Gems of Chinese Literature/Visits to Strange Nations-The Country of Gentlemen
Imagine that, instead of preferring to buy things at low prices, men habitually preferred to give high prices for them; and imagine that, conversely, sellers rejoiced in getting low prices, instead of high ones.―Herbert Spencer.
THEY sailed along for many days until they arrived at the Country of Gentlemen, where they went on shore and proceeded at once to the capital city. There, over the city gate, T‘ang and his companions read the following legend:―
Virtue is man’s only jewel!
They then entered the city, which they found to be a busy and prosperous mart, the inhabitants all talking the Chinese language. Accordingly, T‘ang accosted one of the passers-by and asked him how it was his nation had become so famous for politeness and consideration of others; but to his great astonishment the man did not understand the meaning of his question. T‘ang then asked him why this land was called the Country of Gentlemen, to which he likewise replied that he did not know. Several other persons of whom they enquired giving similar answers, the venerable To[1] remarked that the term had undoubtedly been adopted by the inhabitants of adjacent countries, in consequence of the polite manners and considerate behaviour of these people. “For,” said he, “the very labourers in the fields and foot-passengers in the streets step aside to make room for one another. High and low, rich and poor, mutually respect each other’s feelings without reference to the wealth or social status of either; and this is after all the essence of what constitutes the true gentleman.”
“In that case,” cried T‘ang, “let us not hurry on, but rather improve ourselves by observing the ways and customs of this people.”
By-and-by they arrived at the market-place, where they saw an official servant[2] standing at a stall engaged in making purchases. He was holding in his hand the articles he wished to buy and was saying to the owner of the stall, “Just reflect a moment, Sir, how impossible it would be for me to take these excellent goods at the absurdly low price you are asking. If you will oblige me by doubling the amount, I shall do myself the honour of accepting them; otherwise, I cannot but feel that you are unwilling to do business with me to-day.”
“How very funny!” whispered T‘ang to his friends. “Here now is quite a different custom from ours, where the buyer invariably tries to beat down the seller, and the seller to run up the price of his goods as high as possible. This certainly looks like the ‘consideration for others’ of which we spoke just now.”
The man at the stall here replied, “Your wish, Sir, should be law to me, I know; but the fact is I am already overwhelmed with shame at the high price I have ventured to name. Besides I do not profess to adhere rigidly to ‘marked prices,’ which is a mere trick of the trade; and consequently it should be the aim of every purchaser to make me lower my terms to the very smallest figure. You, on the contrary, are trying to raise the price to an exorbitant figure; and although I fully appreciate your kindness in that respect, I must really ask you to seek what you require at some other establishment. It is quite impossible for me to execute your commands.”
T‘ang was again expressing his astonishment at this extraordinary reversal of the platitudes of trade when the would-be purchaser replied, “For you, Sir, to ask such a low sum for these first-class goods and then to turn round and accuse me of over-considering your interests, is indeed a sad breach of etiquette. Trade could not be carried on at all if all the advantages were on one side and the losses on the other; neither am I more devoid of brains than the ordinary run of people that I should fail to understand this principle and let you catch me in a trap.”
So they went on wrangling and jangling, the stall-keeper refusing to charge any more and the runner insisting on paying his own price, until the latter made a show of yielding and put down the full sum demanded on the counter, but took only half the amount of goods. Of course the stall-keeper would not consent to this, and they would both have fallen back upon their original positions had not two old gentlemen who happened to be passing stepped aside and arranged the matter for them by deciding that the runner was to pay the full price but to receive only four-fifths of the goods.
T‘ang and his companions walked on in silence, meditating upon the strange scene they had just witnessed; but they had not gone many steps when they came across a soldier[3] similarly engaged in buying things at an open shop window. He was saying, “When I asked the price of these goods, you, Sir, begged me to take them at my own valuation; but now that I am willing to do so, you complain of the large sum I offer, whereas the truth is that it is actually very much below their real value. Do not treat me thus unfairly.”
“It is not for me, Sir,” replied the shopkeeper, “to demand a price for my own goods; my duty is to leave that entirely to you. But the fact is that these goods are old stock and are not even the best of their kind; you would do much better at another shop. However, let us say half what you are good enough to offer; even then I feel I shall be taking a great deal too much: I could not think, Sir, of parting with my goods at your price.”
“What is that you are saying, Sir?” cried the soldier. “Although not in the trade myself I can tell superior from inferior articles and am not likely to mistake one for the other. And to pay a low price for a good article is simply another way of taking money out of a man's pocket.”
“Sir,” retorted the shop-keeper, “if you are such a stickler for justice as all that, let us say half the price you first mentioned, and the goods are yours. If you object to that, I must ask you to take your custom elsewhere. You will then find that I am not imposing on you.”
The soldier at first stuck to his text, but seeing that the shop-keeper was not inclined to give way, he laid down the sum named and began to take his goods, picking out the very worst he could find. Here, however, the shop-keeper interposed, saying, “Excuse me, Sir, but you are taking all the bad ones. It is doubtless very kind of you to leave the best for me; but if all men were like you, there would be a general collapse of trade.”
“Sir,” replied the soldier, “As you insist on accepting only half the value of the goods, there is no course open to me but to choose inferior articles. Besides, as a matter of fact the best kind will not answer my purpose so well as the second or third best; and although I fully recognise your good intentions, I must really ask to be allowed to please myself.”
“There is no objection, Sir,” said the shop-keeper, “To your pleasing yourself; but low-class goods are sold at a low price and do not command the same rates as superior articles.”
Thus they went on bandying arguments for a long time without coming to any definite agreement, until at last the soldier picked up the things he had chosen and tried to make off with them. The bystanders, however, all cried shame upon him and said he was a downright cheat, so that he was ultimately obliged to take some of the best kind and some of the inferior kind and put an end to the altercation.
A little farther on our travellers saw a countryman who had just paid the price of some purchases he had succeeded in making, and was hurrying away with them, when the shop-keeper called after him, “Sir! Sir! you have paid me by mistake in finer silver than we are accustomed to use here, and I have to allow you a considerable discount in consequence. Of course this is a mere trifle to a gentleman of your rank and position, but still for my own sake I must ask leave to make it all right with you.”
“Pray don't mention such a small matter,” replied the countryman, “but oblige me by putting the amount to my credit for use at a future date when I come again to buy some more of your excellent wares.”
“No, no,” answered the shop-keeper, “you don’t catch old birds with chaff. That trick was played upon me last year by another gentleman, and to this day I have never set eyes upon him again, though I have made every endeavour to find out his whereabouts. As it is, I can now only look forward to repaying him in the next life; but if I let you take me in in the same way, why, when the next life comes and I am changed, may be into a horse or a donkey, I shall have quite enough to do to find him, and your debt will go dragging on till the life after that. No, no, there is no time like the present; hereafter I might very likely forget what was the exact sum I owed you.”
They continued to argue the point until the countryman consented to accept a trifle as a set-off against the fineness of his silver and went away with his goods, the shop-keeper bawling after him as long as he was in sight that he had sold him inferior articles at a high rate and was positively defrauding him of his money. The countryman, however, got clear away, and the shop-keeper returned to his grumbling at the iniquity of the age. Just then a beggar happened to pass, and so in anger at having been compelled to take more than his due he handed him the difference. “Who knows,” said he, “but that the present misery of this poor fellow may be retribution for overcharging people in a former life?”
“Ah," said T‘ang, when he had witnessed the finale of this little drama, “truly this is the behaviour of gentlemen!”
- ↑ A sobriquet meaning “Much,” and referring to the old man’s learning.
- ↑ A class very much dreaded by shop-keepers in China for their avarice and extortion. Usually called “runners.”
- ↑ If possible a more deadly foe to Chinese tradesmen than the runners above mentioned. These ill-paid, and consequently brutal, vagabonds used to think nothing of snatching pastry or fruit from the costermongers’ stalls as they walked along the streets. Hence the delicacy of our author's satire, which is necessarily somewhat lost upon foreign readers.