
瞰亡往拜，分明以陽虎待之。
東樓恨他不過，心上思量道：「我這樣一位顯者，心腹滿朝，何求不得？就是千金小姐、絕世佳人，我要娶她，也不敢回個『不』字，何況百姓裡面一個孤身無靠的龍陽！我要親熱他，他偏要冷落我。雖是光棍不好，預先鈞搭住他，所以不肯改適，卻也氣恨不過。少不得生個法子，弄他進來。只是一件：
這樣標緻後生放在家裡，使姬妾們看見未免動心，就不做出事來，也要彼此相形，愈加見得我老醜。除非得個兩全之法，止受其益，不受其損，然後招他進來，實為長便。」想了一回，並沒有半點機謀。
彼時有個用事的太監，姓沙，名玉成，一向與嚴氏父子表裡為奸、勢同狼狽的，甚得官家之寵。因他有痰濕病，早間入宮侍駕，一到已刻就回私宅調理，雖有內相之名，其實與外官無異。原是個清客出身，最喜栽培花竹，收藏古董。東摟雖務虛名，其實是個假清客，反不如他實實在行。
一日，東樓過去相訪，見他收拾器玩，澆溉花卉，雖不是自家動手，卻不住地呼僮叱僕，口不絕聲，自家不以為煩。東樓聽了，倒替他吃力，就說：「這些事情原為取樂而設，若像如此費心，反是一樁苦事了。」沙太監道：「孩子沒用，不由你不費心。我尋了一世館僮，不曾遇著一個。嚴老爺府上若有勤力孩子，知道這些事的，肯見惠一個也好。」東樓聽了這句話，就觸起心頭之事，想個計較出來，回復他道：「敝衙的人，比府上更加不濟。近來北京城裡出了個清客少年，不但這些事情件件曉得，連琴棋簫管之類都是精妙不過的。有許多仕宦要圖在身邊做孩子，只是弄他不去，除非公公呼喚，他或者肯來，只是一件：此人情竇已開，他一心要弄婦人，就勉強留他，也不能長久；須是與公公一樣，也替他淨了下身，使他只想進來，不想出去，才是個長久之計。」沙太監道：「這有何難！待我弄個法子，去哄他進來。若肯淨身就罷，萬一不肯，待我把幾杯藥酒灌醉了他，輕輕割去此道，到醒來知覺的時節，他就不肯做太監，也長不出人道來了。」（這說的讓我以為是鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）東樓大喜，叫他及早圖之，不要被人弄了去。臨行之際，又叮囑一句道：「公公自己用他，不消說得；萬一到百年以後用不著的時節，求你交還薦主，切不可送與別人。」沙太監道：「那何待說。我是個殘疾之人，知道有幾年過？做內相的料想沒有兒子，你竟來領去就是。」
東樓設計之意原是為此，料他是個殘疾之人，沒有三年五載，身後自然歸我，落得假手於他，（這一下就像中國人了 @你是中国人）一來報了見卻之仇，二來做了可常之計。見他說著心事，就大笑起來。兩個弄盞傳杯，盡歡而別。
到了次日，沙太監著人去喚汝修，說：「舊時買些盆景，原是你鋪中的，一向沒人剪剔，漸漸地繁冗了，央你這位小店官過去修葺修葺。宮裡的人又開出一篇帳來，大半是雲油香皂之類，要當面交付與你，好帶出來點貨。」金、劉二人聽了這句話，就連聲招攬，叫汝修快些進去。一來因他是個太監，就留汝修過宿也沒有什麼疑心；二來因為得罪東樓，怕他有懷恨之意，知道沙太監與他相好，萬一有事，也好做一枝救兵，所以招接不遑，惟恐服事不到。
汝修跟進內府，見過沙太監，少不得敘敘寒暄，然後問他有何使令。沙太監道：「修理花卉與點貨入宮的話都是小事，只因一向慕你高名，不曾識面，要借此盤桓一番，以為後日相與之地。聞得你清課裡面極是留心，又且長於音律，是京師裡面第一個雅人，今日到此，件件都要相煩，切不可吝教，」汝修正有納交之意，巴不得借此進身，求他護法。不但不肯謙遜，又且極力誇張，惟恐說了一件不能，要塞他後來召見之路。沙太監聞之甚喜，就吩咐孩子把琵琶弦管笙蕭鼓板之屬，件件取到面前，擺下席來，叫他一面飲酒，一面敷陳技藝。汝修一一遵從，都竭盡生平之力。
沙太監耳中聽了，心上思量說：「小嚴的言語果然不錯。這樣孩子，若不替他淨身，如何肯服事我？與他明說，料想不肯，不若便宜行事的是。」(這讓我噁心到了）就對侍從之人眨一眨眼。侍從的換上藥酒，斟在他杯中。汝修吃了下去，不上一刻，漸漸地綿軟起來，垂頭欹頸，靠在交椅之上，做了個大睡不醒的陳摶。
沙太監大笑一聲，就叫：「孩子們，快些動手！」原來未飲之先，把閹割的人都埋伏在假山背後，此時一喚，就到面前。
先替他脫去褌衣，把人道捏在手上，輕輕一割，就丟下地來與獬豝狗兒吃了。等他流去些紅水，就把止血的末藥帶熱捂上，然後替他抹去猩紅，依舊穿上褲子，竟像不曾動撢得一般。
汝修睡了半個時辰，忽然驚醒，還在藥氣未盡之時，但覺得身上有些痛楚，卻不知在哪一處。睜開眼來把沙太監相了一相，倒說：「晚生貪杯太過，放肆得緊，得罪於公公了。」沙太監道：「看你這光景，身子有些困乏，不若請到書房安歇了罷。」汝修道：「正要如此。」沙太監就喚侍從之人扶他進去。
汝修才上牙牀，倒了就睡，總是藥氣未盡的緣故，正不知這個長覺睡到幾時才醒，醒後可覺無聊？看官們看到此時，可能夠硬了心腸，不替小店官疼痛否？
汝修倒在牙牀，又昏昏地睡去，直睡到半夜之後，藥氣散盡，方才疼痛起來，從夢中喊叫而醒。舉手一摸，竟少了一件東西。摸著的地方，又分外疼痛不過。再把日間之事追想一追想，就豁然大悟，才曉得結識的恩人倒做了仇家敵國，昨日那番賣弄，就是取禍之由。思想到此，不由他不號啕痛哭，從四更哭起，直哭到天明不曾住口。只見到已牌時候，有兩個小內相走進來替他道喜，說：「從今以後，就是朝廷家裡的人了，還有什麼官兒管得你著，還有什麼男人敢來戲弄得你？」汝修聽到此處，愈覺傷心，不但今生今世不能夠娶妻，連兩位尊夫都要生離死別，不能夠再效鸞鳳了。
正在？惶之際，又有一個小內相走進來喚他，說：「公公起來了，快出去參見。」汝修道：「我和他是賓主，為什麼參見起來？」那些內相道：「昨日淨了身，今日就在他管下，怕你不參！」（又中國人了）說過這一聲，大家都走了開去。汝修思量道：「我就不參見，少不得要辭他一辭，才好出去。難道不瞅不睬，他就肯放你出門？」只得爬下牀來，一步一步地掙將出去。掙到沙太監面前，將要行禮，他就正顏厲色吩咐起來，既不是昨日的面容，也不像以前的聲口，（這很中國人，F-scale很高）說：「你如今刀瘡未好，且免了磕頭，到五日之後出來參見。從今以後，派你看守書房，一應古董書籍都是你掌管，再撥兩個孩子幫你葺理花木。若肯體心服事，我自然另眼相看，稍有不到之處，莫怪我沒有面情。割去？子的人，除了我內相家中，不怕你走上天去！」汝修聽了這些話，甚覺寒心，就曲著身子稟道：「既然淨過身，自然要服事公公。只是眼下刀瘡未好，難以服役，求公公暫時寬假，放回去將養幾日；待收口之後進來服事也未遲。」沙太監道：
「既然如此，許你去將養十日。」叫：「孩子們，領他出去，交與萃雅樓主人，叫他好生調理。若還死了這一個，就把那兩名伙計割去？子來賠我，我也未必要他！」幾個小內相一齊答應過了，就扶他出門。
卻說金、劉二人見他被沙公喚去，慶幸不了，巴不得他多住幾日，多顯些本事出來，等沙公賞鑑賞鑒，好借他的大樹遮蔭。故此放心落意，再不去接他（這也很中國人）。比不得在東樓府中睡了三夜，使他三夜不曾合眼，等不到天明就鞲了頭口去接，到不得日暮就點著火把相迎。只因沙府無射獵之資，嚴家有攻伐之具。誰料常拼有事，止不過後隊銷亡；到如今自恃無虞，反使前軍覆沒。只見幾名內相扶著汝修進門，滿面俱是愁容，遍體皆無血色。只說他酒量不濟，既經隔宿，還倩人扶醉而歸；誰知他色運告終，未及新婚，早已作無聊之歎。說出被閹的情節，就放聲大哭起來。引得這兩位情哥淚雨盆傾，幾乎把全身淹沒。送來的內相等不得他哭完，就催促金、劉二人快寫一張領狀，好帶去回復公公，若有半點差池，少不得是苦主償命。金、劉二人怕有干係，不肯就寫。眾人就拉了汝修，要依舊押他轉去。
二人出於無奈，只得具張甘結與他：「倘有疏虞，願將身抵。」
金、劉打發眾人去後，又從頭哭了一場，遍訪神醫替他療治，方才醫得收口。這十日之內只以救命為主，料想圖不得歡娛。
直等收口之後，正要敘敘舊情，以為永別之計，不想許多內相擁進門來，都說：「限期已滿，快些進去服役。若遲一刻，連具甘結的人都要拿進府去，照他一般閹割也未可知。」二人嚇得魂飛魄散，各人含了眼淚送他出門。
汝修進府之後，知道身已被閹，料想別無去路，落得輸心服意替他做事。或者命裡該做中貴，將來還有個進身。凡是分所當為，沒有一件不盡心竭力，沙太監甚是得意，竟當做嫡親兒子看待他。
汝修起初被閹，還不知來歷，後來細問同伴之人，才曉得是奸雄所使。從此以後，就切齒腐心，力圖報復。只恐怕機心一露，被他覺察出來，不但自身難保，還帶累那兩位情哥必有喪家亡命之事，所以裝聾做啞，只當不知。但見東樓走到，就竭力奉承，說：「以前為生意窮忙，不能夠常來陪伴，如今身在此處，就像在老爺府上一般。凡有用著之處，就差人來呼喚，只要公公肯放，就是三日之中過來兩日，也是情願的。」東樓聽了此言，十分歡喜，常借修花移竹為名，接他過去相伴。沙太監是無？之人，日裡使得他著，夜間無所用之，落得公諸同好。
汝修一到他家，就留心伺察，把他所行的事、所說的話，凡有不利朝廷、妨礙軍國者，都記在一本經折之上，以備不時之需。
沙太監自從閹割汝修，不曾用得半載，就被痰濕交攻，日甚一日，到經年之後，就沉頓而死。臨死之際，少不得要踐生前之約，把汝修贈與東樓。
汝修專事仇人，反加得意，不上一年，把他父子二人一生所做之事，訪得明明白白，不曾漏了一樁。也是他惡貫滿盈，該當敗露，到奸跡訪完之日，恰好就弄出事來。自從楊繼盛出疏劾奏嚴嵩十罪五奸，皇上不聽，倒把繼盛處斬。從此以後，忠臣不服，求去的求去，復參的復參，弄得皇上沒有主意，只得暫示威嚴，吩咐叫嚴嵩致仕，其子嚴世蕃、孫嚴鵠等，俱發煙瘴充軍。這些法度，原是被群臣聒絮不過，權且疏他一疏，待人言稍息之後，依舊召還，仍前寵用的意思。不想倒被個小小忠臣塞住了這番私念，不但不用，還把他肆諸市朝，做了一樁痛快人心之事。
汝修入禁之後，看見宮娥采女所用的雲油香皂及腰間佩帶之物，都有「萃雅樓」三字，就對宮人道，「此我家物也。物到此處，人也歸到此處，可謂有緣。」那些宮女道：「既然如此，你就是萃雅樓的店官了。為什麼好好一個男人，不去娶妻生子，倒反閹割起來？」汝修道：「其中有故，如今不便細講。恐怕傳出禁外，又為奸黨所知，我這種冤情就不能夠伸雪了。直等皇爺問我，我方才好說。」那些宮人聽了，個個走到世宗面前搬嘴弄舌，說：「新進來的內監，乃是個生意之人，因被權奸所害，逼他至此。有什麼冤情要訴，不肯對人亂講，直要到萬歲跟前方才肯說。」世宗皇帝聽了這句話，就叫近身侍御把他傳到面前，再三訊問。汝修把被閹的情節，從頭至尾備細說來，一句也不增，一字也不減。說得世宗皇帝大怒起來，就對汝修道：「人說他倚勢虐民，所行之事，沒有一件在情理之中，朕還不信。這等看來，竟是個真正權奸，一毫不謬的了！既然如此，你在他家立腳多時，他平日所作所為定然知道幾件，除此一事之外，還有什麼奸款，將來不利於朝廷、有誤於軍國的麼？」（什麼明君情結）汝修叩頭不已，連呼萬歲，說：「陛下垂問及此，乃四海蒼生之福、祖宗社稷之靈也。此人奸跡多端，擢髮莫數。奴輩也曾繫念朝廷，留心伺察。他所行的事雖記不全，卻也十件之中知道他三兩件。有個小小經折在此，都是親眼所見、親耳所聞，才敢記在上面。若有一字不確，就不敢妄瀆聽聞，以蹈欺君之罪。」（他這話說得也讓我噁心）
世宗皇帝取來一看，就不覺大震雷霆，重開天日，把御案一拍，高叫起來道：「好一個楊繼盛，真是比干復出，箕子再生！所奏之事，果然一字不差。寡人誤殺忠臣，貽譏萬世，真亡國之主也。（這說的是誰？Lavrentiy Beria麼？）朕起先的意思，還宴暫震雷霆，終加雨露，待人心稍懈之後，還要用他。這等看來，『遣配』二字不足以盡其辜，定該取他回來，戮於市朝之上，才足以雪忠臣之憤，快蒼生赤子之心！若還一日不死，就放他在煙瘴地方，也還要替朝廷造禍，焉知他不號召蠻夷，思想謀叛？」正在躊躕之際，也是他命該慘死，又有人在火上添油。忽有幾位忠臣封了密疏進來，說：「倭夷入寇，乃嚴世蕃所使，賄賂交通者，已非一日，朝野無不盡知。只因他勢燄熏天，不敢啟口。自蒙發遣之後，民間首發者紛紛而起，乞陛下早正國法，以絕禍萌。」世宗見了，正合著悔恨之意，就傳下密旨，差校尉速拿進京，依擬正法。
汝修等他拿到京師，將斬未斬的時節，自己走到法場之上，指定了他痛罵一頓。又做一首好詩贈他，一來發洩胸中的壘塊，二來使世上聞之，知道為惡之報，其速如此，凡有勢燄者切不可學他。既殺之後，又把他的頭顱制做溺器。因他當日垂涎自己，做了這樁惡事，後來取樂的時節，唾沫又用得多，故此償以小便，使他不致虧本。臨死所贈之詩，是一首長短句的古風，大有益於風教。其詩云：
汝割我卵，我去汝頭；以上易下，死有餘羞。
汝戲我臀，我溺汝口；以淨易穢，死多遺臭。
奉勸世間人，莫施刻毒心。
刻毒後來終有報，八兩機謀換一斤。
Jin and Liu had wives who lived elsewhere, while Quan, who was single, lived in the shop as wife to both men, who stayed with him on alternate nights, nominally to look after the shop but actually to enjoy the pleasure of the rear courtyard. By day they made their money, by night they took their pleasure. Where else in the world would you find two such heavenly immortals? There was not a single young man in the capital who did not admire and envy them - admire the serenity of their lives, envy their rare delights. （然後這兩位是毫無武德麼，我指的是，精神上的。搞成了這樣不能投奔什麼Bavarian王子去解決問題麼）
Whenever a mandarin or an official visited them, the owners would invite him upstairs to sit down, and only after serving him tea would they fetch the goods he was interested in. When the patrons noted how elegantly the room was furnished and how cultivated the owners were, they would make an exception and treat them differently from other shopkeepers. Some patrons would leave them standing while they chatted, while others would ask them to sit down. Generally speaking, Jin and Liu were more often left standing, while Quan, although a commoner, was treated as if he were an officeholder and regularly asked to sit and chat. Why was that? Because he was young and had a lovely face （好像別人也經常這樣對我）, and presumably the officials were no sticklers for morality but enjoyed a homosexual affair on occasion. Whenever Quan joined them, they would have loved to make their laps into easy chairs and clasp him to their bosoms. How could they bear to leave him standing at a distance? Which explains why he sat far more often than he stood. （我還以為說的是某個大學教授）
At the time in question, Grand Secretary Yan Song’s son, Yan Shifan, whose sobriquet was Donglou, served as a Hanlin compiler and enjoyed immense power. One day as he sat in the court anteroom chatting about painting and antiques with his colleagues, they began praising the objects in the House of Gathered Refinements as uniformly exquisite. And not only were the objects of high quality, they said, the shopkeepers were quite cultured themselves. At this point one or two of Yan’s colleagues volunteered: “The most delightful is the youngest, who is sweetness and innocence itself. With him sitting opposite, you’ve got your rare incense, your exotic blooms, your antiques, your books right there in front of you. Why bother to look at anything else?” （鄂圖曼色狼的模樣開始顯現）
“If they’re running short of pretty boys on Lotus Seed Lane, do we have to go behind the counter for them?” asked Yan. “I simply don’t believe you can find a beauty like that in the marketplace!”
“Words alone won’t convince you. If you’re at all interested, why don’t we go and see him?”
“Very well, let’s go over as soon as court’s out.”
This suggestion prompted his colleagues to send word to the shop. They had two motives in mind. In the first place they wanted to curry favor with the great man; if he approved of their choice, it would show that they shared his tastes. And secondly, they wanted to ingratiate themselves with the shopkeepers by informing them that a Very Important Person was on his way over and giving them time to get ready. If the shopkeepers could satisfy this customer, he would be worth as much to them as dozens of other officials, and the profits would be considerable. When they went shopping there, a little something would surely be knocked off the price. So they told their servants to deliver the following message: “His Honor Yan is coming to inspect your wares, and you ought to make some preparations. He’s different from other officials; you can’t afford to slight him. Not only must the tea be of the finest quality, even the person who serves it and keeps him company ought to spruce himself up and appear well groomed and smartly turned out. If His Honor consents to say one word of approval, this will be your lucky day! （東方媚俗感，Anton Chekhov的小說裡全是這種人，這一點黃俄孝子和師傅真是非常匹配）The Yan household on its own is worth at least half as much as the palace. And not only will you make money, you’ll find it quite easy to land an official post.”
Jin and Liu were alarmed. “Seeing to the tea - that’s our job. But why this talk about the person who keeps him company? Why should he have to spruce himself up? He’s not some official’s pet doorman or singing-boy! When officials go upstairs and have no one else to talk to, we send him up to list what we have in stock and discuss prices. By now it’s evidently become de rigueur, and they expect to see him! From what they say in their message, it’s obviously him, not our goods, that they’re interested in. I imagine those officials gave old man Yan a glowing account to tempt him here - worshipping Buddha with borrowed flowers, as it were. But this old man is different from others; he’s bold and ruthless, and if likes what he sees, he won’t be content to scratch the itch through his boot, he’ll do his damndest to fool around with the lad. We may not be jealous of each other, but we’ll certainly be jealous of an outsider!” （這一段說的我還以為是張高麗呢）
After talking it over privately, they called Quan in and asked him to decide.
“I don’t see any problem,” he said. “Let me leave before he gets here, then just tell him I’ve gone out. Officials get carried away and boast about their pleasures in front of their colleagues, that’s all. He’ll hardly go so far as to arrest me!”
“You’re right,” said Jin and Liu, hiding him away and getting on with their preparations.
Within a matter of minutes Yan swept in followed by several officials. They were escorted by a squad of fierce looking servants.
Entering the shop, Yan cast an eye all around and, seeing no young man there, assumed he had gone upstairs. When he arrived upstairs and still saw no sign of him, he asked his entourage.
“He’ll be out in a moment,” they replied. “When we visit, he always comes and keeps us company. Now that his lucky star has descended from Heaven, he’s hardly going to run away!”
Yan was a master of intrigue, an exceptionally shrewd man, and he realized that the shopkeepers must have been tipped off about his visit and have packed Quan off somewhere else. “In my opinion,” he said, “he certainly won’t be out to see me today.”
We gave them notice, his colleagues thought. We didn’t just drop in on an impulse. He must want to expand the business. He can’t have run away! It never occurred to them that extraordinary men might also be found in the marketplace, men who, unlike officials, value friendship over status and would sooner antagonize a powerful official than a friend.
Yan’s colleagues were confident enough to suggest a wager: “If he doesn’t show up, we’ll treat you to a banquet. Let’s bet on it.” Yan accepted the bet, and they waited for Quan to bring the tea.
Unfortunately the tea, when it came, was brought by an elderly hunchback instead of the young shopkeeper. Asked where the young master was, the servant replied: “He didn’t realize you gentlemen would be honoring us with a visit today and went out.”
Their faces dropped. “His Honor Yan is not just another customer, you know. It’s terribly hard to get an interview with him. Hurry up and find your master, lest he spoil the whole occasion.” The servant departed.
After a short wait Jin and Liu came upstairs and saluted. “What sort of things would Your Honor like to see? We’ll be happy to bring them up.”
“I’d like to see everything you have, no matter what the kind. But bring only your choicest, most expensive pieces, the ones no one else can afford.”
The two shopkeepers flew downstairs and gathered up their most valuable antiques, their most exotic flowers and perfumes, plus a book catalogue or two, and brought them up and set them before Yan.
Yan’s aim had been to see Quan, not buy anything, but now, although furious at the youth’s absence, he betrayed no hint of anger. Instead he set aside all of the most valuable pieces, praising them as he did so. No mention of the youth escaped his lips.
“I’d like to buy all of these,” he said, after making his selection. “I understand that your prices are not completely dishonest. Let me take these pieces with me, and I’ll pay you when I receive your invoice with the net cost.”
Jin and Liu had been afraid that Yan, having come on Quan’s account, would not leave without him but would insist on waiting, and they knew they would be sorely embarrassed as time dragged on. So when Yan wished to leave promptly and with no sign of irritation after buying a great quantity of goods, they felt particularly grateful and quickly agreed. “Our only concern was that Your Honor night not want them. By all means take them with you.”
Yan ordered his servants to bring the items, and they followed him out of the shop with the goods stuffed in their pockets or slung over their shoulders. Stepping into his sedan chair, Yan apologized once more and then was borne merrily away.
His companions, however, were chagrined, not so much because they had lost their bet and would have to stand treat, as because they feared Yan’s displeasure. They had miscalculated in this trivial matter, and he would be less inclined to entrust them with more important things in the future. Such is generally the way with those who are overly concerned about their own advancement.
Having brought his tale this far, the author must pause for a moment; the next episode is too long to be told without a break.
Chapter 2
In protecting the rear, they lose the front;
By joining a benefactor, he meets a nemesis.
Jin and Liu waited until Yan and his entourage had left the premises before making out the invoice, which came to exactly a thousand taels. They were reluctant to collect the money at once and delivered the invoice only after five days had passed. At the Yan mansion a steward accepted it and soon returned with the message: “His Honor has taken note of it.”
Jin and Liu were well aware that the official mentality differed from that of other people - officials were quick to take goods but slow to pay for them （什麼中國政府打白條啊？！） - and concluded they would not succeed at the first attempt （工程款欠款收不回？）and might as well go home. A few days later they tried again and received the same answer. From then on they took turns going every few days but were never offered a single tael, not even a cup of tea. The very words they received were doled out like precious gems. Nothing was ever added to the has taken note formula.
You have to give money to get money, they thought. Collecting from officials is like alchemy: You can’t start the reaction with nothing, you must seed it with a little silver. Unless we leave a package at the gate, his people will never put themselves out!
They weighed out five taels and gave them to the steward in charge, urging him to do his best to transmit their message. They even promised him a commission; if the payment were made in full, they would set aside ten percent as a gratuity. When the steward realized that they knew the ropes, he offered them his candid opinion.
“You two will never be able to collect your money like this. I understand there’s another shopkeeper who’s young and good-looking and that His Honor has heard about him but not yet seen him. Well, His Honor intends to keep these goods of yours in hock to persuade the young man to visit here. Provided he comes, the money will be paid. Look, you two are shrewd enough. Why throw the key away and try picking the lock with a piece of wire? What happens if you break the spring?”
Jin and Liu felt as if they were awakening from a dream. In a cold sweat, they stepped aside to talk the matter over: “We’ve been too clever for our own good. If we’d let him see Quan that day, perhaps he wouldn’t have taken our things. But who would have imagined that goods would spell disaster? To get them back we have to sacrifice him, and vice versa. We’ll have to give up one or the other, but which should it be?”
After a moment’s thought, they came to a firm conclusion: “A thousand taels is far easier to come by than genuine beauty. Let’s give up the goods.” （我覺得對於野蠻人，這種判斷是正確的）
They turned back to the steward. “That assistant of ours is just a boy,” they said. “He comes from an old family who have sent him to us to learn the business. He’s never even been allowed out - we’re afraid his parents might worry. Whether or not His Honor pays us, we aren’t going to hand over someone else’s child for money! Besides, we put up the capital for those goods and deserve to get a return on it. We shan’t be back again. If by some fluke the money does become available, please let us know and we’ll come for it.”
The steward laughed. “Tell me, gentlemen,” he said, “are you going to keep your shop open now that you’ve decided not to collect the money?”
“Of course. Why not?”
“What! You own a shop here in the capital, so how can you be so ignorant of who holds power? As the proverb says, The poor and humble are no match for the rich and powerful. If you don’t collect the money, it’ll be a clear sign of your hatred and contempt. Is he a customer you can afford to hate and insult? If he wanted to sleep with your wives, I could understand it. Naturally you’d risk anything to stop him. But all we’re talking about here is a friend of yours. Taking him along for the master’s appreciation is like sending him an antique or a painting; even if it comes back a little the worse for wear, it will still not have lost all its value. （鄂圖曼性侵犯的味道麼？） Why give up thousands of taels for a cup of vinegar? What’s more, after you’ve given up the money, other things will start happening to you; you’ll never feel quite secure again. I strongly advise you against a course of action that spells nothing but trouble.”
The partner began to regret what they had done and told the steward that they fully agreed with him.
Once home, they wept in front of Quan, then told him the heart-breaking news and asked him to go with them to collect the money. He firmly refused. “If a virtuous woman won’t take a second husband, how can a loyal man take a third master? Apart from you two, I shall never consort with anyone else. I’d rather have the cost of those goods chalked up to my account than do anything so disgraceful!”
Jin and Liu impressed on him the dangers they ran. “If you don’t go, not only will we lose our money, it will be very difficult to keep the shop open. We’re bound to be hit by some disaster or other.”
Firm as Quan’s resolve was, it could not withstand his partners’ pleading. He had no choice but to consent and accompany them to the Yan mansion.
The steward at the gate was delighted to see them and rushed inside to report. Yan at once ordered them admitted, and Jin and Liu saw Quan as far as the inner gate before turning back.
Meeting Quan for the first time, Yan examined him from head to foot and concluded to his vast satisfaction that this was indeed the most beautiful boy in the entire city. （鄂圖曼奴隸市場買賣的那種人麼）“You’re a young man of taste and I’m lover of art, so why did you hide from me that day when the other two were willing to meet me?”
“I happened to be out when you visited. I would never dare hide from Your Honor!”
“I’ve been told that you play various instruments exquisitely and that you’re also an expert at tending flowers and arranging antiques. As for burning incense and making tea, that’s your forte and there’s no need to test you. I need someone to keep me company in my library and would like to prevail on you to come and live here as my external concubine. It would save me the trouble of engaging a companion, which would be a great boon. Are you agreeable?”
“My parents are both elderly, and since we’re a poor family, I shall need to earn some money to support them. I’m afraid I couldn’t leave them for very long at a time.”
“But I understand you’re an orphan! Why are you trying to deceive me? You’re so thick with those two scoundrels that you can’t beat to part with them. That’s why you’re making these excuses! Do you mean to say that an official like me isn’t worth as much as two shopkeepers? They managed to hire you all right. You thing I don’t have the means?”
“Those two are my sworn brothers as well as my colleagues, and there has never been anything improper about our relationship. Your Honor should not be so suspicious.”
Yan know this was untrue but took no notice. I still haven’t won him over, he reflected, and he doesn’t feel any affection for me yet. Why would he abandon his old friends to consort with me? He kept Quan in his library and spent the next three nights with him.
Yan was devoted to homosexual affairs, and there was not a single attractive catamite in the city of Beijing who had escaped him （什麼君士坦丁堡大蘇丹）. Even his subordinates, qualified officials though they were, if they were young and good-looking and willing to mount the stage, would be shown exceptional favor and invited to a rendezvous in the rear courtyard. With such wide experience, he was naturally a connoisseur, and when he saw that Quan’s skin was as smooth as butter and his rump whiter than snow - virginal, despite the two husbands - he fell madly in love with him and insisted that he stay. （確真君士坦丁堡大蘇丹）
In the course of the next three nights he used a vast amount of cajolery to win Quan’s favor by the soft and gentle approach. But the young man proved himself a veteran campaigner. （和我比較像）So confident was he in his adamant refusal that blandishments fit to call down flowers from Heaven had no effect whatsoever. （和我的貓相反） To every approach he had a reply, to every proposition an excuse. Unable to persuade him, Yan had to send him away – at least for the present. On the fourth day he had the goods brought before him and looked them over once more, then chose a few of the best pieces for himself and sent the rest back. In addition to the cost of the pieces that he kept, he paid Quan twelve taels in personal compensation.
Quan could scarcely refuse. （這一點很中國）He tucked the money in his sleeve and, as he went out the gate, he handed it to Yan’s servants. He was ashamed to betray his friends by accepting it.
On meeting Jin and Liu, he was indeed overcome with shame, and his only thought was to kill himself. His partners had to plead with him again and before he reluctantly agreed to go on living. Afterwards, whenever he saw Yan’s sedan chair passing by, he would duck out of sight lest Yan come in and molest him again. From time to time Yan would send an invitation, but Quan always declined on the grounds of illness. After he had done this a number of times, he felt he could hardly refuse anymore, so he chose a day when he knew Yan was out to go and sign the visitor’s book. In doing so he was clearly treating Yan the way Confucius had treated the usurper Yang Hu.
Yan was furious. An eminent man like me, one whose lieutenants staff the court, a man who can get anyone he wants - why, not even a raving beauty, the daughter of a multimillionaire, would dare refuse me if I wanted to marry her! And yet this orphaned nancy-boy from a commoner’s family has the nerve to snub me when I make an overture! It’s the fault of those two rogues, who have gotten him so firmly hooked that he won’t change, but I’m still furious about it. （張高麗古代版）I shall have to think of some way to entice him here. There’s just one snag. With a handsome youth like that in the household, my concubines are inevitably going to be attracted. Even if nothing happens, they’re bound to make invidious comparisons and I’ll look older and uglier than I really am. I shall need to find the perfect solution before inviting him here, if I’m to get any permanent advantage. But although he thought long and hard, nothing came to mind.
At that time a eunuch named Sha Yucheng enjoyed great power. From his position inside the palace he had colluded with the Yans in a variety of nefarious schemes, and like them he stood high in the Emperor’s favor. A chronic asthmatic, he had returned home at nine o’clock that day to rest, after attending the levee. Although he held the title of palace eunuch, Sha was no different from an official. He had begun his career as an art connoisseur and had a keen appreciation of plants and antiques. No matter how hard Yan Shifan worked to earn a connoisseur’s reputation, he was a rank impostor in comparison with the eunuch.
One day Yan paid a call on Sha and found him arranging his objets d’art and watering his plants, not doing the work himself but shouting orders at his staff （呵斥『下人』，這很老中啊）. Despite the stream of orders, he seemed quite unruffled.
Yan made a gesture of help, then commented: “These things were meant to bring us pleasure. If they involve us in this much effort, they’re nothing but a burden.”
“When your boys can’t be relied on, you have to see to things yourself,” replied the eunuch. “I’ve been trying to find a suitable boy for years. If Your Honor has any conscientious lads who are knowledgeable about these matters, I’d be greatly obliged if you’d let me have one.”
This remark brought back all of Yan’s previous concerns, and with them came a plan.
“My boys are even more hopeless than yours, I’m afraid. However the city has recently produced a young connoisseur who’s not only very knowledgeable but also a brilliant musician and chess-master. Many officials have been after him as a page-boy, so far without success. But I suppose he might come if you were to invite him. There’s just one problem with the lad. He’s past puberty and now thinks of nothing but girls, so even if you do manage to get him, you won’t be able to keep him for long. The only solution would be to remove his desire to leave by doing what was done to you: castrating him.” （這聽上去和某些人看到小孩子戀愛就要想盡辦法打擊是殊途同歸的。因為這樣就必然想要自由，而自由是這些人不能容忍的。所以目前看看中國家長會不會以學習的藉口把兒子們閹割了？會不會這種事情已經發生了呢）
“That’s no problem,” said the eunuch. “I’ll get him in here with a trick I know. If he’s willing to be castrated, fine. If he isn’t, I’ll get him drunk on drugged wine and gently relieve him of his privates. He may not be willing to serve as a eunuch after he comes to, but he certainly won’t be able to grow them back again!”
Delighted, Yan urged him to put the plan into operation as soon as possible, lest someone else get the boy first. （真是紅顏薄命。其實我發現我自己招災也有類似的道理）Before leaving he offered another suggestion: “While Your Grace has a use for him, this question won’t arise. But if the time should come when you pass on and have no further need of him, I hope you’ll see to it that he’s returned to his sponsor. Whatever you do, don’t let him go to anyone else.”
“Of course! An invalid like me - how many years do I have anyway? And a eunuch is hardly going to have any sons to inherit his property. By all means come along and claim the lad.”
This was the whole point of Yan’s stratagem. He had calculated that an invalid like Sha would have only a few years to live and that the boy would come his way at the eunuch’s death. （對同夥都那麼算計，好噁心） His aims - to avenge Quan’s snub （就是看不得自由的男孩）and also work out a long-term arrangement - would be fulfilled by proxy. When Sha guessed what was on his mind, Yan burst into laughter, after which they enjoyed a few drinks together and parted.
Next day Eunuch Sha sent a servant to summon Quan: “A while ago I bought some bonsai from you that have not been pruned and have grown rather straggly. The youngest partner is requested to come and restore them. In addition, the palace has placed an order, mainly for creams, perfumes, and the like, and I want to have him take it away and check off the items.”
Jin and Liu promptly accepted and told Quan to go to the palace at once. Since Sha was a eunuch, they assumed there was no reason for suspicion （就如同今天爾虞我詐一樣，你看看，這是為了你好，不用擔心，於是藉機行惡）, even if he kept Quan overnight. Moreover, having offended Yan Shifan, they were afraid of his retaliation and thought that Sha, who was on good terms with Yan, might come to their rescue in an emergency. This is why they accepted so promptly, their only concern being that Quan might not perform his duties well enough.
Quan accompanied the servant to the palace, where he paid his respects to Sha and chatted briefly before asking the eunuch’s wishes.
“Seeing to the plants and checking the order for the palace---that’s the least of it. I’ve long heard of your great reputation but never had the pleasure of meeting you, so I want this visit to pave the way for a friendship between us. I’m told you’re a specialist in the arts, particularly music - in fact that you’re the most accomplished artist in the capital. （這又使我想起來了harvey weinstein和jeffrey epstein) On your visit today I’d like you to demonstrate all of your talents and not stint on the things you have to teach me.”
Quan, who had come there to cultivate the eunuch’s friendship, did not scruple to use this opportunity to win his way into the eunuch’s favor and gain his protection. He not only ignored all modesty, he even exaggerated his accomplishments, lest, by confessing to a single field in which he was not proficient, he forfeit the chance of another invitation. Eunuch Sha was delighted to hear the claims. He ordered his boys to bring out a variety of musical instruments and set them in front of Quan on a mat. He then asked his visitor to demonstrate his talents while joining in the drinking. Quan obeyed scrupulously, pouring all his skill into the performance.
Young Yan certainly knew what he was talking about, thought Eunuch Sha as he listened. A boy with these gifts will never agree to serve me unless I castrate him. (好惡毒啊。越有才能越寶貴就越要去毀滅囚禁。體現在中華文化上就是栓）But rather than ask him, in which case he’d probably refuse, I’d better act on my own. （男孩被閹割，女孩被栓，我理解的對麼？）
He winked at one of his servants, who brought in some drugged wine and filled the young man’s cup with it. Soon after drinking it, Quan began to grow limp. His head lolled forward and he slumped in the easy chair like an unwakable Chen Taun. Eunuch Sha roared with laughter. “Come on, lads! Go to it!” he called. Before the drinking began, he had hidden the castrators behind the ornamental rock. They now came forward, pulled off the boy’s trousers, gripped his genitals, and with a light, deft cut sliced them off and threw them on the ground for the Pekinese dog After some watery blood had oozed out, they applied styptic powder to the wound on a hot compress, wiped away all traces of blood, and pulled Quan’s trousers on again as if they had never been off.
After sleeping for an hour, Quan awoke with a start, but although he felt some pain, he was still under the influence of the drug and did not know where the pain came from. With a conscious effort he focused his gaze on Eunuch Sha.
“I’m afraid I drank too much and took liberates that offended Your Grace.”
“You look a little tired,” said Eunuch Sha. “You’d better go into the library and rest.”
“Just what I feel like doing.”
Eunuch Sha told his staff to help Quan into the library where, because of the lingering effects of the drug, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
We do not know when he will awaken from his long sleep and what despair he will feel. Having read this far, gentle readers, are you able to steel your hearts and feel no pain on behalf of the little shopkeeper?
Chapter 3
The great man loses power, and his skull makes up for genitalia;
The castrato takes revenge, and his urine compensates for spittle.
In the ivory-inlaid bed Quan slept on and on, dead to the world. He slept until after midnight, when the effects of the drug wore off and his wound began to ache. Awakening with a cry of pain, he felt his body all over - something was missing! Then, as he touched the place where it had been, the pain grew unbearable. He ran the events of the previous day through his mind and suddenly awoke to the truth: the benefactor he had allied himself with had turned out to be his enemy! And his own flaunting of his talents had been the cause of his undoing! At this thought he could not help wailing and sobbing, which he continued from three o’clock until dawn.
At nine o’clock two junior eunuchs came in and offered their congratulations. “From now on you belong to His Majesty’s household, and no official has any authority over you! No man will ever dare harass you again!”
But their congratulations only made Quan feel worse. He had lost all chance of ever taking a wife. Worse still, he would have to part from his husbands and could never rejoin them in marriage.
At the height of his anguish another eunuch entered, this time with a summons: “His Grace has arisen. Come and make your kowtows.”
“But I’m a guest in this house. Why should I kowtow?”
“Now that you’ve been castrated, you come under his control. Of course you have to kowtow!” All three eunuchs left the room.
Even if I don’t kowtow, I’ll still have to take leave of him in order to get out of here, thought Quan. If I totally ignore him, he’ll never let me go!
A shiver of fear ran through Quan as he bent at the waist and pleaded: “Now that I’ve been castrated, of course I wish to serve Your Grace. （這一點是很不如... 諾曼人，羅馬人等等的。）But I can hardly perform my duties before the wound heals. I beseech Your Grace to grant me a few days’ leave in which to go home and recuperate. There’ll be time enough to come back and take up my duties after I’m better.”
“Very well. I’ll allow you ten days to recuperate.” He gave an order to his servants: “Boys, escort him out of the palace and deliver him to the owners of the House of Gathered Refinements. Tell those clerks to take good care of him. If they let him die, I might want more than just their penises in compensation.” The eunuchs saluted and began helping Quan out of the gate.
Jin and Lin had exulted when Quan received the call from Eunuch Sha. They hoped he would stay a few extra days and reveal more of his talents for the eunuch’s appreciation, so that all three of them might enjoy protection, When Quan did not return, they felt quite easy in their minds and never went to meet him - the opposite of their attitude during his visit to Yan, when they slept not a wink the whole three nights. On that occasion they could scarcely wait for dawn to harness up their donkeys, or for evening to light their torches. The reason, of course, was that Eunuch Sha lacked even a weapon to hunt with, while Yan was armed with the panoply of war. Strangely enough, however, when they had agonized over imminent disaster, only the rearguard perished, while now that they felt confident of smooth sailing, the entire vanguard was lost at sea.
When they saw a group of junior eunuchs helping Quan in the door, his face the picture of misery and his flesh drained of color, they assumed he had been unable to hold his liquor and needed help in getting home after a night away. Little did they realize that Quan’s sexual fortunes had run out and that his hopes of marriage were dashed forever. He blurted out the story of his castration and then broke down, so affecting his lovers that they wept, too, and practically drowned in their tears. The eunuchs who had escorted Quan grew impatient and pressed Jin and Liu for a guarantee that they could take back to His Grace. Needless to say, if the slightest mishap occurred, the victim’s relatives would have to pay for it with their lives.
Terrified of becoming involved, Jin and Liu at first refused to sign. The eunuchs began pulling Quan away, intending to take him back, at which point the two men had no choice but to write out a pledge: “If we should be guilty of any oversight, we are prepared to answer for it with our lives.” （真是中國的皇權沒有邊界，連下面的官員也是沒有邊界的權力）
After seeing off the escorts, Jin and Liu began sobbing again. They searched far and wide for capable doctors and eventually got the wound to heal. Their main concern during those days was to save Quan’s life, and they had no time to think of their own pleasure. Then just as Quan’s wound healed and they were about to express their old love for him in a final farewell, a group of eunuchs came bustling in.
“Your time’s up,” they declared. “Hurry back to the palace and take up your duties. If you’re just a few minutes late, we’ll have to bring in the people who signed the pledge, and they may find themselves castrated too.”
Jin and Liu were sacred out of their wits. With tears in their eyes, they saw Quan to the gate.
Back in the palace, Quan realized that, castrated as he was, he had no chance of escape and would have to knuckle under and serve the eunuch. Perhaps, who knows, it was in his destiny to become a powerful eunuch himself; promotion might come his way. So he threw himself unstintingly into his duties, and Eunuch Sha was delighted with him and treated him as his own son.
At first Quan was ignorant of how he came to be castrated, but on questioning his colleagues he learned that the master intriguer himself was responsible. Consumed with hatred and eager for revenge, he still feared that if he told anyone and it came to Yan’s ears, not only would his own life be in danger, but his two lovers would be implicated and lose their lives too, and so he feigned complete ignorance.
Whenever Yan paid Sha a visit Quan would try to ingratiate himself. “My work kept me so busy before that I couldn’t visit you very often,” he told Yan. “But now that I’m here, it’s just as if I were living in Your Honor’s own mansion; if there is anything you need me for, just send for me. So long as His Grace is prepared to let me go, I’ll be happy to spend two days in every three with you.”
Yan was delighted. He often asked Quan to keep him company on the pretext that his plants and trees needed attention. Eunuch Sha, lacking genitals, had no need of him at night and was always ready to share him with a kindred spirit.
Once inside Yan’s mansion, Quan set to work as a spy. Anything Yan did or said that conflicted with the court’s interests or harmed the nation was jotted down in a notebook for future reference.
A few months after Quan’s castration, Eunuch Sha suffered an unusually severe attack of asthma. His condition steadily worsened until, a year later, he collapsed and died. On his deathbed he fulfilled his promise and presented Quan to Yan.
Quan was even more pleased to find himself in his enemy’s sole employ and in less than a year had ferreted out every offense for which father and son had been responsible.
It so happened that the Yans’ crimes had come to a head and were about to be revealed. On the very day that Quan finished his investigations, trouble broke out.
Yang Jishing, imperial court official, executed ten years earlier for denouncing Yin Shifan
When Yang Jishing submitted a memorial condemning Yan Song’s “ten crimes and five evils,” the emperor disregarded it and even had Yang executed a decision that all loyal officials protested, some by seeking to resign, offers by impeaching Yan. The emperor’s only recourse was to a temporary display of authority; the he ordered Yan Song to resign and sentenced his son Yan Shifan, his grandson Yan Gu, and others to exile in a malaria-ridden part of the country. He did so to remove the Yans from the scene in the face of mounting criticism, but he fully intended to reinstate them as soon as the furor had died down. （什麼中華傳統和CCP權術的完美結合）However he was foiled in this covert intention of his by the most junior of his loyal aides. Not only did the Yans fail so get reinstated, they were displayed as criminals in the market-place - a sight to warm the heart.
After Yan Shifan was exiled, the members of his staff were placed in the custody of the prefectural and county offices to await the disposition of the case, when they would either become movement property or be returned to their original masters. As the roll was called, Quan cried out in a ringing voice: “I’m not of Yan Shifan’s servant-boys, I’m a eunuch on the staff of the Sha household. At the time of His Grace’s death, death, I ought to have been presented to court, not handed over to a private individual! I beseech Your Honor to lose no time in drawing up a recommendation that I appear before His Majesty to explain the circumstances. If Your Honor tries to hush the matter up, I fear that when the truth comes out even your office may not be immune.”
Of course the perfect did not dare hush it up, but wrote a report to his superior, who passed it on to his ministry. When the ministry communicated it to court and Quan was summoned to the palace, the case was finally brought to a close.
As he entered the Forbidden City, Quan noticed that all the creams and soaps in use by the palace women, like the ornaments they wore at their waists, bore the imprint “House of Gathered Refinements,” and he said as much to the women: “All these things come from our shop. It must be fate; first the goods come here, and now the shopkeeper comes to join them.”
“So you’re the owner of Gathered Refinements! A good-looking lad like you - why didn’t you marry and have children instead of getting yourself castrated?”
“There is a reason, but I can’t go into it just yet. If it got out of the Forbidden City and came to the ears of that gang of traitors, I would never be able to avenge the wrong they did me. I prefer to explain everything to the Imperial Father when I see him.”
The women went at once and tattled to Emperor Shizong: “That eunuch who has just arrived used to be in business but fell foul of the tyrant and has been forced into his present situation. He’s suffered some wrong that he wants to protest, but he won’t tell anyone about it except Your Majesty,”
The emperor had his aides bring Quan into his presence and questioned him again and again. Quan gave a detailed account of the castration, adding nothing and omitting nothing. The emperor was enraged. “They told me that he used his power to oppress the people and did nothing fair or just, but I didn’t believe them. In the light of this, he really is a tyrant; there can be no doubt about that. But while living in his household all that time you must have learned about other actions he took. Apart from this case, are there other crimes that might harm the court or nation?” （沙皇萬歲既視感）
Kowtowing endlessly, Quan cried out “Long Live Your Majesty!” （支支支支支！！！）over and over again. “The fact that Your Majesty condescends to ask about such matters is due to the nation’s glorious destiny as well as the spiritual power of ancestors and gods. This man’s villainies are too numerous to count. Out of concern for the court, your humble servant set to work to spy on him. I wasn’t able to record all the things he did, but I do know a good portion of them. I have a little notebook here in which I jotted down only those incidents that I had heard or seen myself. If it contained a single incorrect word, I wouldn’t dare inflict it on Your Majesty and commit the unpardonable crime of deceiving my sovereign.”
The emperor took the notebook and read it. Then a thunderous roar escaped him, and the sun broke through the clouds. Rapping on the imperial desk, he exclaimed: “What a fine man Yang Jisheng was! A second Bi Gan or Ji Zi! Every word of his memorial was right. In wrongfully killing a loyal officer, we have made ourselves an object of scorn to all eternity and brought ruin upon our nation! Our original intention was to let the thunder roar and then follow it up with gentle rain, waiting until people’s feelings had cooled before reappointing the Yans. But in the light of your evidence, dismissal and exile are too good for them. We must certainly bring them back and execute them in the marketplace - to avenge the fury of a loyal officer and bring joy to the innocent hearts of the people. Every day they live, even in some malaria-ridden place, will be spent stirring up trouble for us. How do we know they aren’t calling on the barbarians to rise in rebellion at this very moment?”
As the emperor was pondering his course of action, fate decreed that Yan should die a cruel death, for others now arrived to pour oil on the flames. Several loyal officials came in with a sealed report: “The Japanese are invading, sent by Yan Shif【警告：链接内容可能存在钓鱼网址，请勿打开】an, who has been bribin g them for some time. （這使我想到了電影Battleship Potemkin裡面點頭附和的老中。每次電影渲染情緒的時候都把那位放在最後一個，似乎是表達，當那個老中也不能容忍的時候，就沒有人可以容忍了）The officials at court and in the provinces know all about it but didn’t dare say anything because of his enormous power. Since his exile, however, numerous people have come forward. We beseech Your Majesty to enforce the law with all due haste and eliminate this threat!"
This report confirmed the Emperor’s own revised opinion, so he handed down a secret order dispatching a commander to bring Yan back to the capital as quickly as possible and execute him under the law.
Quan waited until Yan Shifan had been brought back and was about to be executed, then went to the execution ground and, jabbing his finger at him, denounced him bitterly. He also wrote a fine poem and presented it to Yan to vent his own outrage and warn all who heard it that the wages of sin are quickly paid, in the hope that no one in power would ever try to emulate him. After the execution he made Yan’s skull into a chamber pot. Yan had drooled with desire before doing this evil thing, and then, in taking his pleasure, had used a great deal of spit. Quan now settled accounts with urine.
The poem, in old style verse of irregular line length, contained a powerful moral message. It ran:
You took my manhood;
Your head I’ll claim.
A high for a low –
Surfeit of shame!
You played with my rump;
In your mouth I’ll piss.
A clean for an unclean -
The stench will not cease.
And now I urge all mortal men:
Let not your hearts be cruel and cold.
For when you come to pay the price,
Your schemes will be assessed twofold.
不曉得各位怎麼看
現在看完了覺得難說。CCP的野蠻是工業文明的野蠻，是列寧體制下搞出來的 「共產主義就是蘇維埃權力加全俄電氣化」
中國人的野蠻則是在工業文明之前的一種野蠻，其中的方式和鄂圖曼(Ottoman）非常相近，簡直是一個味道的。一種充滿了狡詐欺騙算計的感覺，把人當物體，把不擇手段當手段，圖的東西蠅頭小利微不足道，卻捨棄那些寶貴的東西。
鄂圖曼的野蠻，用這張宣傳油畫我覺得可以比較好的總結
（但是注意這張油畫是典型的19世紀末期泛斯拉夫宣傳，通過誇大鄂圖曼的野蠻和描繪強姦殺戮來達到巴爾幹民族心向沙皇的目的）
"The Bulgarian Martyresses", 1877 painting by the Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky
按照這篇裡面的話，鄂圖曼和中國這群人糟糕的都難以被衡量出到底有多差：沒有武德也沒有信用。
古希臘的存在鏈哲學與人類社會的階級秩序
以下是我閱讀的文章，清朝初年的小說。
我覺得其中所顯示的邏輯實在是過於濃烈堪比沼氣突開，什麼誘騙絕色貌美少年被閹割當奴隸再報仇等等，看完了我簡直是被立體噁心到了。像是這種體面人怎麼會掉入這種情況呢？在我看來這些東方野蠻人幹的事情連蘇共都不如，其實這也印證了United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio在一年多前演講裡說的，如今中國比蘇聯更危險一樣。現在比較而言，似乎蘇聯還是太誠實了，各種陰謀詭計還不夠下賤
美国新任国务卿卢比奥是中國的噩夢
不過由於中文原版閱讀難度較高，我找了英語翻譯也放在了後面，如果中文讀不懂的話英語翻譯好閱讀多了。
覺世名言十二樓 第十六回 萃雅樓第二 保後件失去前件 結恩人遇著仇人
二人聽到此處，就翻然自悔起來，道：「他講得極是。」回到家中，先對汝修哭了一場，然後說出傷心之語，要他同去領價。
汝修斷然不肯，說：「烈女不更二夫，貞男豈易三主。除你二位之外，決不再去濫交一人。寧可把這些貨物算在我帳裡，決不去做無恥之事！」金、劉二人又把利害諫他，說：「你若不去，不但生意折本，連這店也難開，將來定有不測之禍。」汝修立意雖堅，當不得二人苦勸，只得勉強依從，隨了二人同去。
管門的見了，喜歡不過，如飛進去傳稟。東樓就叫快傳進來。
金、劉二友送進儀門，方才轉去。
東樓見了汝修，把他渾身上下仔細一看，果然是北京城內第一個美童 （這使我想到了鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）。心上一分歡喜，就問他道：「你是個韻友，我也是個趣人，為什麼別官都肯見，單單要迴避我？」汝修道：
「實是無心偶出，怎麼敢迴避老爺。」東樓道：「我聞得你提琴簫管樣樣都精，又會葺理花木，收拾古董，至於燒香制茗之事，一發是你的本行，不消試驗的了。我在這書房裡面少一個做伴的人，要屈你常住此間，當做一房外妾，又省得我別請陪堂，極是一樁便事。你心上可情願麼？」汝修道：「父母年老，家計貧寒，要覓些微利養親，恐怕不能久離膝下。」東摟道：
「我聞得你是孤身，並無父母，為什麼騙起我來？你的意思，不過同那兩個光棍相與熟了，一時撇他不下，所以托故推辭。難道我做官的人反不如兩個鋪戶？他請得你起，我倒沒有束脩麼？」汝修道：「那兩個是結義的朋友，同事的伙計，並沒有一毫苟且，老爺不要多疑。」東樓聽了這些話，明曉得是掩飾之詞，耳朵雖聽，心上一毫不理。還說」與他未曾到手，情義甚疏，他如何肯撇了舊人來親熱我？」就把他留在書房，一連宿了三夜。東樓素有男風之癖，北京城內不但有姿色的龍陽不曾漏網一個，就是下僚裡面頂冠束帶之人，若是青年有貌肯以身事上台的，他也要破格垂青，留在後庭相見。閱歷既多，自然知道好歹。看見汝修肌滑如油，臀白於雪，雖是兩夫之婦，竟與處子一般。所以心上愛他不過，定要相留。（這又使我想起來了鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）這三夜之中，不知費了幾許調停，指望把「溫柔軟款」四個字買他的身子過來。不想這位少年竟老辣不過，自恃心如鐵石，不怕你口墜天花。這般講來，他這般回復；那樣說去，他那樣推辭。
瞰亡往拜，分明以陽虎待之。
東樓恨他不過，心上思量道：「我這樣一位顯者，心腹滿朝，何求不得？就是千金小姐、絕世佳人，我要娶她，也不敢回個『不』字，何況百姓裡面一個孤身無靠的龍陽！我要親熱他，他偏要冷落我。雖是光棍不好，預先鈞搭住他，所以不肯改適，卻也氣恨不過。少不得生個法子，弄他進來。只是一件：
這樣標緻後生放在家裡，使姬妾們看見未免動心，就不做出事來，也要彼此相形，愈加見得我老醜。除非得個兩全之法，止受其益，不受其損，然後招他進來，實為長便。」想了一回，並沒有半點機謀。
彼時有個用事的太監，姓沙，名玉成，一向與嚴氏父子表裡為奸、勢同狼狽的，甚得官家之寵。因他有痰濕病，早間入宮侍駕，一到已刻就回私宅調理，雖有內相之名，其實與外官無異。原是個清客出身，最喜栽培花竹，收藏古董。東摟雖務虛名，其實是個假清客，反不如他實實在行。
一日，東樓過去相訪，見他收拾器玩，澆溉花卉，雖不是自家動手，卻不住地呼僮叱僕，口不絕聲，自家不以為煩。東樓聽了，倒替他吃力，就說：「這些事情原為取樂而設，若像如此費心，反是一樁苦事了。」沙太監道：「孩子沒用，不由你不費心。我尋了一世館僮，不曾遇著一個。嚴老爺府上若有勤力孩子，知道這些事的，肯見惠一個也好。」東樓聽了這句話，就觸起心頭之事，想個計較出來，回復他道：「敝衙的人，比府上更加不濟。近來北京城裡出了個清客少年，不但這些事情件件曉得，連琴棋簫管之類都是精妙不過的。有許多仕宦要圖在身邊做孩子，只是弄他不去，除非公公呼喚，他或者肯來，只是一件：此人情竇已開，他一心要弄婦人，就勉強留他，也不能長久；須是與公公一樣，也替他淨了下身，使他只想進來，不想出去，才是個長久之計。」沙太監道：「這有何難！待我弄個法子，去哄他進來。若肯淨身就罷，萬一不肯，待我把幾杯藥酒灌醉了他，輕輕割去此道，到醒來知覺的時節，他就不肯做太監，也長不出人道來了。」（這說的讓我以為是鄂圖曼的奴隸販子）東樓大喜，叫他及早圖之，不要被人弄了去。臨行之際，又叮囑一句道：「公公自己用他，不消說得；萬一到百年以後用不著的時節，求你交還薦主，切不可送與別人。」沙太監道：「那何待說。我是個殘疾之人，知道有幾年過？做內相的料想沒有兒子，你竟來領去就是。」
東樓設計之意原是為此，料他是個殘疾之人，沒有三年五載，身後自然歸我，落得假手於他，（這一下就像中國人了 @你是中国人）一來報了見卻之仇，二來做了可常之計。見他說著心事，就大笑起來。兩個弄盞傳杯，盡歡而別。
到了次日，沙太監著人去喚汝修，說：「舊時買些盆景，原是你鋪中的，一向沒人剪剔，漸漸地繁冗了，央你這位小店官過去修葺修葺。宮裡的人又開出一篇帳來，大半是雲油香皂之類，要當面交付與你，好帶出來點貨。」金、劉二人聽了這句話，就連聲招攬，叫汝修快些進去。一來因他是個太監，就留汝修過宿也沒有什麼疑心；二來因為得罪東樓，怕他有懷恨之意，知道沙太監與他相好，萬一有事，也好做一枝救兵，所以招接不遑，惟恐服事不到。
汝修跟進內府，見過沙太監，少不得敘敘寒暄，然後問他有何使令。沙太監道：「修理花卉與點貨入宮的話都是小事，只因一向慕你高名，不曾識面，要借此盤桓一番，以為後日相與之地。聞得你清課裡面極是留心，又且長於音律，是京師裡面第一個雅人，今日到此，件件都要相煩，切不可吝教，」汝修正有納交之意，巴不得借此進身，求他護法。不但不肯謙遜，又且極力誇張，惟恐說了一件不能，要塞他後來召見之路。沙太監聞之甚喜，就吩咐孩子把琵琶弦管笙蕭鼓板之屬，件件取到面前，擺下席來，叫他一面飲酒，一面敷陳技藝。汝修一一遵從，都竭盡生平之力。
沙太監耳中聽了，心上思量說：「小嚴的言語果然不錯。這樣孩子，若不替他淨身，如何肯服事我？與他明說，料想不肯，不若便宜行事的是。」(這讓我噁心到了）就對侍從之人眨一眨眼。侍從的換上藥酒，斟在他杯中。汝修吃了下去，不上一刻，漸漸地綿軟起來，垂頭欹頸，靠在交椅之上，做了個大睡不醒的陳摶。
沙太監大笑一聲，就叫：「孩子們，快些動手！」原來未飲之先，把閹割的人都埋伏在假山背後，此時一喚，就到面前。
先替他脫去褌衣，把人道捏在手上，輕輕一割，就丟下地來與獬豝狗兒吃了。等他流去些紅水，就把止血的末藥帶熱捂上，然後替他抹去猩紅，依舊穿上褲子，竟像不曾動撢得一般。
汝修睡了半個時辰，忽然驚醒，還在藥氣未盡之時，但覺得身上有些痛楚，卻不知在哪一處。睜開眼來把沙太監相了一相，倒說：「晚生貪杯太過，放肆得緊，得罪於公公了。」沙太監道：「看你這光景，身子有些困乏，不若請到書房安歇了罷。」汝修道：「正要如此。」沙太監就喚侍從之人扶他進去。
汝修才上牙牀，倒了就睡，總是藥氣未盡的緣故，正不知這個長覺睡到幾時才醒，醒後可覺無聊？看官們看到此時，可能夠硬了心腸，不替小店官疼痛否？
汝修倒在牙牀，又昏昏地睡去，直睡到半夜之後，藥氣散盡，方才疼痛起來，從夢中喊叫而醒。舉手一摸，竟少了一件東西。摸著的地方，又分外疼痛不過。再把日間之事追想一追想，就豁然大悟，才曉得結識的恩人倒做了仇家敵國，昨日那番賣弄，就是取禍之由。思想到此，不由他不號啕痛哭，從四更哭起，直哭到天明不曾住口。只見到已牌時候，有兩個小內相走進來替他道喜，說：「從今以後，就是朝廷家裡的人了，還有什麼官兒管得你著，還有什麼男人敢來戲弄得你？」汝修聽到此處，愈覺傷心，不但今生今世不能夠娶妻，連兩位尊夫都要生離死別，不能夠再效鸞鳳了。
正在？惶之際，又有一個小內相走進來喚他，說：「公公起來了，快出去參見。」汝修道：「我和他是賓主，為什麼參見起來？」那些內相道：「昨日淨了身，今日就在他管下，怕你不參！」（又中國人了）說過這一聲，大家都走了開去。汝修思量道：「我就不參見，少不得要辭他一辭，才好出去。難道不瞅不睬，他就肯放你出門？」只得爬下牀來，一步一步地掙將出去。掙到沙太監面前，將要行禮，他就正顏厲色吩咐起來，既不是昨日的面容，也不像以前的聲口，（這很中國人，F-scale很高）說：「你如今刀瘡未好，且免了磕頭，到五日之後出來參見。從今以後，派你看守書房，一應古董書籍都是你掌管，再撥兩個孩子幫你葺理花木。若肯體心服事，我自然另眼相看，稍有不到之處，莫怪我沒有面情。割去？子的人，除了我內相家中，不怕你走上天去！」汝修聽了這些話，甚覺寒心，就曲著身子稟道：「既然淨過身，自然要服事公公。只是眼下刀瘡未好，難以服役，求公公暫時寬假，放回去將養幾日；待收口之後進來服事也未遲。」沙太監道：
「既然如此，許你去將養十日。」叫：「孩子們，領他出去，交與萃雅樓主人，叫他好生調理。若還死了這一個，就把那兩名伙計割去？子來賠我，我也未必要他！」幾個小內相一齊答應過了，就扶他出門。
卻說金、劉二人見他被沙公喚去，慶幸不了，巴不得他多住幾日，多顯些本事出來，等沙公賞鑑賞鑒，好借他的大樹遮蔭。故此放心落意，再不去接他（這也很中國人）。比不得在東樓府中睡了三夜，使他三夜不曾合眼，等不到天明就鞲了頭口去接，到不得日暮就點著火把相迎。只因沙府無射獵之資，嚴家有攻伐之具。誰料常拼有事，止不過後隊銷亡；到如今自恃無虞，反使前軍覆沒。只見幾名內相扶著汝修進門，滿面俱是愁容，遍體皆無血色。只說他酒量不濟，既經隔宿，還倩人扶醉而歸；誰知他色運告終，未及新婚，早已作無聊之歎。說出被閹的情節，就放聲大哭起來。引得這兩位情哥淚雨盆傾，幾乎把全身淹沒。送來的內相等不得他哭完，就催促金、劉二人快寫一張領狀，好帶去回復公公，若有半點差池，少不得是苦主償命。金、劉二人怕有干係，不肯就寫。眾人就拉了汝修，要依舊押他轉去。
二人出於無奈，只得具張甘結與他：「倘有疏虞，願將身抵。」
金、劉打發眾人去後，又從頭哭了一場，遍訪神醫替他療治，方才醫得收口。這十日之內只以救命為主，料想圖不得歡娛。
直等收口之後，正要敘敘舊情，以為永別之計，不想許多內相擁進門來，都說：「限期已滿，快些進去服役。若遲一刻，連具甘結的人都要拿進府去，照他一般閹割也未可知。」二人嚇得魂飛魄散，各人含了眼淚送他出門。
汝修進府之後，知道身已被閹，料想別無去路，落得輸心服意替他做事。或者命裡該做中貴，將來還有個進身。凡是分所當為，沒有一件不盡心竭力，沙太監甚是得意，竟當做嫡親兒子看待他。
汝修起初被閹，還不知來歷，後來細問同伴之人，才曉得是奸雄所使。從此以後，就切齒腐心，力圖報復。只恐怕機心一露，被他覺察出來，不但自身難保，還帶累那兩位情哥必有喪家亡命之事，所以裝聾做啞，只當不知。但見東樓走到，就竭力奉承，說：「以前為生意窮忙，不能夠常來陪伴，如今身在此處，就像在老爺府上一般。凡有用著之處，就差人來呼喚，只要公公肯放，就是三日之中過來兩日，也是情願的。」東樓聽了此言，十分歡喜，常借修花移竹為名，接他過去相伴。沙太監是無？之人，日裡使得他著，夜間無所用之，落得公諸同好。
汝修一到他家，就留心伺察，把他所行的事、所說的話，凡有不利朝廷、妨礙軍國者，都記在一本經折之上，以備不時之需。
沙太監自從閹割汝修，不曾用得半載，就被痰濕交攻，日甚一日，到經年之後，就沉頓而死。臨死之際，少不得要踐生前之約，把汝修贈與東樓。
汝修專事仇人，反加得意，不上一年，把他父子二人一生所做之事，訪得明明白白，不曾漏了一樁。也是他惡貫滿盈，該當敗露，到奸跡訪完之日，恰好就弄出事來。自從楊繼盛出疏劾奏嚴嵩十罪五奸，皇上不聽，倒把繼盛處斬。從此以後，忠臣不服，求去的求去，復參的復參，弄得皇上沒有主意，只得暫示威嚴，吩咐叫嚴嵩致仕，其子嚴世蕃、孫嚴鵠等，俱發煙瘴充軍。這些法度，原是被群臣聒絮不過，權且疏他一疏，待人言稍息之後，依舊召還，仍前寵用的意思。不想倒被個小小忠臣塞住了這番私念，不但不用，還把他肆諸市朝，做了一樁痛快人心之事。
汝修入禁之後，看見宮娥采女所用的雲油香皂及腰間佩帶之物，都有「萃雅樓」三字，就對宮人道，「此我家物也。物到此處，人也歸到此處，可謂有緣。」那些宮女道：「既然如此，你就是萃雅樓的店官了。為什麼好好一個男人，不去娶妻生子，倒反閹割起來？」汝修道：「其中有故，如今不便細講。恐怕傳出禁外，又為奸黨所知，我這種冤情就不能夠伸雪了。直等皇爺問我，我方才好說。」那些宮人聽了，個個走到世宗面前搬嘴弄舌，說：「新進來的內監，乃是個生意之人，因被權奸所害，逼他至此。有什麼冤情要訴，不肯對人亂講，直要到萬歲跟前方才肯說。」世宗皇帝聽了這句話，就叫近身侍御把他傳到面前，再三訊問。汝修把被閹的情節，從頭至尾備細說來，一句也不增，一字也不減。說得世宗皇帝大怒起來，就對汝修道：「人說他倚勢虐民，所行之事，沒有一件在情理之中，朕還不信。這等看來，竟是個真正權奸，一毫不謬的了！既然如此，你在他家立腳多時，他平日所作所為定然知道幾件，除此一事之外，還有什麼奸款，將來不利於朝廷、有誤於軍國的麼？」（什麼明君情結）汝修叩頭不已，連呼萬歲，說：「陛下垂問及此，乃四海蒼生之福、祖宗社稷之靈也。此人奸跡多端，擢髮莫數。奴輩也曾繫念朝廷，留心伺察。他所行的事雖記不全，卻也十件之中知道他三兩件。有個小小經折在此，都是親眼所見、親耳所聞，才敢記在上面。若有一字不確，就不敢妄瀆聽聞，以蹈欺君之罪。」（他這話說得也讓我噁心）
世宗皇帝取來一看，就不覺大震雷霆，重開天日，把御案一拍，高叫起來道：「好一個楊繼盛，真是比干復出，箕子再生！所奏之事，果然一字不差。寡人誤殺忠臣，貽譏萬世，真亡國之主也。（這說的是誰？Lavrentiy Beria麼？）朕起先的意思，還宴暫震雷霆，終加雨露，待人心稍懈之後，還要用他。這等看來，『遣配』二字不足以盡其辜，定該取他回來，戮於市朝之上，才足以雪忠臣之憤，快蒼生赤子之心！若還一日不死，就放他在煙瘴地方，也還要替朝廷造禍，焉知他不號召蠻夷，思想謀叛？」正在躊躕之際，也是他命該慘死，又有人在火上添油。忽有幾位忠臣封了密疏進來，說：「倭夷入寇，乃嚴世蕃所使，賄賂交通者，已非一日，朝野無不盡知。只因他勢燄熏天，不敢啟口。自蒙發遣之後，民間首發者紛紛而起，乞陛下早正國法，以絕禍萌。」世宗見了，正合著悔恨之意，就傳下密旨，差校尉速拿進京，依擬正法。
汝修等他拿到京師，將斬未斬的時節，自己走到法場之上，指定了他痛罵一頓。又做一首好詩贈他，一來發洩胸中的壘塊，二來使世上聞之，知道為惡之報，其速如此，凡有勢燄者切不可學他。既殺之後，又把他的頭顱制做溺器。因他當日垂涎自己，做了這樁惡事，後來取樂的時節，唾沫又用得多，故此償以小便，使他不致虧本。臨死所贈之詩，是一首長短句的古風，大有益於風教。其詩云：
汝割我卵，我去汝頭；以上易下，死有餘羞。
汝戲我臀，我溺汝口；以淨易穢，死多遺臭。
奉勸世間人，莫施刻毒心。
刻毒後來終有報，八兩機謀換一斤。
Jin and Liu had wives who lived elsewhere, while Quan, who was single, lived in the shop as wife to both men, who stayed with him on alternate nights, nominally to look after the shop but actually to enjoy the pleasure of the rear courtyard. By day they made their money, by night they took their pleasure. Where else in the world would you find two such heavenly immortals? There was not a single young man in the capital who did not admire and envy them - admire the serenity of their lives, envy their rare delights. （然後這兩位是毫無武德麼，我指的是，精神上的。搞成了這樣不能投奔什麼Bavarian王子去解決問題麼）
Whenever a mandarin or an official visited them, the owners would invite him upstairs to sit down, and only after serving him tea would they fetch the goods he was interested in. When the patrons noted how elegantly the room was furnished and how cultivated the owners were, they would make an exception and treat them differently from other shopkeepers. Some patrons would leave them standing while they chatted, while others would ask them to sit down. Generally speaking, Jin and Liu were more often left standing, while Quan, although a commoner, was treated as if he were an officeholder and regularly asked to sit and chat. Why was that? Because he was young and had a lovely face （好像別人也經常這樣對我）, and presumably the officials were no sticklers for morality but enjoyed a homosexual affair on occasion. Whenever Quan joined them, they would have loved to make their laps into easy chairs and clasp him to their bosoms. How could they bear to leave him standing at a distance? Which explains why he sat far more often than he stood. （我還以為說的是某個大學教授）
At the time in question, Grand Secretary Yan Song’s son, Yan Shifan, whose sobriquet was Donglou, served as a Hanlin compiler and enjoyed immense power. One day as he sat in the court anteroom chatting about painting and antiques with his colleagues, they began praising the objects in the House of Gathered Refinements as uniformly exquisite. And not only were the objects of high quality, they said, the shopkeepers were quite cultured themselves. At this point one or two of Yan’s colleagues volunteered: “The most delightful is the youngest, who is sweetness and innocence itself. With him sitting opposite, you’ve got your rare incense, your exotic blooms, your antiques, your books right there in front of you. Why bother to look at anything else?” （鄂圖曼色狼的模樣開始顯現）
“If they’re running short of pretty boys on Lotus Seed Lane, do we have to go behind the counter for them?” asked Yan. “I simply don’t believe you can find a beauty like that in the marketplace!”
“Words alone won’t convince you. If you’re at all interested, why don’t we go and see him?”
“Very well, let’s go over as soon as court’s out.”
This suggestion prompted his colleagues to send word to the shop. They had two motives in mind. In the first place they wanted to curry favor with the great man; if he approved of their choice, it would show that they shared his tastes. And secondly, they wanted to ingratiate themselves with the shopkeepers by informing them that a Very Important Person was on his way over and giving them time to get ready. If the shopkeepers could satisfy this customer, he would be worth as much to them as dozens of other officials, and the profits would be considerable. When they went shopping there, a little something would surely be knocked off the price. So they told their servants to deliver the following message: “His Honor Yan is coming to inspect your wares, and you ought to make some preparations. He’s different from other officials; you can’t afford to slight him. Not only must the tea be of the finest quality, even the person who serves it and keeps him company ought to spruce himself up and appear well groomed and smartly turned out. If His Honor consents to say one word of approval, this will be your lucky day! （東方媚俗感，Anton Chekhov的小說裡全是這種人，這一點黃俄孝子和師傅真是非常匹配）The Yan household on its own is worth at least half as much as the palace. And not only will you make money, you’ll find it quite easy to land an official post.”
Jin and Liu were alarmed. “Seeing to the tea - that’s our job. But why this talk about the person who keeps him company? Why should he have to spruce himself up? He’s not some official’s pet doorman or singing-boy! When officials go upstairs and have no one else to talk to, we send him up to list what we have in stock and discuss prices. By now it’s evidently become de rigueur, and they expect to see him! From what they say in their message, it’s obviously him, not our goods, that they’re interested in. I imagine those officials gave old man Yan a glowing account to tempt him here - worshipping Buddha with borrowed flowers, as it were. But this old man is different from others; he’s bold and ruthless, and if likes what he sees, he won’t be content to scratch the itch through his boot, he’ll do his damndest to fool around with the lad. We may not be jealous of each other, but we’ll certainly be jealous of an outsider!” （這一段說的我還以為是張高麗呢）
After talking it over privately, they called Quan in and asked him to decide.
“I don’t see any problem,” he said. “Let me leave before he gets here, then just tell him I’ve gone out. Officials get carried away and boast about their pleasures in front of their colleagues, that’s all. He’ll hardly go so far as to arrest me!”
“You’re right,” said Jin and Liu, hiding him away and getting on with their preparations.
Within a matter of minutes Yan swept in followed by several officials. They were escorted by a squad of fierce looking servants.
Entering the shop, Yan cast an eye all around and, seeing no young man there, assumed he had gone upstairs. When he arrived upstairs and still saw no sign of him, he asked his entourage.
“He’ll be out in a moment,” they replied. “When we visit, he always comes and keeps us company. Now that his lucky star has descended from Heaven, he’s hardly going to run away!”
Yan was a master of intrigue, an exceptionally shrewd man, and he realized that the shopkeepers must have been tipped off about his visit and have packed Quan off somewhere else. “In my opinion,” he said, “he certainly won’t be out to see me today.”
We gave them notice, his colleagues thought. We didn’t just drop in on an impulse. He must want to expand the business. He can’t have run away! It never occurred to them that extraordinary men might also be found in the marketplace, men who, unlike officials, value friendship over status and would sooner antagonize a powerful official than a friend.
Yan’s colleagues were confident enough to suggest a wager: “If he doesn’t show up, we’ll treat you to a banquet. Let’s bet on it.” Yan accepted the bet, and they waited for Quan to bring the tea.
Unfortunately the tea, when it came, was brought by an elderly hunchback instead of the young shopkeeper. Asked where the young master was, the servant replied: “He didn’t realize you gentlemen would be honoring us with a visit today and went out.”
Their faces dropped. “His Honor Yan is not just another customer, you know. It’s terribly hard to get an interview with him. Hurry up and find your master, lest he spoil the whole occasion.” The servant departed.
After a short wait Jin and Liu came upstairs and saluted. “What sort of things would Your Honor like to see? We’ll be happy to bring them up.”
“I’d like to see everything you have, no matter what the kind. But bring only your choicest, most expensive pieces, the ones no one else can afford.”
The two shopkeepers flew downstairs and gathered up their most valuable antiques, their most exotic flowers and perfumes, plus a book catalogue or two, and brought them up and set them before Yan.
Yan’s aim had been to see Quan, not buy anything, but now, although furious at the youth’s absence, he betrayed no hint of anger. Instead he set aside all of the most valuable pieces, praising them as he did so. No mention of the youth escaped his lips.
“I’d like to buy all of these,” he said, after making his selection. “I understand that your prices are not completely dishonest. Let me take these pieces with me, and I’ll pay you when I receive your invoice with the net cost.”
Jin and Liu had been afraid that Yan, having come on Quan’s account, would not leave without him but would insist on waiting, and they knew they would be sorely embarrassed as time dragged on. So when Yan wished to leave promptly and with no sign of irritation after buying a great quantity of goods, they felt particularly grateful and quickly agreed. “Our only concern was that Your Honor night not want them. By all means take them with you.”
Yan ordered his servants to bring the items, and they followed him out of the shop with the goods stuffed in their pockets or slung over their shoulders. Stepping into his sedan chair, Yan apologized once more and then was borne merrily away.
His companions, however, were chagrined, not so much because they had lost their bet and would have to stand treat, as because they feared Yan’s displeasure. They had miscalculated in this trivial matter, and he would be less inclined to entrust them with more important things in the future. Such is generally the way with those who are overly concerned about their own advancement.
Having brought his tale this far, the author must pause for a moment; the next episode is too long to be told without a break.
Chapter 2
In protecting the rear, they lose the front;
By joining a benefactor, he meets a nemesis.
Jin and Liu waited until Yan and his entourage had left the premises before making out the invoice, which came to exactly a thousand taels. They were reluctant to collect the money at once and delivered the invoice only after five days had passed. At the Yan mansion a steward accepted it and soon returned with the message: “His Honor has taken note of it.”
Jin and Liu were well aware that the official mentality differed from that of other people - officials were quick to take goods but slow to pay for them （什麼中國政府打白條啊？！） - and concluded they would not succeed at the first attempt （工程款欠款收不回？）and might as well go home. A few days later they tried again and received the same answer. From then on they took turns going every few days but were never offered a single tael, not even a cup of tea. The very words they received were doled out like precious gems. Nothing was ever added to the has taken note formula.
You have to give money to get money, they thought. Collecting from officials is like alchemy: You can’t start the reaction with nothing, you must seed it with a little silver. Unless we leave a package at the gate, his people will never put themselves out!
They weighed out five taels and gave them to the steward in charge, urging him to do his best to transmit their message. They even promised him a commission; if the payment were made in full, they would set aside ten percent as a gratuity. When the steward realized that they knew the ropes, he offered them his candid opinion.
“You two will never be able to collect your money like this. I understand there’s another shopkeeper who’s young and good-looking and that His Honor has heard about him but not yet seen him. Well, His Honor intends to keep these goods of yours in hock to persuade the young man to visit here. Provided he comes, the money will be paid. Look, you two are shrewd enough. Why throw the key away and try picking the lock with a piece of wire? What happens if you break the spring?”
Jin and Liu felt as if they were awakening from a dream. In a cold sweat, they stepped aside to talk the matter over: “We’ve been too clever for our own good. If we’d let him see Quan that day, perhaps he wouldn’t have taken our things. But who would have imagined that goods would spell disaster? To get them back we have to sacrifice him, and vice versa. We’ll have to give up one or the other, but which should it be?”
After a moment’s thought, they came to a firm conclusion: “A thousand taels is far easier to come by than genuine beauty. Let’s give up the goods.” （我覺得對於野蠻人，這種判斷是正確的）
They turned back to the steward. “That assistant of ours is just a boy,” they said. “He comes from an old family who have sent him to us to learn the business. He’s never even been allowed out - we’re afraid his parents might worry. Whether or not His Honor pays us, we aren’t going to hand over someone else’s child for money! Besides, we put up the capital for those goods and deserve to get a return on it. We shan’t be back again. If by some fluke the money does become available, please let us know and we’ll come for it.”
The steward laughed. “Tell me, gentlemen,” he said, “are you going to keep your shop open now that you’ve decided not to collect the money?”
“Of course. Why not?”
“What! You own a shop here in the capital, so how can you be so ignorant of who holds power? As the proverb says, The poor and humble are no match for the rich and powerful. If you don’t collect the money, it’ll be a clear sign of your hatred and contempt. Is he a customer you can afford to hate and insult? If he wanted to sleep with your wives, I could understand it. Naturally you’d risk anything to stop him. But all we’re talking about here is a friend of yours. Taking him along for the master’s appreciation is like sending him an antique or a painting; even if it comes back a little the worse for wear, it will still not have lost all its value. （鄂圖曼性侵犯的味道麼？） Why give up thousands of taels for a cup of vinegar? What’s more, after you’ve given up the money, other things will start happening to you; you’ll never feel quite secure again. I strongly advise you against a course of action that spells nothing but trouble.”
The partner began to regret what they had done and told the steward that they fully agreed with him.
Once home, they wept in front of Quan, then told him the heart-breaking news and asked him to go with them to collect the money. He firmly refused. “If a virtuous woman won’t take a second husband, how can a loyal man take a third master? Apart from you two, I shall never consort with anyone else. I’d rather have the cost of those goods chalked up to my account than do anything so disgraceful!”
Jin and Liu impressed on him the dangers they ran. “If you don’t go, not only will we lose our money, it will be very difficult to keep the shop open. We’re bound to be hit by some disaster or other.”
Firm as Quan’s resolve was, it could not withstand his partners’ pleading. He had no choice but to consent and accompany them to the Yan mansion.
The steward at the gate was delighted to see them and rushed inside to report. Yan at once ordered them admitted, and Jin and Liu saw Quan as far as the inner gate before turning back.
Meeting Quan for the first time, Yan examined him from head to foot and concluded to his vast satisfaction that this was indeed the most beautiful boy in the entire city. （鄂圖曼奴隸市場買賣的那種人麼）“You’re a young man of taste and I’m lover of art, so why did you hide from me that day when the other two were willing to meet me?”
“I happened to be out when you visited. I would never dare hide from Your Honor!”
“I’ve been told that you play various instruments exquisitely and that you’re also an expert at tending flowers and arranging antiques. As for burning incense and making tea, that’s your forte and there’s no need to test you. I need someone to keep me company in my library and would like to prevail on you to come and live here as my external concubine. It would save me the trouble of engaging a companion, which would be a great boon. Are you agreeable?”
“My parents are both elderly, and since we’re a poor family, I shall need to earn some money to support them. I’m afraid I couldn’t leave them for very long at a time.”
“But I understand you’re an orphan! Why are you trying to deceive me? You’re so thick with those two scoundrels that you can’t beat to part with them. That’s why you’re making these excuses! Do you mean to say that an official like me isn’t worth as much as two shopkeepers? They managed to hire you all right. You thing I don’t have the means?”
“Those two are my sworn brothers as well as my colleagues, and there has never been anything improper about our relationship. Your Honor should not be so suspicious.”
Yan know this was untrue but took no notice. I still haven’t won him over, he reflected, and he doesn’t feel any affection for me yet. Why would he abandon his old friends to consort with me? He kept Quan in his library and spent the next three nights with him.
Yan was devoted to homosexual affairs, and there was not a single attractive catamite in the city of Beijing who had escaped him （什麼君士坦丁堡大蘇丹）. Even his subordinates, qualified officials though they were, if they were young and good-looking and willing to mount the stage, would be shown exceptional favor and invited to a rendezvous in the rear courtyard. With such wide experience, he was naturally a connoisseur, and when he saw that Quan’s skin was as smooth as butter and his rump whiter than snow - virginal, despite the two husbands - he fell madly in love with him and insisted that he stay. （確真君士坦丁堡大蘇丹）
In the course of the next three nights he used a vast amount of cajolery to win Quan’s favor by the soft and gentle approach. But the young man proved himself a veteran campaigner. （和我比較像）So confident was he in his adamant refusal that blandishments fit to call down flowers from Heaven had no effect whatsoever. （和我的貓相反） To every approach he had a reply, to every proposition an excuse. Unable to persuade him, Yan had to send him away – at least for the present. On the fourth day he had the goods brought before him and looked them over once more, then chose a few of the best pieces for himself and sent the rest back. In addition to the cost of the pieces that he kept, he paid Quan twelve taels in personal compensation.
Quan could scarcely refuse. （這一點很中國）He tucked the money in his sleeve and, as he went out the gate, he handed it to Yan’s servants. He was ashamed to betray his friends by accepting it.
On meeting Jin and Liu, he was indeed overcome with shame, and his only thought was to kill himself. His partners had to plead with him again and before he reluctantly agreed to go on living. Afterwards, whenever he saw Yan’s sedan chair passing by, he would duck out of sight lest Yan come in and molest him again. From time to time Yan would send an invitation, but Quan always declined on the grounds of illness. After he had done this a number of times, he felt he could hardly refuse anymore, so he chose a day when he knew Yan was out to go and sign the visitor’s book. In doing so he was clearly treating Yan the way Confucius had treated the usurper Yang Hu.
Yan was furious. An eminent man like me, one whose lieutenants staff the court, a man who can get anyone he wants - why, not even a raving beauty, the daughter of a multimillionaire, would dare refuse me if I wanted to marry her! And yet this orphaned nancy-boy from a commoner’s family has the nerve to snub me when I make an overture! It’s the fault of those two rogues, who have gotten him so firmly hooked that he won’t change, but I’m still furious about it. （張高麗古代版）I shall have to think of some way to entice him here. There’s just one snag. With a handsome youth like that in the household, my concubines are inevitably going to be attracted. Even if nothing happens, they’re bound to make invidious comparisons and I’ll look older and uglier than I really am. I shall need to find the perfect solution before inviting him here, if I’m to get any permanent advantage. But although he thought long and hard, nothing came to mind.
At that time a eunuch named Sha Yucheng enjoyed great power. From his position inside the palace he had colluded with the Yans in a variety of nefarious schemes, and like them he stood high in the Emperor’s favor. A chronic asthmatic, he had returned home at nine o’clock that day to rest, after attending the levee. Although he held the title of palace eunuch, Sha was no different from an official. He had begun his career as an art connoisseur and had a keen appreciation of plants and antiques. No matter how hard Yan Shifan worked to earn a connoisseur’s reputation, he was a rank impostor in comparison with the eunuch.
One day Yan paid a call on Sha and found him arranging his objets d’art and watering his plants, not doing the work himself but shouting orders at his staff （呵斥『下人』，這很老中啊）. Despite the stream of orders, he seemed quite unruffled.
Yan made a gesture of help, then commented: “These things were meant to bring us pleasure. If they involve us in this much effort, they’re nothing but a burden.”
“When your boys can’t be relied on, you have to see to things yourself,” replied the eunuch. “I’ve been trying to find a suitable boy for years. If Your Honor has any conscientious lads who are knowledgeable about these matters, I’d be greatly obliged if you’d let me have one.”
This remark brought back all of Yan’s previous concerns, and with them came a plan.
“My boys are even more hopeless than yours, I’m afraid. However the city has recently produced a young connoisseur who’s not only very knowledgeable but also a brilliant musician and chess-master. Many officials have been after him as a page-boy, so far without success. But I suppose he might come if you were to invite him. There’s just one problem with the lad. He’s past puberty and now thinks of nothing but girls, so even if you do manage to get him, you won’t be able to keep him for long. The only solution would be to remove his desire to leave by doing what was done to you: castrating him.” （這聽上去和某些人看到小孩子戀愛就要想盡辦法打擊是殊途同歸的。因為這樣就必然想要自由，而自由是這些人不能容忍的。所以目前看看中國家長會不會以學習的藉口把兒子們閹割了？會不會這種事情已經發生了呢）
“That’s no problem,” said the eunuch. “I’ll get him in here with a trick I know. If he’s willing to be castrated, fine. If he isn’t, I’ll get him drunk on drugged wine and gently relieve him of his privates. He may not be willing to serve as a eunuch after he comes to, but he certainly won’t be able to grow them back again!”
Delighted, Yan urged him to put the plan into operation as soon as possible, lest someone else get the boy first. （真是紅顏薄命。其實我發現我自己招災也有類似的道理）Before leaving he offered another suggestion: “While Your Grace has a use for him, this question won’t arise. But if the time should come when you pass on and have no further need of him, I hope you’ll see to it that he’s returned to his sponsor. Whatever you do, don’t let him go to anyone else.”
“Of course! An invalid like me - how many years do I have anyway? And a eunuch is hardly going to have any sons to inherit his property. By all means come along and claim the lad.”
This was the whole point of Yan’s stratagem. He had calculated that an invalid like Sha would have only a few years to live and that the boy would come his way at the eunuch’s death. （對同夥都那麼算計，好噁心） His aims - to avenge Quan’s snub （就是看不得自由的男孩）and also work out a long-term arrangement - would be fulfilled by proxy. When Sha guessed what was on his mind, Yan burst into laughter, after which they enjoyed a few drinks together and parted.
Next day Eunuch Sha sent a servant to summon Quan: “A while ago I bought some bonsai from you that have not been pruned and have grown rather straggly. The youngest partner is requested to come and restore them. In addition, the palace has placed an order, mainly for creams, perfumes, and the like, and I want to have him take it away and check off the items.”
Jin and Liu promptly accepted and told Quan to go to the palace at once. Since Sha was a eunuch, they assumed there was no reason for suspicion （就如同今天爾虞我詐一樣，你看看，這是為了你好，不用擔心，於是藉機行惡）, even if he kept Quan overnight. Moreover, having offended Yan Shifan, they were afraid of his retaliation and thought that Sha, who was on good terms with Yan, might come to their rescue in an emergency. This is why they accepted so promptly, their only concern being that Quan might not perform his duties well enough.
Quan accompanied the servant to the palace, where he paid his respects to Sha and chatted briefly before asking the eunuch’s wishes.
“Seeing to the plants and checking the order for the palace---that’s the least of it. I’ve long heard of your great reputation but never had the pleasure of meeting you, so I want this visit to pave the way for a friendship between us. I’m told you’re a specialist in the arts, particularly music - in fact that you’re the most accomplished artist in the capital. （這又使我想起來了harvey weinstein和jeffrey epstein) On your visit today I’d like you to demonstrate all of your talents and not stint on the things you have to teach me.”
Quan, who had come there to cultivate the eunuch’s friendship, did not scruple to use this opportunity to win his way into the eunuch’s favor and gain his protection. He not only ignored all modesty, he even exaggerated his accomplishments, lest, by confessing to a single field in which he was not proficient, he forfeit the chance of another invitation. Eunuch Sha was delighted to hear the claims. He ordered his boys to bring out a variety of musical instruments and set them in front of Quan on a mat. He then asked his visitor to demonstrate his talents while joining in the drinking. Quan obeyed scrupulously, pouring all his skill into the performance.
Young Yan certainly knew what he was talking about, thought Eunuch Sha as he listened. A boy with these gifts will never agree to serve me unless I castrate him. (好惡毒啊。越有才能越寶貴就越要去毀滅囚禁。體現在中華文化上就是栓）But rather than ask him, in which case he’d probably refuse, I’d better act on my own. （男孩被閹割，女孩被栓，我理解的對麼？）
He winked at one of his servants, who brought in some drugged wine and filled the young man’s cup with it. Soon after drinking it, Quan began to grow limp. His head lolled forward and he slumped in the easy chair like an unwakable Chen Taun. Eunuch Sha roared with laughter. “Come on, lads! Go to it!” he called. Before the drinking began, he had hidden the castrators behind the ornamental rock. They now came forward, pulled off the boy’s trousers, gripped his genitals, and with a light, deft cut sliced them off and threw them on the ground for the Pekinese dog After some watery blood had oozed out, they applied styptic powder to the wound on a hot compress, wiped away all traces of blood, and pulled Quan’s trousers on again as if they had never been off.
After sleeping for an hour, Quan awoke with a start, but although he felt some pain, he was still under the influence of the drug and did not know where the pain came from. With a conscious effort he focused his gaze on Eunuch Sha.
“I’m afraid I drank too much and took liberates that offended Your Grace.”
“You look a little tired,” said Eunuch Sha. “You’d better go into the library and rest.”
“Just what I feel like doing.”
Eunuch Sha told his staff to help Quan into the library where, because of the lingering effects of the drug, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
We do not know when he will awaken from his long sleep and what despair he will feel. Having read this far, gentle readers, are you able to steel your hearts and feel no pain on behalf of the little shopkeeper?
Chapter 3
The great man loses power, and his skull makes up for genitalia;
The castrato takes revenge, and his urine compensates for spittle.
In the ivory-inlaid bed Quan slept on and on, dead to the world. He slept until after midnight, when the effects of the drug wore off and his wound began to ache. Awakening with a cry of pain, he felt his body all over - something was missing! Then, as he touched the place where it had been, the pain grew unbearable. He ran the events of the previous day through his mind and suddenly awoke to the truth: the benefactor he had allied himself with had turned out to be his enemy! And his own flaunting of his talents had been the cause of his undoing! At this thought he could not help wailing and sobbing, which he continued from three o’clock until dawn.
At nine o’clock two junior eunuchs came in and offered their congratulations. “From now on you belong to His Majesty’s household, and no official has any authority over you! No man will ever dare harass you again!”
But their congratulations only made Quan feel worse. He had lost all chance of ever taking a wife. Worse still, he would have to part from his husbands and could never rejoin them in marriage.
At the height of his anguish another eunuch entered, this time with a summons: “His Grace has arisen. Come and make your kowtows.”
“But I’m a guest in this house. Why should I kowtow?”
“Now that you’ve been castrated, you come under his control. Of course you have to kowtow!” All three eunuchs left the room.
Even if I don’t kowtow, I’ll still have to take leave of him in order to get out of here, thought Quan. If I totally ignore him, he’ll never let me go!
A shiver of fear ran through Quan as he bent at the waist and pleaded: “Now that I’ve been castrated, of course I wish to serve Your Grace. （這一點是很不如... 諾曼人，羅馬人等等的。）But I can hardly perform my duties before the wound heals. I beseech Your Grace to grant me a few days’ leave in which to go home and recuperate. There’ll be time enough to come back and take up my duties after I’m better.”
“Very well. I’ll allow you ten days to recuperate.” He gave an order to his servants: “Boys, escort him out of the palace and deliver him to the owners of the House of Gathered Refinements. Tell those clerks to take good care of him. If they let him die, I might want more than just their penises in compensation.” The eunuchs saluted and began helping Quan out of the gate.
Jin and Lin had exulted when Quan received the call from Eunuch Sha. They hoped he would stay a few extra days and reveal more of his talents for the eunuch’s appreciation, so that all three of them might enjoy protection, When Quan did not return, they felt quite easy in their minds and never went to meet him - the opposite of their attitude during his visit to Yan, when they slept not a wink the whole three nights. On that occasion they could scarcely wait for dawn to harness up their donkeys, or for evening to light their torches. The reason, of course, was that Eunuch Sha lacked even a weapon to hunt with, while Yan was armed with the panoply of war. Strangely enough, however, when they had agonized over imminent disaster, only the rearguard perished, while now that they felt confident of smooth sailing, the entire vanguard was lost at sea.
When they saw a group of junior eunuchs helping Quan in the door, his face the picture of misery and his flesh drained of color, they assumed he had been unable to hold his liquor and needed help in getting home after a night away. Little did they realize that Quan’s sexual fortunes had run out and that his hopes of marriage were dashed forever. He blurted out the story of his castration and then broke down, so affecting his lovers that they wept, too, and practically drowned in their tears. The eunuchs who had escorted Quan grew impatient and pressed Jin and Liu for a guarantee that they could take back to His Grace. Needless to say, if the slightest mishap occurred, the victim’s relatives would have to pay for it with their lives.
Terrified of becoming involved, Jin and Liu at first refused to sign. The eunuchs began pulling Quan away, intending to take him back, at which point the two men had no choice but to write out a pledge: “If we should be guilty of any oversight, we are prepared to answer for it with our lives.” （真是中國的皇權沒有邊界，連下面的官員也是沒有邊界的權力）
After seeing off the escorts, Jin and Liu began sobbing again. They searched far and wide for capable doctors and eventually got the wound to heal. Their main concern during those days was to save Quan’s life, and they had no time to think of their own pleasure. Then just as Quan’s wound healed and they were about to express their old love for him in a final farewell, a group of eunuchs came bustling in.
“Your time’s up,” they declared. “Hurry back to the palace and take up your duties. If you’re just a few minutes late, we’ll have to bring in the people who signed the pledge, and they may find themselves castrated too.”
Jin and Liu were sacred out of their wits. With tears in their eyes, they saw Quan to the gate.
Back in the palace, Quan realized that, castrated as he was, he had no chance of escape and would have to knuckle under and serve the eunuch. Perhaps, who knows, it was in his destiny to become a powerful eunuch himself; promotion might come his way. So he threw himself unstintingly into his duties, and Eunuch Sha was delighted with him and treated him as his own son.
At first Quan was ignorant of how he came to be castrated, but on questioning his colleagues he learned that the master intriguer himself was responsible. Consumed with hatred and eager for revenge, he still feared that if he told anyone and it came to Yan’s ears, not only would his own life be in danger, but his two lovers would be implicated and lose their lives too, and so he feigned complete ignorance.
Whenever Yan paid Sha a visit Quan would try to ingratiate himself. “My work kept me so busy before that I couldn’t visit you very often,” he told Yan. “But now that I’m here, it’s just as if I were living in Your Honor’s own mansion; if there is anything you need me for, just send for me. So long as His Grace is prepared to let me go, I’ll be happy to spend two days in every three with you.”
Yan was delighted. He often asked Quan to keep him company on the pretext that his plants and trees needed attention. Eunuch Sha, lacking genitals, had no need of him at night and was always ready to share him with a kindred spirit.
Once inside Yan’s mansion, Quan set to work as a spy. Anything Yan did or said that conflicted with the court’s interests or harmed the nation was jotted down in a notebook for future reference.
A few months after Quan’s castration, Eunuch Sha suffered an unusually severe attack of asthma. His condition steadily worsened until, a year later, he collapsed and died. On his deathbed he fulfilled his promise and presented Quan to Yan.
Quan was even more pleased to find himself in his enemy’s sole employ and in less than a year had ferreted out every offense for which father and son had been responsible.
It so happened that the Yans’ crimes had come to a head and were about to be revealed. On the very day that Quan finished his investigations, trouble broke out.
Yang Jishing, imperial court official, executed ten years earlier for denouncing Yin Shifan
When Yang Jishing submitted a memorial condemning Yan Song’s “ten crimes and five evils,” the emperor disregarded it and even had Yang executed a decision that all loyal officials protested, some by seeking to resign, offers by impeaching Yan. The emperor’s only recourse was to a temporary display of authority; the he ordered Yan Song to resign and sentenced his son Yan Shifan, his grandson Yan Gu, and others to exile in a malaria-ridden part of the country. He did so to remove the Yans from the scene in the face of mounting criticism, but he fully intended to reinstate them as soon as the furor had died down. （什麼中華傳統和CCP權術的完美結合）However he was foiled in this covert intention of his by the most junior of his loyal aides. Not only did the Yans fail so get reinstated, they were displayed as criminals in the market-place - a sight to warm the heart.
After Yan Shifan was exiled, the members of his staff were placed in the custody of the prefectural and county offices to await the disposition of the case, when they would either become movement property or be returned to their original masters. As the roll was called, Quan cried out in a ringing voice: “I’m not of Yan Shifan’s servant-boys, I’m a eunuch on the staff of the Sha household. At the time of His Grace’s death, death, I ought to have been presented to court, not handed over to a private individual! I beseech Your Honor to lose no time in drawing up a recommendation that I appear before His Majesty to explain the circumstances. If Your Honor tries to hush the matter up, I fear that when the truth comes out even your office may not be immune.”
Of course the perfect did not dare hush it up, but wrote a report to his superior, who passed it on to his ministry. When the ministry communicated it to court and Quan was summoned to the palace, the case was finally brought to a close.
As he entered the Forbidden City, Quan noticed that all the creams and soaps in use by the palace women, like the ornaments they wore at their waists, bore the imprint “House of Gathered Refinements,” and he said as much to the women: “All these things come from our shop. It must be fate; first the goods come here, and now the shopkeeper comes to join them.”
“So you’re the owner of Gathered Refinements! A good-looking lad like you - why didn’t you marry and have children instead of getting yourself castrated?”
“There is a reason, but I can’t go into it just yet. If it got out of the Forbidden City and came to the ears of that gang of traitors, I would never be able to avenge the wrong they did me. I prefer to explain everything to the Imperial Father when I see him.”
The women went at once and tattled to Emperor Shizong: “That eunuch who has just arrived used to be in business but fell foul of the tyrant and has been forced into his present situation. He’s suffered some wrong that he wants to protest, but he won’t tell anyone about it except Your Majesty,”
The emperor had his aides bring Quan into his presence and questioned him again and again. Quan gave a detailed account of the castration, adding nothing and omitting nothing. The emperor was enraged. “They told me that he used his power to oppress the people and did nothing fair or just, but I didn’t believe them. In the light of this, he really is a tyrant; there can be no doubt about that. But while living in his household all that time you must have learned about other actions he took. Apart from this case, are there other crimes that might harm the court or nation?” （沙皇萬歲既視感）
Kowtowing endlessly, Quan cried out “Long Live Your Majesty!” （支支支支支！！！）over and over again. “The fact that Your Majesty condescends to ask about such matters is due to the nation’s glorious destiny as well as the spiritual power of ancestors and gods. This man’s villainies are too numerous to count. Out of concern for the court, your humble servant set to work to spy on him. I wasn’t able to record all the things he did, but I do know a good portion of them. I have a little notebook here in which I jotted down only those incidents that I had heard or seen myself. If it contained a single incorrect word, I wouldn’t dare inflict it on Your Majesty and commit the unpardonable crime of deceiving my sovereign.”
The emperor took the notebook and read it. Then a thunderous roar escaped him, and the sun broke through the clouds. Rapping on the imperial desk, he exclaimed: “What a fine man Yang Jisheng was! A second Bi Gan or Ji Zi! Every word of his memorial was right. In wrongfully killing a loyal officer, we have made ourselves an object of scorn to all eternity and brought ruin upon our nation! Our original intention was to let the thunder roar and then follow it up with gentle rain, waiting until people’s feelings had cooled before reappointing the Yans. But in the light of your evidence, dismissal and exile are too good for them. We must certainly bring them back and execute them in the marketplace - to avenge the fury of a loyal officer and bring joy to the innocent hearts of the people. Every day they live, even in some malaria-ridden place, will be spent stirring up trouble for us. How do we know they aren’t calling on the barbarians to rise in rebellion at this very moment?”
As the emperor was pondering his course of action, fate decreed that Yan should die a cruel death, for others now arrived to pour oil on the flames. Several loyal officials came in with a sealed report: “The Japanese are invading, sent by Yan Shif【警告：链接内容可能存在钓鱼网址，请勿打开】an, who has been bribin g them for some time. （這使我想到了電影Battleship Potemkin裡面點頭附和的老中。每次電影渲染情緒的時候都把那位放在最後一個，似乎是表達，當那個老中也不能容忍的時候，就沒有人可以容忍了）The officials at court and in the provinces know all about it but didn’t dare say anything because of his enormous power. Since his exile, however, numerous people have come forward. We beseech Your Majesty to enforce the law with all due haste and eliminate this threat!"
This report confirmed the Emperor’s own revised opinion, so he handed down a secret order dispatching a commander to bring Yan back to the capital as quickly as possible and execute him under the law.
Quan waited until Yan Shifan had been brought back and was about to be executed, then went to the execution ground and, jabbing his finger at him, denounced him bitterly. He also wrote a fine poem and presented it to Yan to vent his own outrage and warn all who heard it that the wages of sin are quickly paid, in the hope that no one in power would ever try to emulate him. After the execution he made Yan’s skull into a chamber pot. Yan had drooled with desire before doing this evil thing, and then, in taking his pleasure, had used a great deal of spit. Quan now settled accounts with urine.
The poem, in old style verse of irregular line length, contained a powerful moral message. It ran:
You took my manhood;
Your head I’ll claim.
A high for a low –
Surfeit of shame!
You played with my rump;
In your mouth I’ll piss.
A clean for an unclean -
The stench will not cease.
And now I urge all mortal men:
Let not your hearts be cruel and cold.
For when you come to pay the price,
Your schemes will be assessed twofold.
不曉得各位怎麼看
