his offender, and if the latter happened to be a poor quarreler, he would revile him; if he happened to be puny, he would strike him. It is not known how it came about, but Ah Q eventually suffered many defeats and accordingly adopted a new policy, which, in general, was to glare at his offender with infuriated eyes.
And how was it to be understood that after Ah Q had adopted the infuriated-eye policy the ordinary run of Weichuangites found even more pleasure in teasing him? As soon as they set eyes on him, they would feign to be in great awe, gasping, "Hey there, it's brightening up!"
Ah Q, as was his habit, would become angry and direct his infuriated eyes at the offenders.
"So, there is a kerosene lamp here!" they would continue without fear.
Ah Q would have no recourse but to find words for retaliation and to sneer, "But you aren't even clever enough to have . . . !" At such a moment, the impetigo scars on his head seemed uncommon scars of a glorious and noble species. But we have already mentioned in the foregoing lines that Ah Q was a man of the world, so knew at once that he was about to break his own taboo, and spoke no more, in order to avoid the unutterable word.
The ordinary person would not let the matter rest here, but would continue teasing until in the
