But Wang-hu did not seem to be a superior man and, what was more, took no notice of these words, but bumped Ah Q's head against the wall five times. He then used the utmost of his strength and gave him one push which sent him tumbling over a distance of six feet. It was then that Wang-hu walked away satisfied.
This, in Ah Q's mind, should have been considered the first humiliation which he had suffered, because in times past, when he had ridiculed Wang-hu on account of his chains of whiskers, the latter had never ridiculed him; nor had Wang-hu raised a hand against him. But now, quite contrary to expectation, he had raised his hand. It seemed as if the saying of the populace had come true; namely, "The emperor has discontinued the examinations and Hsiu-t'sai and Chü-jen8 are no longer needed." For this reason, there would be a loss in the austere bearing of the Chao family, and so would others be taking him lightly too, implying that any loss in prestige on the part of the Chaos would reflect on himself; so Ah Q still considered himself a Chao. Now there was no ground for him to stand on.
A person approached from a distance who, on arrival, proved to be one of Ah Q's enemies. This was the man Ah Q hated most vehemently; he was the eldest son of the Venerable Mr. Chin. In the past, he had gone to the city and attended a
