One afternoon in mid-April, after copying Ouyang Xun's Zhang Han Longing for Perch Calligraphy Model, Chen Caozhi washed his brush and looked out the window. The sky was gloomy, and a fine rain fell without cease. It seemed he would not be able to climb Nine Luminaries Mountain that evening. Suddenly, he remembered that he had yet to enter his late brother Chen Qingzhi's study. There ought to be some books worth reading in there.
There were twelve spacious rooms on the third floor of the fortified manor's western wing, each divided into an inner and an outer room. This enormous, semicircular building housed only Chen Caozhi's family of four and an old maid named Yinggu, who had accompanied Mother Chen Lady Li to Chen Family Cove more than thirty years earlier.
Chen Caozhi's bedroom and study were to the right of the stairs, while Mother Chen Lady Li, and Zongzhi and Run'er occupied the large room to the left. Beyond it was Yinggu's room, then Chen Qingzhi's study, followed by the bedroom Chen Qingzhi had shared with Ding Youwei. Beside that were the quarters of the four maids who had come with her dowry. After Ding Youwei was forcibly taken back to the Ding residence in Qiantang, its people had taken all four maids away as well, leaving the western wing cold and deserted.
The large room at the far end of the left side of the third floor was Crane-Crying Hall. Every morning and evening, Mother Chen Lady Li went there to recite the "Five Thousand Words of Dao De Jing." Enshrined there were Lao Dan, founder of the Way of the Celestial Masters, and the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water.
Although Chen Caozhi also counted as a follower of the Way of the Celestial Masters, he had not yet come of age and did not have to perform those morning and evening devotions. On this drizzly afternoon, he entered his late brother's study.
The study was furnished just like Chen Caozhi's own. Lai Gui's wife, Lady Zhao, came to clean it every day, leaving its tables and reed mats spotless, as though Chen Qingzhi still read here as usual.
To his delight, Chen Caozhi saw several hundred scrolls on the shelves. He took a silk scroll from one side and unrolled it. The first line on the right read, "The heart is like the head and face; thus one takes the greatest care to adorn it." This was Admonitions for Women, written by the great late-Han scholar Cai Yong for his daughter Cai Wenji. Naturally, it could not be Cai Yong's original, but the clerical script on the silk differed from Chen Qingzhi's calligraphy. Chen Qingzhi had studied the Han clerical script of the Zhang Qian Stele, his brushwork square and substantial, vigorous yet graceful. This copy of Admonitions for Women clearly followed the Cao Quan Stele, its characters delicate and lovely, its elegance light and flowing-
"That is your sister-in-law's handwriting."
At some point, Mother Chen Lady Li had come to stand behind Chen Caozhi, a faint smile on her aged face.
"Oh, Sister-in-law wrote this? Her calligraphy is truly beautiful," Chen Caozhi praised sincerely.
Mother Chen Lady Li sighed. "Youwei was known as Qiantang's foremost gentlewoman. Beautiful and gentle, skilled in calligraphy and painting, she and your elder brother were deeply devoted to each other. Sadly, Qingzhi died young, and she has truly suffered for it-today is already the fifteenth of April. If the weather clears, the Ding household should soon send someone to fetch Zongzhi and Run'er. When you see your sister-in-law, give her my regards. It has been almost three years since I last saw her."
Looking at the charming Han-stele script of Admonitions for Women, Chen Caozhi tried hard to recall his sister-in-law Ding Youwei's appearance. But in the boy's memories there was only a hazy, gentle silhouette, graceful and distant-
Mother Chen Lady Li suddenly said, "Chou'er, I have been thinking that it is time to arrange a marriage for you."
"Ah!" Chen Caozhi exclaimed in surprise. "Mother, I am not even fifteen yet."
Mother Chen Lady Li smiled and motioned for Chen Caozhi to sit down.
Mother and son sat facing each other across the table. Chen Caozhi shifted slightly to the left, taking the lower seat as a mark of respect for his mother.
Mother Chen Lady Li said, "I am not asking you to marry right now. We can arrange the betrothal first."
"A betrothal? Mother, whom do you want me to be betrothed to?"
Chen Caozhi's head swam. He was renowned for his filial devotion. If his mother settled on some family's daughter and wished to send the betrothal gifts and formally inquire after her name, he would find it hard indeed to oppose her. This business of arranged marriage was truly troublesome!
He heard his mother say, "Feng Mengxiong of Qiantang was an old friend of your father's. He is a clerk at the county office and has a daughter of fourteen. They say she is pretty, well read, and well mannered. If you are willing, I will ask your fourth uncle to make inquiries. It ought to be possible."
Chen Caozhi's brows drew together slightly, and he spoke softly. "Mother, marriage is a matter for a lifetime. We cannot be hasty. We know nothing about the Feng Clan girl. If I marry her and her disposition turns out to be poor, would that not mean a lifetime of vexation?"
Mother Chen Lady Li nodded repeatedly, much impressed by her son's foresight, but said, "The Feng Clan may not belong to the gentry, but theirs is a scholarly household. Their daughter ought not to be shrewish-oh, yes, when your seventh sister last came home, she said her husband's younger sister was clever and beautiful, and wanted you to marry her. What do you think?"
There really was no end to this. A thought occurred to Chen Caozhi, and he deliberately asked, "Mother, is that Feng Clan girl and Seventh Sister's sister-in-law as good as my sister-in-law?"
"Youwei?" Mother Chen Lady Li shook her head with a smile. "We would not dare hope for that. Your sister-in-law was Qiantang's foremost gentlewoman, beautiful and good-natured."
Chen Caozhi said, "Mother, when I marry, I want a gentry girl like Sister-in-law, someone gentle who can honor you with filial care."
Mother Chen Lady Li smiled faintly, sighing inwardly. Caozhi really does set his sights high. But Qingzhi's marriage into the gentry came about through a chance convergence of circumstances, and the Dings regretted it afterward. Did they not take Youwei back? With that overturned cart ahead as a warning, what gentry family would still marry a daughter down into a humble household?
Mother Chen Lady Li was so eager to arrange her son's betrothal because she felt that her strength had declined terribly over the past two years. Her sight and hearing were far worse than before. The successive deaths of her husband Chen Su and her eldest son Qingzhi had dealt her a heavy blow. Without Caozhi, Zongzhi, and Run'er, she could scarcely have held on. Thus she hoped to see Caozhi marry a worthy wife soon, so that she could close her eyes in peace even in death. But after hearing what he said, she too felt there was no need for such haste. Though marrying a gentry girl like Youwei was impossible, the Chen clan's standing still allowed them to choose carefully among Commoner Clans of humble birth.
"Very well, let us leave this for now. I will take my time finding you a girl from a good family, one whose character and looks are no worse than your sister-in-law's. Just concentrate on your reading and calligraphy-every year, on the ninth day of the ninth month, Qiantang County holds an elegant gathering where people climb the riverside heights and speak of their aspirations. The commandery's impartial assessor responsible for selection under the nine-rank system attends as well. If you wish to make a name for yourself, that is your best opportunity. Ten years ago, your brother startled everyone with a single cry there, brilliantly interpreting the Analects at the riverside gathering. But you are still young this year. Next year will be soon enough."
With that, Mother Chen Lady Li rose and left the study so her son could concentrate on his books.
Thinking of his mother worrying over his marriage, Chen Caozhi shook his head with a wry smile. Setting aside his distracting thoughts, he took down the scroll labeled "Jiazi." When he opened it, he could not help rejoicing: it was Explanations of Doubts in the Analects by Wang Bi, the genius of metaphysical learning. Excellent-this would be his reading from now on. Chen Caozhi could already recite the Analects, which ran to fewer than twenty thousand words, as fluently as flowing water, and knew Ma Rong's commentary like the palm of his hand. What he needed now was to understand the different interpretations and elaborations that renowned scholars through the ages had offered on its teachings, especially the distinctive explanations metaphysical masters had given this Confucian classic.
Besides Explanations of Doubts in the Analects, Chen Qingzhi's collection contained another celebrated work by Wang Bi, the Commentary on the Book of Changes, which had pioneered an era's intellectual fashion and filled twelve substantial scrolls. Though the Book of Changes was profound, Chen Caozhi still intended to study it diligently. Without knowing the Changes, one could not be a celebrated scholar.
The study also held a copy of the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals and half of Zhuangzi. This incomplete Zhuangzi contained only six chapters: "Free and Easy Wandering," "On the Equality of Things," "The Master of Nourishing Life," "Knowledge Roams North," "Autumn Floods," and "The Fisherman." Judging by the delicate handwriting, this too was his sister-in-law Ding Youwei's work, presumably copied from the Ding household's collection.
The young brother and sister, Zongzhi and Run'er, came in. Yinggu, the old maid who was nearly fifty, stood smiling in the doorway. It was usually she who helped Mother Chen Lady Li look after them.
Run'er said, "Uncle Chou, you climb Nine Luminaries Mountain every day. Why don't you take me and Elder Brother along?"
Chen Caozhi bent a finger and lightly flicked Run'er's adorable little cheek. "It is raining now. If it is clear tomorrow, I will take you both up the mountain. Remember, you must walk yourselves. No wheedling to be carried."
Zongzhi said, "I am eight. I can walk, but a little pampered thing like Run'er will definitely want someone to carry her."
Pouting her little rose-petal lips, Run'er said, "I will walk myself. I absolutely won't ask to be carried."
Chen Caozhi smiled. "All right, I will take you when the weather clears. Now both of you go practice your writing in my study and let me read quietly here. And don't give Yinggu trouble."
Zongzhi said, "Uncle Chou, Run'er and I have already practiced. One big sheet each."
Run'er said, "Elder Brother and I have both been very good, haven't we, Yinggu?"
"Yes," Yinggu answered with a smile.
Run'er shook the fine, soft fringe over her forehead and said sweetly, "Uncle Chou, I won't disturb you. I will play in the inner room for a while."
This large study was also divided into an inner and an outer room, separated by a large bookcase. Chen Caozhi had not yet entered the inner room.
Zongzhi and Run'er both went inside. Yinggu waited at the door for a while before leaving. Whatever the two little ones were playing in there, they made not a sound.
Chen Caozhi began reading the first scroll of Explanations of Doubts in the Analects closely. He already knew the original text, so he focused on Wang Bi's annotations and elaborations. Wang Bi's commentary was richly speculative, its imagery novel and its language concise yet comprehensive. This Wang Bi, who had died so young, truly was a genius who had opened a passage between Confucianism and metaphysical learning.
Chen Caozhi was engrossed in his reading when he suddenly heard the twang of a string from the inner room. Delight stirred in his heart. So there was a musical instrument in the house, too.
Before you continue