"Clothes like these are usually made to order. We don't carry many ready-made pieces. We do have one Shu Brocade tunic-"
Wang Yang hurriedly cut the shopkeeper off. "Never mind the Shu Brocade. Our young master prefers something simpler-"
To make things easier, he and Black Han had both posed as servants buying clothes for their master. They had already visited several ready-made clothing shops, yet could not afford a single garment suitable for a scholar-official. The prices were frighteningly high, especially for Shu Brocade, the luxury of luxuries in ancient times!
And for some reason, brocade was exceptionally scarce in Jingzhou that year. That sent the already exorbitant prices soaring even higher, leaving Wang Yang, a fake aristocrat, gazing at an ocean he could never hope to cross.
The shopkeeper said, "For something simpler, we have a patterned-silk square-cut robe, figured-silk trousers-"
These two kinds of silk ranked just below brocade among high-quality silk fabrics. Wang Yang could not afford them either, so he had to explain more clearly. "Our master prefers clothes that are more plain and understated."
"Plain and understated? You mean solid-colored gauze or sheer silk?"
Wang Yang asked, "Made from silkworm silk?"
"Of course."
"Something plainer still."
The shopkeeper looked Wang Yang over. "Then hemp is all that's left."
"Good-quality hemp will do," Wang Yang said, steeling himself.
The shopkeeper frowned slightly. "For hemp, we have an unlined robe made of fine cloth, but that's for the summer heat. It's a little early to wear it now. How about this one? The fabric is excellent too, genuine yellow-lustrous fine cloth, shipped from Shu just last month. A simple style."
Wang Yang looked at the garment on the rack, nodded, and asked, "How much?"
"Four thousand two hundred cash."
Wang Yang immediately looked away. His gaze landed on a white garment nearby, ethereal in appearance and light as flowing water. His eyes brightened, and he asked cautiously, "That one isn't silkworm silk, is it?"
"You have a good eye. It looks like silk, but it isn't. It's woven from hemp too, but it's fine yarn spun from Kuaiji ramie, also called yue cloth. The quality is every bit as good as yellow-lustrous cloth, but it's much cheaper. Only three thousand cash."
Wang Yang wanted to cry but had no tears. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Our master wouldn't like that one."
Is it your master who wouldn't like it, or you?
Do you dislike it, or can you simply not afford it?
The shopkeeper gave Wang Yang an amused look. "Why don't you just tell me what sort of clothes your 'master' actually wants?"
He heavily emphasized the word "master," wearing an expression that said he had seen through everything. He had long since noticed that although neither customer was well dressed, they looked more like a master and his servant.
Wang Yang flushed slightly. "The cheapest kind."
Wang Yang no longer wanted to keep shopping. He suspected he simply could not afford anything an aristocrat could wear.
The shopkeeper was speechless. "However cheap you want it, he can't wear coarse hemp. He's an aristocrat, after all!"
Wang Yang braced himself. "Exactly. Something suitable for an aristocrat. How much is the cheapest?"
Now the shopkeeper was completely certain. All that talk of plainness and simplicity was nothing but a lack of money!
This man was either a down-and-out aristocrat or a son of a lesser family.
"Lesser families" did not mean impoverished households in the modern sense. They were a social stratum between the great aristocratic houses and the common people below, also known at the time as "secondary families." That meant "second to the great aristocratic houses." Yet in pedigree and family background, they still stood far above ordinary commoners. Many were prominent local clans.
They strove to imitate the aristocracy while the rigid hierarchy kept them outside its ranks. The shopkeeper thought this customer probably belonged to one of the most financially strapped lesser families.
He found a white garment in a chest and asked Wang Yang, "What do you think of this White Lined Jacket?"
A lined jacket had one more layer than the unlined garments worn in summer. It was generally worn in spring and autumn, making it just right for the current weather.
Wang Yang asked curiously, "Isn't this the same as that fine-yarn yue cloth one? The style is just a little different. What, is this one cheaper?"
"Sir, take another close look. These two garments may look as though they're made from the same fabric, but they're actually very different!"
"Really?" Wang Yang felt the fabric. It was soft and light, but he truly could not detect any difference.
The shopkeeper said smugly, "You can't tell unless you're an expert! This is finely spun kudzu cloth."
Black Han gave a startled sound. "Fine kudzu?" He had heard that spinning fine kudzu was very difficult, and that it was expensive too.
The shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly. "True fine kudzu is yulin hemp, worth as much as Shu's yellow-lustrous cloth! Mine was spun at home by a skilled craftsman."
Wang Yang examined it carefully and was quite pleased with the garment. He asked again, "It wouldn't look shabby on an aristocrat, would it?" He did not actually want to look particularly lavish. He only wanted to avoid looking as he did now, when one glance told people he was no aristocrat.
How could it not?
That was what the shopkeeper thought, but what came out of his mouth was another story:
"How could this possibly look shabby? Look at the stitching! The texture! Most people wouldn't even realize it's kudzu or hemp! Even if they could, you could say it's yulin cloth, or banana-fiber cloth. Who would dare look down on you?! Unless they're true experts in fabrics, they won't be able to tell."
In truth, an aristocrat wearing yulin cloth or banana-fiber cloth was merely "not shabby" or "passable." Saying "Who would dare look down on you?" was far too much of an exaggeration.
Of course, Wang Yang knew he could not believe everything the shopkeeper said. But he genuinely had no other choice, and could only mock himself: A fake aristocrat wearing a fake "designer label." A fitting match. He asked, "How much?"
"Two thousand two hundred cash."
"Too expensive! One thousand!" Wang Yang immediately slashed the price in half.
"Impossible! If you think it's too expensive, sir, you'd better try another shop!" The shopkeeper was adamant.
They haggled back and forth. Only after Wang Yang said he would buy shoes there too did the shopkeeper reluctantly agree to lower the price to two thousand cash.
Wang Yang then picked a pair of Tablet-Toe Shoes made from the plainest fabric, yet they cost five hundred cash! This time, the shopkeeper would not budge by a single coin.
Wang Yang could actually have chosen cheaper Square-Toe Shoes or Round-Toe Shoes, but both styles were lower-cut and mostly worn by servants in aristocratic households. To keep his disguise from unraveling, he could only resign himself to being fleeced.
He could not even come up with twenty-five hundred, so he did not dare choose a skirt or trousers for his lower half. Fortunately, aristocrats of the Six Dynasties favored loose robes and broad sleeves, seeking an air of flowing, effortless elegance. That was precisely why some shops dared display ready-made clothes without offering specific sizes.
Wang Yang held the White Lined Jacket up against himself. It hung fairly low, so the fabric of his lower garments would not be so conspicuous. Otherwise, he would have had to choose a skirt or trousers as well, or buy a full-length robe instead.
Wang Yang told the shopkeeper he had not brought enough money and would have to go back for more. After asking him to hold the chosen clothes and shoes, he left with Black Han.
Black Han looked miserable. "Young master, twenty-five hundred cash! We're short by more than half. Where are we going to raise the money?"
"Let me think."
Head lowered, Wang Yang walked on, pondering ways to earn money. As he passed a tavern entrance and was about to leave the lane, someone suddenly grabbed his arm and hauled him inside!
Wang Yang jumped in fright and was about to struggle free when the hand pulling him abruptly let go. Before him stood a plump youth of eighteen or nineteen, dressed in splendid embroidered brocade, who said with utter sincerity, "I'm only doing this for your own good!"
"Young master!" Black Han rushed anxiously into the tavern to see what had happened.
More than twenty people sat inside, all youths about the same age as the plump boy. A little under half were dressed with exceptional splendor, while the rest were also very respectably attired. From time to time, they turned to look out the window. At Black Han's shout, they all glared at him.
"Shh!" The plump youth gestured to Black Han, then pointed Wang Yang toward the seat across the table. "Listen to me. Just sit here and watch. It isn't worth it."
Note: The term "lesser families" is used very loosely today, and that looseness has even extended into academia. Many discussions of the Six Dynasties conflate concepts such as "men of humble standing" and "lesser families," using them to mean people without distinguished family backgrounds. Restored to their historical context, however, they did not mean the same thing. People of entirely grassroots origins did not qualify as members of "lesser families" at the time. For discussions of this issue, see Zhu Zongbin's "An Tentative Discussion of the Aristocratic Clan System in the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties" and Miyazaki Ichisada's "A Study of the Nine-Rank Official Selection System."
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