In midsummer, Chen Family Cove, nestled against the mountains beside the water, was pleasantly cool. Even during the dog days, there was no sense of oppressive heat.
The forests on Nine Luminaries Mountain were lush, deep, and beautiful, and best of all, they were only a few steps away. Except on days of wild winds and driving rain, Chen Caozhi climbed Nine Luminaries Mountain every morning and evening, playing his xiao and gazing into the distance, his thoughts drifting far away. Nearby, Mingsheng Lake looked like a huge piece of natural jade set into the earth of Qiantang, close beneath his eyes yet distant on the horizon, clear and bright yet veiled in clouds and rosy mist. It resembled a peerless beauty, a lotus rising from clear water, her body covered in light gauze, graceful as she stepped lightly, her incomparable beauty to be admired from afar, never profaned-
Chen Caozhi found his own associations with West Lake a little strange. It was only a beautiful lake, so why did it give him this feeling?
Lai De and Ran Sheng accompanied Chen Caozhi up the mountain every day. Wherever Chen Caozhi was, those two were there as well.
Chen Caozhi's mother, Lady Li, had completely recovered from her dizzy spells and had specially asked Chen Caozhi to accompany her to Precious Stone Mountain to thank the old immortal.
Because Ge Hong had intervened, Wang Deyi promised that, for as long as he remained magistrate of Qiantang County, he would continue allowing the Qiantang Chen Clan to retain one protected household—unless the prefectural or commandery authorities conducted a Grand Household Registration Inspection, in which case it would be another matter.
Lai Fu and his family wept with joy. Although Magistrate Wang might be transferred to another county the following year, at least their family would no longer have to live in constant fear for the coming year. Moreover, Lai Fu firmly believed that young Master Caozhi would surely become a ranked official, entitled to maintain protected households openly and legitimately. His family would keep living in Chen Family Cove.
Every morning, Chen Caozhi recited Confucian classics such as the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, and the Zuo Tradition. He already knew the Analects backward and forward and had no need to reread it. He had also thoroughly memorized the commentaries and elaborations on the Analects by the great Confucian scholar Ma Rong and the Xuanxue genius Wang Bi. Previously, he had asked his sister-in-law Ding Youwei about Wang Bi's subtle relationships between "the Dao" and "nonbeing," and between "nature" and "substance." Although Ding Youwei was intelligent, she was less adept at philosophical argument and found it difficult to serve as the young master's teacher. Now that Chen Caozhi had the guidance of Ge Hong, a great scholar who had entered Taoism through Confucianism, these problems all yielded as readily as bamboo beneath a blade. Their countless tangled threads converged on one point: the state of the sage that Wang Bi proposed in Explanations of Doubts in the Analects-"having feelings without being burdened by them."
"Having feelings without being burdened by them"-that single phrase gave rise to the Wei-Jin spirit of subtle appreciation, deep feeling, and natural, untrammeled ease, and established the foundation of Wei-Jin Neo-Taoism.
Besides studying Confucianism in the morning, Chen Caozhi also practiced calligraphy for half a shichen. He no longer copied the Declaration Memorial model, which his elder brother Chen Qingzhi had copied through successive intermediaries until it had become considerably distorted. He now studied the brushwork in Huan Yi's scroll of secret xiao instructions, combining it with the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection he had copied in his previous life, and felt that his left-handed regular script had improved considerably. As for his right-handed running-regular script, Chen Caozhi still copied Ouyang Xun's Zhang Han Longing for Perch Calligraphy Model from memory-
The Zhang Han Longing for Perch Calligraphy Model was a short biography Ouyang Xun had written for Zhang Han, courtesy name Jiying, a celebrated figure of the Western Jin. Zhang Han brimmed with talent and was free-spirited and broad-minded. His contemporaries compared him to Ruan Ji of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and called him the "Infantry Commandant of Jiangdong." While serving as an official in Luoyang, Zhang Ji saw the autumn wind rise and began longing for the greens, water-shield soup, and sliced raw perch of his native Wu Commandery. He sighed, "What matters in life is pleasing oneself. How can I remain fettered to office thousands of li away merely to seek fame and rank?" He then ordered his carriage readied and went home-
Although Ouyang Xun lived several centuries after the Eastern Jin, this calligraphy model possessed the distinctive elegance of the Jin, its brushwork and meaning complementing one another. In barely ten lines and fewer than a hundred characters, that uniquely Wei-Jin combination of transcendence and deep feeling sprang vividly from the paper. Later generations acclaimed Ouyang Xun's Zhang Han Longing for Perch Calligraphy Model as the seventh finest work of running script under heaven, but for Chen Caozhi, his fondness for it was second only to Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection. In his previous life, he had already attained considerable skill in copying it, and since his soul had lodged in this life, he had practiced diligently every day without fail. Yet after more than two months, he had made very little progress. Without the original model for comparison, he sometimes even felt that his right-handed running-regular script was growing worse.
Chen Caozhi was not anxious; he had experience with such things. It was like playing Go: before one's skill improved, there would be a stretch when one lost to everyone, trapped in cramped positions. But once that period passed, one would suddenly discover one day that one's strength had grown, and opponents previously at the same level would be cut down one after another. It was also like climbing a perilous peak on foot, the mountain path steep and the pack heavy. One reached the summit drenched in sweat, then suddenly turned to see a thousand peaks arrayed around it, magnificent as a painting-
All it required was hard work and perseverance.
Every afternoon, apart from half a shichen of calligraphy practice, Chen Caozhi chiefly studied Wang Bi's Commentary on the Book of Changes and Dao De Jing Essentials, along with Guo Xiang's Commentary on Zhuangzi, which he had borrowed from Ge Hong. He advanced through all three books together, closely reading a passage from each every day, cross-referencing them and carefully taking reading notes. He recorded every difficult or unclear point, waiting until he could visit Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery to ask Ge Hong.
At night, Chen Caozhi copied books borrowed from Ge Hong, filling roll after roll of fine Zuo Bo paper. A child from a poor family could not even have afforded the paper. Chen Caozhi copied in running-regular script, both quickly and well. Whenever he finished a roll, he personally used silk thread and a sharp awl to bind the stack of ink-covered pages into the form of books from later ages. These became the Qiantang Chen Clan's library. Zongzhi and Run'er would no longer have to worry about having no books to read.
Xiao Chan and Qingzhi helped Chen Caozhi bind the books. Both maids praised young Master Caozhi for his clever mind and skillful hands, and for doing everything neatly and efficiently.
Every fourth day, Chen Caozhi took Lai Fu and Ran Sheng on the twenty-li walk to Chuyang Terrace on Ge Ridge, where he sought Ge Hong's help with difficulties in his reading, returned the books he had previously borrowed, and borrowed others. Ge Hong always questioned Chen Caozhi about the book he was returning, and often discovered that he had already memorized it.
Ding Youwei had once said that teaching Chen Caozhi was a pleasure, and Ge Hong felt the same. The difficulties Chen Caozhi raised from his books were never commonplace questions; even a great master of Confucianism and Taoism like Ge Hong had to gather his wits to answer them. For Ge Hong, who had devoted his entire life's energy to seeking knowledge and the Dao, this was naturally a tireless delight that refreshed his spirits. As a student, Chen Caozhi understood everything at the slightest hint; a light tap brought forth a great peal, leaving Ge Hong feeling that he too benefited as a teacher.
One afternoon in the middle of the sixth month, Ge Hong and Chen Caozhi sat beneath the window of a small pavilion beside Three Purities Hall. After a round of debate, Ge Hong, deeply appreciative of his talent, said, "Caozhi, with your diligent study and quick understanding, mastering the two great fields of Confucianism and Xuanxue would not be difficult. But you were born into humble circumstances, and that was ordained by fate. If you wish to use your learning to govern the state and bring peace to the realm, I fear every step will be thorny and resistance great. The high offices and prominent posts are all held by Great Clans. Without holding office, how can you direct its affairs? In this old Taoist's opinion, you would do better to abandon all thoughts of worldly fame and rank, follow me in refining elixirs and cultivating the Dao, and write works that establish your teachings, storing them in renowned mountains to pass down to later generations. That too is a path to immortality. A sage said, 'The highest establish virtue, the next establish words, and the lowest establish achievements.' Worldly accomplishments are the lowest of all, whereas in writing works that endure, virtue is also present—what do you think, Caozhi?"
Chen Caozhi still clearly remembered the scene at the gates of Chen Family Cove a month earlier. Those two unranked clerks had dared to come bullying them at their door, and the man pulling their strings was merely a ninth-rank registrar. Thus, fame, office, and power in this world truly were things he could not afford not to pursue. How could he disregard the danger facing his family and seek only to keep himself unsullied, withdrawing loftily from the world to follow Ge Hong in cultivating the Dao? Never mind that he did not believe in cultivating immortality-even if immortals truly existed, it would have to be a case of "when one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."
Chen Caozhi did not answer Ge Hong's earnest question directly. Instead, he smiled and asked, "I have studied under Master Ge for many days and benefited greatly. Do I still not count as your disciple?"
Ge Hong swept his deer-tail whisk and laughed heartily, understanding Chen Caozhi's intention. "Confucians believe in fate; Taoists change it. Since you are my disciple, Caozhi, you must intend to change your fate. Let me see how a child of humble birth like you changes his allotted destiny."
Five days later, when Chen Caozhi next visited Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery, he brought the customary gifts for entering a teacher's tutelage, formally becoming Ge Hong's disciple. Of course, taking him as a teacher did not mean following him into the mountains to cultivate the Dao, nor did Ge Hong require Chen Caozhi to read Daoist scriptures.
That day, besides Lai De and Ran Sheng, the one-armed Jing Nu also accompanied Chen Caozhi to Ge Ridge. On their way back, the usually taciturn Jing Nu suddenly knelt in Chen Caozhi's path and kowtowed, begging him to teach Ran Sheng to read and write when he had time. The young Ran Sheng stood frozen to one side, at a loss.
Chen Caozhi helped Jing Nu up and said, "Uncle Jing, the sage said, 'In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes.' As long as Ran Sheng is willing to learn, I will teach him."
Ran Sheng cried, "Uncle Jing, I won't learn to read! All characters look the same to me. I can't tell them apart."
Jing Nu again knelt, this time before Ran Sheng, and refused to rise. Ran Sheng had no choice but to agree to learn to read, muttering under his breath, "The household registration inspection in the seventh month will be here soon. We're unregistered refugees, so we'll have to run again. What's the point of learning to read?"
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