"How could your surname be Chao! . . . How could a creature of your sort be worthy of the surname Chao?" Ah Q neither offered resistance nor argued that his surname was Chao but merely stroked his left cheek and withdrew with the ti-pao. Once outside, he received from the ti-pao also a severe reprimanding and thanked him for it by giving him two hundred cash for wine money. Those who learned of this maintained that Ah Q was entirely ignorant of the ways of the world — that he was thus actually inviting people to smack him. So it is probable that his surname might not have been Chao, and even if it had been, he should not have indulged in such chatter when the Venerable Mr. Chao was about. But since to this day no one has mentioned his surname, I have never been sure what it is.
Third, I also do not know how to write Ah Q's name. When he was living, people called him Ah Quei, but after his death, no one again referred to him as Ah Quei. Therefore, how could it happen that a person of his humble station should have his name preserved on durable material such as bamboo or cloth? If we mention preserving his name on bamboo or cloth for a record, this would be the first time it had been done for him, so I am here beset with a difficulty. I have already given the matter my careful thought. Could it be that Ah Quei stands for Ah Quei meaning cassia
