# The True Story of Ah Q (Leung)/Chapter 5

After Ah Q had bowed, he returned to T'uku Temple. The sun was sinking low, when by degrees he came to the realization that there was something strange about the world. On thinking over the matter seriously, he finally realized that the reason was his own bare shoulders. Recalling that he still had his tattered lined coat, he threw it over his body and lay down. When he opened his eyes, the sun had already gilded the top of the west wall; he sat up, muttering unpleasantly.
On rising, he sauntered about the streets as in former times; and felt that there was something painful about the strangeness of the world, although the physical pain of his shoulders was greater by far. It seemed that ever since that eventful day, the women of Weichuang had suddenly become shy; and as soon as they caught sight of Ah Q approaching, one and all of them would hide behind their respective doors. The most extreme case was that of the near pentagenarian Tsou Ch'i-sao, who followed the others in confused retreat, at the same time calling her eleven-year-old daughter to get out of the way ​too. Thinking the matter very strange, Ah Q thought to himself: "These bourgeois women have suddenly learned the manners of gentle maidens. Creatures of ill repute!"
Several days later he again had occasion to understand that the world was strange because of the following things which happened: First, wine shops refused him credit; second, the old man who looked after T'uku Temple passed a few slighting remarks as if telling him to leave; third, he did not remember clearly how many days it was, but it was surely many days that no one had come to call him to do an odd job. If the wine shops refused him credit, well, he could endure that; if the old man insisted on his leaving, a round of inconsequential chatter would settle the matter; but it was not so with the fact that no one came to call him to do odd jobs, because this made Ah Q's stomach starve, and that was an unusually terrible state of affairs.
Unable to endure this last condition any longer, Ah Q finally had to go to his former employer's house in order to make inquiry; it was on the Chao threshold alone that he was not allowed to set foot. But even those who allowed him entrance acted in a strange manner; a man never failed to appear who wore a thoroughly annoyed ​expression on his face, waving his hand as he would to chase off a beggar, saying: "No work, no work! Get out!"
The more Ah Q pondered over these matters, the more puzzled he became, for, thought he to himself, these families have often needed my help in the past; it cannot be that there is suddenly nothing to do; without a doubt, there is something strange about the matter. Having made it his point to find out, he discovered that whenever there was something to be done, they called Little Don. Little D was the son of an impoverished family; he was thin and poor. He stood, in the eyes of Ah Q, even lower than Wang-hu; but how was it to be known that in the end Little D would have taken his rice bowl from him? Thus, the indignation which Ah Q felt was even more violent than it would have been on ordinary occasions; and while he strode along and his rage was at its height, he suddenly flung his arm upward and sang out, "My hands will seize a steel whip to flog you . . ."
A few days later, he did finally encounter Little D in front of the spirit wall before the Chin house. When enemies meet, their eyes glitter more brightly, and thus Ah Q strode up to the place where Little D stood.
​"Beast!" shouted Ah Q, eying him with angry eyes, while the spittle spurted from the corner of his lips.
"I am an insect; will that do?" whimpered Little D.
This meek reply served only to whet Ah Q's ire; but since there was no steel whip in his hand, the only thing that remained for him to do was to rush upon Little D. He put out his hand to seize Little D's queue. But Little D held onto and protected the roots of his queue with one hand and grasped Ah Q's queue with the other, while Ah Q used his free hand to hold and protect the roots of his own queue. In times past, according to Ah Q's own judgment, Little D had been no match for him; but having suffered from hunger of late, Ah Q was now thin and poor as Little D; consequently, a condition of equality was established. Four hands tugged away at two queues; waists were bent, which reflected for a full half hour — a blue rainbow-shaped shadow on the whitewashed wall of the Chin house.
"That will do, that will do," onlookers commented, as if persuading them to make peace.
"Fine, fine!" spectators exclaimed, as they crowded around.
And it was not clear whether they were offering praise or merely adding fuel to the fire.
​But in any case our gladiators heard nothing. When Ah Q advanced three steps, Little D withdrew three and stood still; when Little D advanced three steps, Ah Q walked back three, and also stood still. This must have continued for half an hour — Weichuang seldom possessed an alarm clock, so it is very difficult to say with accuracy; perhaps it was twenty minutes — but when, their hair steaming with perspiration and their foreheads streaming with sweat, Ah Q relaxed his hold, at the selfsame moment Little D's hands relaxed theirs. So they had started at the same time and had separated at the same time. They pushed their way out of the crowd.
"Remember this, you —" spurted Ah Q, turning back his head.
"You — remember this and it will be all right," sputtered Little D, also turning back his head.
It seemed that this furious fray between dragon and tiger had ended in neither victory nor defeat. It is not known whether the onlookers were satisfied with the performance, for there was not much discussion about the matter. However, the fact remained that no one came to ask Ah Q to do odd jobs.
On a very balmy day, when the soft breeze was fluttering about with a suggestion of summer in its breath, Ah Q felt chilly, but a little chill could ​be endured; the foremost trouble was his hunger. His padded quilt, felt hat, and cotton coat, he had not had for some time; his next step was to sell his cotton jacket. At present, he still owned a pair of trousers, which under no circumstances could be dispensed with. He had a short and tattered lined coat, which, other than to give away for making shoe soles, was totally worthless and surely would bring no money. He had early thought of chancing upon a certain sum of money on the road, but up to the present had seen none. He had thought of suddenly finding a certain sum of money in his tumble-down house and turned his bewildered eyes in all directions, only to find at one glance that the room was empty. He therefore decided to go abroad to seek his livelihood.
As he walked along the road, intent upon this purpose, he caught sight of the familiar wine shop and the familiar buns, but on he went. Not only did he not stop a second, but he did not even think of doing so. What he sought was not these things; what he really sought he himself did not know.
It did not take long to walk the entire length of Weichuang, which was not a large village. Most of the land outside the village was used as watery patches for paddy fields, and everywhere the eye was greeted with the tender green of ​young grain shoots, which inclosed a few animated round black dots; these were the farmers at their toil. But Ah Q, having no appreciation for the joys of the farmer, merely strode along. He sensed at once that this scene and his road to a livelihood were two far-divergent things.
Finally he reached the wall of the Temple of Quiet Self-Improvement. The temple was entirely surrounded by watery fields, its whitewashed walls standing out sharply amid the young verdure. Within the earthen wall and to the rear was a vegetable garden. He hesitated for a brief second; then after looking about in all directions and seeing that no one was near, he scrambled up the low wall, holding onto a vine. The mud wall gave way with a rustling sound; his feet trembled and grated against his insecure hold, but in the end he managed to grasp the limb of a mulberry tree and jump into the inclosure.
The area within was one mass of green, but it seemed as if nothing like yellow wine or a bun was at hand, or anything else that was edible. Toward the west wall was a bamboo grove; many shoots protruded above the ground, but it was regrettable that they were as yet uncooked. Besides this, there was rape, which had long ago ​gone to seed; the brassica was about to put forth its blossoms for seed; the small cabbage was very tough.
Ah Q felt as resentful as a scholar who has been treated unjustly in his examinations; but sauntering to the garden door, he was suddenly filled with a violent commingling of surprise and joy, for there before him, without a doubt, was a patch of turnips. He accordingly stooped down and began rooting some up.
Out from behind the door was suddenly thrust a surprisingly round head, which was straightway withdrawn; that certainly was the little nun. Ah Q looked upon her and her kind as the lowest of the low; but since there are times in this world when one cannot do as he pleases, he repressed his desire to open hostilities and hurriedly rooted up four turnips. After breaking off their leaves, he stuffed them into his jacket. By this time an elderly nun had come out.
"O-mi-t'o Fu, Ah Q, why have you climbed into this garden and stolen turnips?—Eye-yah, what a sin—oh me—O-mi-t'o Fu!"$^9$
"Now I should like to know when I ever climbed into your garden and stole turnips," mocked Ah Q, looking at her as he ran.
"Isn't that just what you are doing . . . now?" asked the elderly nun, pointing at his rolled-up coat.
​"Are the turnips yours? Can you make them answer you? You —"
He had not completed the sentence when with big strides he dashed away. A huge and very fat black dog ran at him. This dog had been at the front door and it was quite inexplainable how he had reached the rear garden. He growled as he made pursuit and was about to take a mouthful of Ah Q's thigh when, by good fortune, from his bundled-up coat fell a turnip, which frightened the dog. He halted momentarily and in an instant Ah Q had scrambled up the mulberry tree, scaled the wall, and fallen, man and turnips, outside the wall. The black dog remained barking alone by the mulberry tree. The elderly nun was repeating her O-mi-t'o Fu's.
Fearing that she would again let the dog out upon him, he picked up the turnips and ran on. As he sped on, he picked up a few stones; but since the black dog did not appear again, Ah Q tossed them away; and, eating the turnips as he walked along, he thought to himself, "There is nothing to be found here; I may as well go to town —"
And so by the time he had devoured the three turnips, he had made up his mind to go to the city, where he remained for some time, passing through some unusual experiences.