of the successful candidates in the triennial examinations? "So what are you, after all?"
After conquering his enemies by such ingenious means as these, Ah Q would go to the tavern, drink a few cups of wine, jest and quarrel a bit, and return, after scoring more victories, to the temple and would soon fall asleep with a light heart. If he happened to have any money, he would join the crowd of gamblers squatted around in a circle, his face streaming with sweat and his voice heard above every one else.
"Four hundred cash on the Black Dragon!"
"Hey! Here goes!" the dealer would shout as he uncovered the board, his face also streaming with sweat. "Here goes Heaven's Gate and Ah Q's money . . . No one seems to like Human Harmony."
"A hundred on Human Harmony! No, a hundred and fifty!"
Gradually Ah Q's money would find its way into the pockets of other perspiring gamblers. Obliged to withdraw from the inner circle, he would watch from the fringe, shouting and perspiring for the active participants. He could never tear himself away until the party broke up, when he would return to the temple with reluctant steps. The next day he would go to work with swollen eyes.
But "who knows that it is not a blessing for the Tartar to have lost his horse?" The only occasion on which Ah Q did win, he came near to tasting defeat. It happened during the village festival. There was as usual an open air theater and there were several gambling concessions near the stage. The gongs and drums sounded very faint in Ah Q's ears, as though miles away; he could hear only the barking of the dealer. He won and won, his coppers turning into dimes,
