# Gems of Chinese Literature/Visits to Strange Nations-The Country of Great Men

VISITS TO STRANGE NATIONS.
17th century a.d.
[The following extracts from the Ching Hua Yüan give an imaginary account of some portions of the travels of a party of friends, undertaken in the year a.d. 684 as a protest against the frivolous and aggressive policy of the then reigning Empress, coupled with a strong flavour of commercial enterprise. They are included in this volume not because of any grace of style in the original text, but as specimens of literature akin to such works as “Gulliver’s Travels,” though lacking the philosophic motive which underlies Swift’s work.]
THE COUNTRY OF GENTLEMEN.
A voyage of a few days brought them to the Country of Great Men, where they would hardly have landed but for T‘ang's curiosity to see a people who he had heard used clouds as a means of locomotion. The omniscient To explained that the city lay at some distance from the shore behind a range of hills, and that it would be absolutely necessary to get as far as that if they wanted to see anything of the manners and customs of the people. So they set off to walk, meeting on the way a few people moving about on clouds of different colours about half a foot from the ground, but they soon lost themselves in a perfect labyrinth of paths and did not know which way to turn. Luckily, they spied out a small temple hidden in a grove of waving bamboos, and were on the point of knocking for admittance, when out came an old man of ordinary appearance, riding on a cloud, with a stoup of wine in one hand and a lump of pork in the other. On seeing the strangers he turned back and put down the pork and wine, returning at once with a smile on his face to welcome them to his “rush hut.” T‘ang made him a low bow and enquired what might be the name of the temple. He replied that it was sacred to the goddess of mercy and that he was the officiating priest. The trader Lin opened his eyes at this and said, “But, my venerable Sir, how comes it then that you do not shave your head? And may we presume that there is a lady inside for whom you were about to prepare the pork and wine we saw just now?”
“There is, indeed, a lady within,” replied the priest, “but she is merely the insignificant wife of your humble slave. She ​and I have lived here ever since we were children, burning incense and candles daily before the shrine. For our countrymen, hearing that China during the Han dynasty had accepted the Law of Buddha and that priests and nuns with shaven heads had become quite common there, determined to adopt the same religion, dispensing however with the usual monastic vows.”
The old priest then asked them whence they came, and on learning that they had just arrived from China became anxious to shew them some hospitality; but T‘ang prayed him to excuse them, urging that they wished to hurry on to the city. He then added, “May I ask what is the explanation of the clouds I see underneath the feet of the inhabitants of this country? Are you born with them?”
“Sir,” answered the old priest, “these clouds are perfectly independent of the will of the individuals to whom they are attached. Their colour varies, and also changes, with the disposition of each particular person. The best clouds to have are striped like a rainbow; yellow is the second best, and black is the worst of all.” T‘ang then begged him to point out the way to the city, which he did, and our travellers forthwith proceeded on their way thither. At length they arrived, but found nothing very different from what they had previously seen in the Country of Gentlemen, except that all the inhabitants were moving about on clouds of various hues, green, red, yellow, blue, and black. Amongst others they noticed a filthy beggar riding on a striped or rainbow cloud; whereupon T‘ang remarked, “Why, the priest told us that the striped cloud was the best of all, and here is a dirty old beggar with one!”
“Don't you recollect,” said Lin, “that the wine-bibbing, meat-eating, wife-marrying ascetic had a striped cloud himself? You may be pretty sure that neither of them are men of very distinguished virtue.”
“When I was here before,” explained To, “I heard that the colour of a man's cloud was quite independent of his wishes, being regulated entirely by his natural disposition and actions, so that virtuous people shew good colours and wicked people bad ones ​whether they like or not; and that nothing short of change of disposition and conduct can possibly alter the hue of any man's cloud. Thus it happens that persons of high rank are sometimes seen on black clouds, while their poorer and humbler neighbours ride about on clouds of the very best colours. As it is, I would have you notice how few―scarcely two in a hundred―are seen on black clouds. For such are held in universal detestation by their fellow-countrymen, who avoid contact with them as much as they can; whereas, on the other hand, nothing gives more pleasure to the inhabitants of this region than the sight of a kindly and benevolent act. Neither are they always striving to get the better of one another, and therefore the people of the adjacent nations have named this the country of great men; not meaning thereby that physically speaking they are greater than the usual run of human beings, but that they are a high-minded and virtuous race.”
While they were thus talking, the people in the streets began to fall back to either side, leaving a clear passage in the middle; and by-and-by they saw an official pass in great state with his red umbrella, gongs, tablets, and other instrumental parts of his dignity, besides hosts of attendants on clouds of various hues. They noticed, however, that his own cloud was scrupulously concealed by a valance of red silk so that its colour could not possibly be seen; whereupon T‘ang observed, “Of course the high officials of this country have no need for horses or sedan-chairs, provided as they are with these convenient clouds upon which they can move about at their pleasure; but I should like to know why this gentleman keeps his cloud covered up in such a mysterious manner.”
“Well,” replied To, “the fact is that he, like too many others of his class, has a cloud of a peculiar colour. It is not exactly black but more of an ashen hue, shewing thereby that his hands are not nearly so clean as they ought to be. For although he puts on all the appearance of a virtuous member of society and conceals his misdeeds from the world at large, yet he cannot control his cloud which takes its hue from the real working of his inmost mind. Consequently, he covers it up; but he might as well ‘stuff ​his ears’ and ‘ring a bell’ for all the good that can do him. Other people will hear the bell if he doesn’t. Nothing on earth will change the colour of that cloud of his except a conscientious repentance and a thorough reformation of character. Besides there is every danger of the truth becoming bruited abroad, and then he is a lost man. Not only would he be severely punished by the king of the country, but he would further be shunned on all sides as a degraded and dishonourable man.”
“Great God!” cried the trader Lin, “how unjust are thy ways.”
“Why say you so?” asked T‘ang of his uncle, “and to what may you be particularly alluding?”
“I say so,” replied Lin, “inasmuch as I see these clouds confined to this nation. How useful it would be in our country to have some such infallible means of distinguishing the good from the bad. For if every wicked man carried about, so to speak, his own shop-sign with him wherever he went, surely this would act as a powerful deterrent from crime.”
“My dear friend,” said the aged To, “though the wicked in our part of the world carry about with them no tell-tale cloud, there is nevertheless a blackness in their looks by which you may know the colour of their hearts.”
“That may be so,” answered Lin, “but I for one am unable to perceive whether the blackness is there or not.”
“You may not detect it,” retorted To, “but God does, and deals out rewards and punishments accordingly.”
“Sir,” said Lin, “I will take your word for it;”―and there the discussion ended.