Ox-cart musings: a collection of reader reviews, I, Scouring all the cold branches, yet refusing to roost-on Xie Daoyun

"Better likened to willow catkins rising on the wind."

Reading this novel, I undoubtedly favored Xie Daoyun.

Of the novel's two heroines, the lovestruck Lu Weiwei left only the faintest impression on me, so I really found it a little sudden when Chen Caozhi fell in love with her. Xie Daoyun was different. Amid the book's warm, serene atmosphere, she was undoubtedly an inspired stroke of rich ink and brilliant color. She did not burst out of nowhere, but slowly, bit by bit, came alive and took on dimension from within the ancient scrolls. In the book, she won my admiration at the same time as Chen Caozhi's; she had yet to win Chen Caozhi's love, but she had already won mine.

If the lovestruck girl's beauty lay in the word "purity," then the willow-catkin poet's open-hearted, lofty grace could truly be called "elegance."

When Xie Daoyun first appeared in Cold Scholar, it was only a fleeting glimpse of a startled swan. By the river in Wu Commandery, the waters surged, and a black-canopied boat glided through them. A refined young scholar approached along the bank carrying a xiao flute, and beneath a ginkgo tree, played a tune for the stranger who had hurried there.

Merely imagining such a scene brought a breath of secluded serenity, full of refined charm. Had it been painted, it could well have rivaled the scene of Huan Yi presenting a flute at the beginning of the book.

At the time, Chen Caozhi had no way of knowing that the true listener to his "Long Clarity" was not outside the boat, but within it. Six hundred li traveled in haste by land and water, just to hear a springtime flute melody. The younger brother turned and asked his elder sister, "Was it worth it?" The girl in white answered with a smile, "Very much so."

In fact, even then I was wondering whether that girl might be Xie Daoyun.

Such a short passage, yet it revealed so much. Three days and nights of exhausting travel by boat, unrelated to fame or gain, undertaken only out of admiration for pure music. In the entire Eastern Jin dynasty, how many households could have nurtured such lofty, refined tastes? That woman must have been of noble birth, for Huan Yi to be a guest of her family; she must have been cherished at home, to be allowed to travel six hundred li with only a younger brother.

Heroines whose identities were concealed like this were not uncommon in other novels. Knowing early on that she would appear later, I had no interest in looking more deeply into it.

When Xie Daoyun appeared again, however, the delicate grace of an ancient painting that had surrounded her as she listened to the music was entirely gone. Come to think of it, her entrance rather resembled Wang Xifeng's. Liu and Ding each called out, "Come quickly, I can't hold out!" and "Come quickly, we're in peril!" Then, before the person was seen, her voice was heard, directly revealing the cutting edge of Xie's debating skills. Only afterward did we see two young scholars, powdered and perfumed, named "Zhu Yingtai" and "Zhu Yingting."

The two young men of the Zhu family spoke sharply and carried themselves proudly. Though the elder had feminine features, he possessed an elder brother's authority, which initially made me think the author really intended to create a male Zhu Yingtai.

The Zhu brothers were not particularly likable at their entrance. They had rather an air of pressing their advantage without mercy and looking down on everyone beneath them, so despite their great talents, they did not leave much of a favorable impression. I actually disliked this sort of personality. Later, when Zhu Yingtai discussed the game with Chen Caozhi, her talent inspired admiration, but not affection.

Then came the chapter "True Nature." He Zhu, likewise powdered and perfumed, wanted to befriend the Zhus, little knowing that the other party would not appreciate the gesture at all. "Zhu Yingtai did not even look at him as she said, 'Let me ask you this. What does "White dragon and red tiger, both enraged in battle" in Jiao's Forest of Changes mean? Only if you can answer are you fit to associate with my brother and me.'"

At this point, I nearly laughed aloud. This Zhu Yingtai was absolutely a "person of refinement," bringing the later ideal of "great scholars in conversation and laughter, no unlettered men among one's associates" to its fullest expression. Her cold pride overflowed her words. Someone like this was extremely difficult to befriend, yet was the person most worth befriending, because fame, gain, wealth, and external possessions could not move him at all. What he valued was the person himself. Only when your learning, insight, and character gained his approval would he acknowledge you as a friend. Such a person would often become a friend's support and backing. You could entrust your back to him without worry, and he would repay you with all his wholehearted sincerity.

Zhu Yingtai and Chen Caozhi truly began crossing swords over the game board. Only forty moves into the opening, Zhu Yingtai laid down her stones and conceded. It was not because victory and defeat had truly been decided, but because she had no patience for a contest resembling "obstinate, unreasonable wrangling." Afterward, she frankly said that it was not that there was no way to win without contending, only that she had not yet reached that realm.

Only after reading further and returning to this sentence repeatedly did I savor its meaning.

She was as good as her words. She frankly admitted her shortcomings because she had no sense of inferiority; she disdained contention because she had self-respect.

She had enough confidence to acknowledge her own faults, and enough pride to understand when to let go.

The glory and dignity of the aristocratic clans were engraved into her very bones and blood. If she was to win, she must win without contending, with an open, honorable manner and poised, elegant bearing. If she lost, it merely meant her own ability was insufficient; she need only work harder herself. Once the urge to contend arose and her grace was lost, that was more humiliating than losing to another.

So when the opening went wrong, she laid down her stones; so once she was certain Chen Caozhi had someone he loved, she immediately conceded. She had never once thought of competing with Lu Weiwei for anything, even though she was in no respect inferior to her rival in love.

If they could not be lovers, then understanding each other would suffice; they could be kindred spirits, purely and simply.

Reading the chapter "Mooring the Boat," I felt only heartache. For the first time, such a proud woman revealed a trace of weakness. She sat in the ox cart, and the man she admired beside her already knew her identity and had perceived her feelings, yet pretended not to know. Zhu Yingtai only murmured, "When we part, don't wait until I've gone far away before playing the flute. I won't be able to hear it then."

No mention of love, only of wind and moon. You know everything you ought to know. If your heart is not in it, I will let it rest. With the clear breeze and bright moon, all luminous and clean, I only wish to ask you for a farewell tune.

There were women like this in the world, overflowing with talent, outstanding in beauty, born into the best families, given the best education, associating with the finest people, and possessing superb character and bearing, yet happiness eluded them.

She clearly deserved the best man in the world, yet could not have him.

Posted by: reader square77