after all, not wholly settled and hence his native district cannot be decided upon.
Although he lived for the most part in Weichuang, he was often in the habit of living in other places, and so he cannot be considered a native of Weichuang. Were we to consider him a native of Weichuang, we would not be in agreement with the accepted methods of writing history.
I may at least find consolation in the fact that the character "Ah" (阿) (a character preceding all familiar names), is legitimate beyond all doubt; and it can be in no way susceptible to misinterpretation and is worthy of being presented at its face value to the general public. As for the rest, that cannot be investigated, except by people of deep erudition. My only hope is that the scientific minds of the historian and the antiquarian, such as Mr. Hu Shih's followers, will be able, in the future, to discover many clues to this mystery; but I fear that by that time my "True Story of Ah Q" will have passed into oblivion.
The foregoing may be considered as a preface to it.
