A man of distinction

Deep within the estate, lush green bamboo grew thick.

Wang Yang and Liu Zhao walked along a path through the bamboo grove, led by a neatly dressed young servant.

Liu Zhao admired the bamboo around them, feeling his spirits lift. "Your master certainly knows how to choose a place. You don't often find a city residence with such a large bamboo grove."

The servant said, "My master says the bamboo grove of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove was reborn here."

Liu Zhao laughed. "Only he could say something like that." Then he said quietly to Wang Yang:

"This friend of mine is a good man, but he can be rather eccentric. People say he 'has the spirit of Ruan Ji.' If he happens to offend you, please don't take it to heart!"

The owner of the estate was Zong Ce, courtesy name Jingwei, a renowned man of distinction in Jingzhou City. Wildly unconventional and unrestrained, he had long enjoyed a lofty reputation.

When the Prince of Yuzhang had governed Jingzhou, he had offered lavish gifts to invite Zong Ce to serve as a military aide, but Zong Ce had declined the appointment.

Five years earlier, when the Prince of Luling had served as governor of Jingzhou, he had invited Zong Ce into office with the ceremonial gifts of a rush-cushioned carriage and bundles of silk. He, too, had been refused.

He would not even give a prince face. That alone showed how formidable his temper was.

Local administration in the Southern Dynasties had three tiers: county, commandery, and province. Jingzhou City lay within Jiangling County, so it was also called "Jiangling City." Jiangling County fell under the jurisdiction of Southern Commandery, and Jiangling City happened to be the commandery seat, giving it the alternative name "Southern Commandery City." Southern Commandery City was also the administrative seat of the entire province of Jingzhou-much like a provincial capital-which was how it came to be called "Jingzhou City."

That was the origin of the saying "one city, three names."

Zong Ce's son, Zong Rui, currently served as deputy administrator of Southern Commandery. As the commandery governor's deputy, a position roughly equivalent to a provincial secretary-general, he counted household registration among his responsibilities. That was precisely why Liu Zhao had brought Wang Yang to visit Zong Ce.

Since he was asking for a favor, Wang Yang had no reason to take offense. Besides, the man possessed the air of a distinguished scholar of the Wei-Jin Period, which piqued Wang Yang's curiosity. He very much wanted to see this celebrated "bearing of a man of distinction" for himself.

The three emerged from the bamboo grove to find a small lake stretching before them.

On the grass beside the lake, seven long stones with surfaces as smooth as mirrors stood in an arc.

On one of the stones lay a man in loose white robes, his chest bare and his eyes closed, softly chanting with an air of perfect leisure.

As they approached, they heard him recite, "Bearing my charge, I journeyed to the distant capital, then turned back and traveled north. I crossed the Yellow River by boat, passing the old dwelling at Shanyang..."

Wang Yang recognized the lines from Rhapsody on Remembering Old Friends, written by Xiang Xiu, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, in remembrance of Ji Kang and his other old friends.

Liu Zhao stepped forward. "Jingwei, are you thinking of setting off on your travels again?"

With his eyes still closed, Zong Ce said, "I only just bought this estate. I'm not going anywhere. These are travels of the spirit."

Then he continued reciting, "I gazed upon the desolation of the open fields and halted my carriage by a corner of the city. I trod the traces left by those two men, passing empty dwellings in deserted lanes..."

Long accustomed to Zong Ce's temperament, Liu Zhao was not annoyed that he would not even open his eyes to look at them. He teased:

"Xiang Ziqi wrote Rhapsody on Remembering Old Friends because he missed his old friends. Now an old friend is standing right in front of you, and you won't even spare him a glance?"

Zong Ce rolled over, turning his back to Liu Zhao and Wang Yang. "Yesterday, the mood struck me, so I sent you an invitation, but you didn't come. Now the mood has passed. What is there to look at?"

"I was busy then! Let me tell you, I'm putting together an extraordinary book that points out flaws in the Book of Documents-"

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! Don't tell me a word about that whole Confucian business of yours!"

Liu Zhao had meant to use the subject to introduce Wang Yang naturally, but he had barely spoken before being cut off. He could only take a more roundabout approach. "Well, now that you have guests, surely you ought to offer them a seat."

Only then did Zong Ce sit up, turn around, and open his eyes. Rather than looking at Liu Zhao or Wang Yang, however, he stared at the six large stones beside him, muttering:

"Not this one. Not this one either. Certainly not this one..."

Liu Zhao asked, "What are you doing?"

Only then did Zong Ce look at Liu Zhao. He said excitedly, "Mingyang, look at these seven stones. Don't they look like seven seats?"

"They certainly do..."

"And these stones stand just beyond the bamboo grove. Could that be anything but heaven's will?"

Seeing that Liu Zhao still did not understand, Zong Ce said excitedly:

"These are the very seats of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove! After two or three hundred years, they could still be so alike! If this isn't a miraculous bond spanning the ages, what is?

"The former owner told me these seven stones had stood here for a very long time. They're natural stone seats. Sometimes at night, he could even hear seven people talking! He thought the place was haunted!

"It was for these seven stone seats that I paid such a high price for the estate!

"I waited all night yesterday without hearing any voices. I suppose the Seven Sages wouldn't come every day. But the estate is mine now, so sooner or later, the day will come. Then I'll amuse myself with Laozi and Zhuangzi in the morning and befriend the Seven Sages at night. What joy that will be! Hahahaha!"

Liu Zhao glanced at Wang Yang, helplessness plain in his eyes.

Wang Yang did not really find Zong Ce all that laughable. He felt that when his own soul caught fire with adolescent fantasies, he probably was not much better.

Liu Zhao laughed. "Perhaps the former owner found these stone seats and made up the story just to sell you the estate."

Zong Ce froze.

Liu Zhao hurriedly added, "I was joking."

Wang Yang thought the joke sounded rather like the truth.

"It doesn't matter!" Zong Ce waved a hand. "Even if that's true, the owner assembled these seven seats in the bamboo grove for my sake. How sincere of him! This, too, is fate working unseen, a convergence of causes and circumstances that will use my hands to recreate those gatherings in the bamboo grove!"

Pointing to the stone seats in turn, he eagerly introduced them to Liu Zhao. "Look, this is Ji Kang's seat, this is Ruan Ji's, this is Shan Tao's, and these belong to Xiang Xiu, Wang Rong, and Ruan Xian. I'm sitting in Xiang Xiu's seat."

Wang Yang found this highly amusing. Liu Zhao asked curiously, "Why aren't you sitting in Ruan Ji's seat? Isn't he the one you admire most?"

Zong Ce looked utterly shocked. "How could I possibly be worthy of sitting in Ruan Sizong's seat?! I'm not fit to sit in the seats of Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, or Shan Tao. Wang Rong was not one of our kind, so I disdain his seat-"

Hearing Zong Ce disparage Wang Rong, Liu Zhao glanced anxiously at Wang Yang. After all, Wang Rong was an illustrious forebear of the Langya Wang clan. If he happened to belong to Wang Yang's branch, things could turn awkward. Only when he saw no change in Wang Yang's expression did Liu Zhao relax.

Zong Ce continued expounding his peculiar views. "Liu Ling and Ruan Xian were inferior to me, so there's little point in sitting in their seats. As for Xiang Xiu, he was about my equal. His seat is one I can take."

Having finished, Zong Ce looked at Liu Zhao. "Come, Mingyang, sit here in Liu Ling's seat."

Liu Zhao: (-__-)b

You just said Liu Ling was inferior to you, and now you're telling me to sit in his seat. Aren't you plainly saying I'm inferior to you?!

He did not argue with Zong Ce. If he took offense over even something like this, the two of them would have stopped being friends long ago.

Rather than sitting down, Liu Zhao introduced Wang Yang. "This is the brilliant young man I told you about, Wang Yang, courtesy name Zhi Yan."

Wang Yang said modestly, "You flatter me. I am Wang Yang, a humble junior. My respects, Mr. Zong."

Zong Ce gave Wang Yang a great roll of his eyes. "In an age without heroes, mere whelps win fame! These days, anyone dares call himself a genius!"

Liu Zhao reproached him. "Jingwei, you've gone too far. Zhi Yan is my honored guest-"

Zong Ce gave him no face at all. "Then let him go back and sit at your Commandery Academy! These seven seats aren't for just anyone. Or shall he sit inside the house?"

Unable to do anything about Zong Ce, Liu Zhao could only cast Wang Yang a deeply apologetic look.

Wang Yang was not angry. On the contrary, he felt that Zong Ce was free of affectation: his likes and dislikes came straight from the heart, with nothing concealed. Such genuine temperament was rare enough. Historical accounts said Ruan Ji was adept at the "Green-and-White Glance," turning the whites of his eyes upon vulgar men. That roll of Zong Ce's eyes really did carry a trace of Ruan Ji's legacy.