TUN-HUANG Read Online Free PDF

asleep to hear.
    He walked to the gate and out into the quiet, unpeopled streets of the government district. He roamed from street to street as if in a trance. The examination at the palace… the banquet with high officials after passing it … the glory of wearing the white robes of high officialdom … being called Your Excellency … all, all this had been reduced to the ashes of a dream.
    Unexpectedly, a four-line poem by Meng Chiao drifted into his mind.
    Elated by the spring breeze
    My horse quickens its pace.
    In but one short day
    Do I view all the peonies of Ch’ang-an.
    Meng Chiao had composed this in celebration of the official notice that he had passed the Palace Examination at the age of fifty.
    For Hsing-te there would be no peonies. Only the relentless summer sun enveloped him as he stood there crushed with despair. He would have to wait another three years before the next examination would be held. Hsing-te walked on and on. Only in walking could he dissipate his emotion. Before he was aware of it, he had entered the marketplace outside the walled city. As dusk approached, shabbily dressed men and women thronged the narrow road. Food shops lined both sides of the street. Shops selling boiled or fried chicken and duck stood in a row. The odors of burnt oil, sweat, and dust intermingled, and the air was heavy with strange smells. Smoked lamb and pork hung from the eaves of some shops. Hsing-te felt hungry. He had not eaten anything since breakfast.
    After crossing several roads he came upon a crowd of people. The narrow lane was full to begin with, but here it was completely blocked. He peered over their shoulders and looked beyond.
    He caught a glimpse of the bare legs of a woman lying on a thick board placed on a wooden box. Hsing-te pushed his way forward through the crowd. Looking over their shoulders, he could see the rest of the woman’s body. She was completely naked. At a glance Hsing-te could tell that she was not Chinese. Her skin was not very fair, but she possessed a certain voluptuousness which he had never seen before. In her face he could detect high cheekbones, a pointed chin, and rather deep-set, dark eyes.
    He pushed further forward. Standing beside the woman was a coarse-looking, half-naked man wielding a large knife and glaring savagely at the spectators.
    “Come now, which part do you want? Sale! Sale!” So saying, he leered at the crowd. Only then did people stir, but they could not take their eyes off this strange scene.
    “What’s come over you? I have never seen such a spineless bunch! Isn’t there anyone with enough guts to buy this?”
    The man shouted again, but no one answered. Just then Hsing-te stepped forward from the crowd and asked, “Tell me, what happened to this woman?” He was filled with curiosity and the words came out despite himself.
    The knife-wielding barbarian stared at Hsing-te and replied, “This woman is from Hsi-hsia. After sleeping with a man, she tried to kill his wife—the whore! I’m going to sell her piecemeal. If you like, I’ll give you any part—ears, nose, breasts, thighs—any part you want. The price is the same as pork.” He was not Chinese either. His eyes had a bluish tinge, and the hair on his chest shone gold. His tanned, fleshy shoulders were tattooed with strange, grotesque symbols.
    “Has the woman agreed to this butchering?” In response to Hsing-te’s question, the woman unexpectedly spoke up.
    “Yes, I have agreed.” Her words were rough, but her voice was high-pitched and penetrating. There was momentary confusion among the crowd when she spoke. Hsing-te couldn’t tell whether she had resigned herself to her fate or was just being contrary.
    “You miserable creatures! How long are you going to stand around like this? If you can’t afford to buy, then I’ll fix it so you can. How about a finger? A finger?”
    The next instant the man’s knife glittered. The sound of the knife hitting the board resounded and,