his queue. Instead he sent a very ingratiating letter to His Honor through the fake foreigner, whom he also prevailed upon to propose his name for membership in the Freedom Party. Upon reimbursing the latter four dollars when he returned from the city, the licentiate received a peachlike ornament made of silver which he pinned to his breast. This inspired awe and admiration in the villagers, who divined that with the Shih Yu Tang[1] (Persimmon Oil Party) it was the equivalent of the mandarin's official button, almost the equivalent of a hanlin. His Honor Chao's prestige soared, soared infinitely higher than when his son passed his examination. He was so proud that he had no use for any one, including the very estimable Ah Q.
It then dawned upon Ah Q why he had been neglected: he realized that it was not enough to say that he had joined the revolutionaries, or to knot his queue on top of his head; it was necessary to make the acquaintance of the revolutionaries. He knew of only two: the one in the city had long ago been—zip!—beheaded; there remained only the fake foreigner. There was but one way out of Ah Q's neglected position; he must immediately discuss matters with the fake foreigner.
The gate of the Chien house was open. Ah Q edged in timidly. Inside, the fake foreigner was standing in the courtyard, dressed in a black outfit that must have been a foreign costume, a silver peach pinned to his breast, holding in his hand the stick with which Ah Q had already had some encounters; his growing queue was untied and hanging loose over his shoulder as in representations of the Taoist immortal
- ↑ Tzu-yu (freedom), being a new term, is corrupted by the illiterate peasantry into Shih-yu because of the similarity in sound.
