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One morning in 1905.or the 3Ith year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty,two brothers set out by boat from their hometown Boa-ah,amountain hamlet in Fujian Province on the southern coast of China,for the Dort city of Xiamen,some sixty miles away.The boys were full of excitement and chatted especi~ly the younger one.Yutang was ten years old,and today,hewas taking leave of his hometown and going with his brother to study in Xiamen·Thev were sons of Pastor Lin Zhicheng,who was born in the poor village of Wulisha.Pastor Lin was sending his sons to free missionary schools in Xiamen. The Pastor was not a follower of convention,So the boys did not wear queues.Yutang was a little guy,deeply tanned,with a prominent forehead'a pair of sparkling eyes,and a narrow chin.Six miles later,when the skiff camet0 Xiaoxi.the boys changed tO a five.sail junk,and sailed toward Zhangzhou on West River.There were paddy fields and farmhouses on either side ofthe river.and tall mountains stood behind them,clad in grey-purplish hues.Yutang thought it inexpressibly beautiful.After a day's journey,the junk was tied up against the bank under some bamboo trees.Yutang was told tO lie down,cover himself with a blanket and go tO sleep. But sleep was the last thing on the boy's mind.The boatman sitting at the iunk,s stern was sucking at his pipe,and between gulps of bitter tea,telling stories about the Empress Dowager Cixi,who ruled the court today,having put the Emperor Guangxu under house arrest for supporting the reformers at the palace.Another junk was tied up on the opposite bank,brightly lit by lanterns.A soft breeze wafted sounds of merrymaking and music from a lute across the water.
Table of Contents
ChapterOne
ChapterTwo
ChapterThree
ChapterFour
ChapterFive
Chapter
Chapter Seven
ChapterEight
ChapterNine
Chapter Tell
ChapterEleven
ChapterTwelve
ChapterThirteen
Chapter Fourteen
ChapterFifteen
ChapterSixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
ChapterNineteen
Chapter Twenty
ChapterTwenty—One
ChapterTwenty-Two
ChapterTwenty-Three
ChapterTwenty-Four
Chapter Twenty—Five
WADE-GILES To PINYIN
CONVERSION TABLE
WORKS IN ENGLISH
BY LIN YUTANG
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Astute，with an intuitive political skill，she planned her moves，markedher victims and bided her time．ThiS much must be said for her：she knew hermen．When her new Jou Dynasty was established，all her executioners werekilled within a year after having served their purpose during the terror；sheremembered all the good men she had banished，and recalled them to power．She was able to rule the country in peace for fifteen years．There were nolonger frame-ups；one heard no more of alarms of conspiracies and rebellions．Toward the end of her reign，law and justice recovered their ancient dignity．Ironically，it was in this very period of outspoken ministers and honest，courageous judges that the seeds of her ruin were sown． How does one write of one'S grandmother if she was a whore and amurderess?This question came up the other day when my Cousin Chiu，DukeofYing，and I had a hunting dinner at the Tsuiwei Palace and I told him that1 was starting these memoirs．Chiu is the son of Uncle Prince Suchiay；myfather was Prince Shien，at one time Co-regent．Both of US are among thefortunate SUrvjvors of Grandmother’S bloodbaths．He lost his father as I loSt mine in the same wave of persecution．He is a good man and has helped manyofthe orphans ofthe Royal House．Many ofthe princes and dukes today owehim his help．He，too，was left an orphan and knew fear,hunger and the utter loneliness of a child wandering in the jungles of subtropical Hainan in the South China Sea，feeling like a convict’S son，with a taint on his name．His mother and nine of his brothers were murdered on the same day,while he and two of his youngest brothers were exiled．He and I often sit over a cup of wine and exchange notes about the person responsible for it all，our grandmother．He is as doggedly proud ofhis father as I arn ofmine．Both ofthem were real scholars．What difference does it make?His father was hanged and my father was forced to hang himself．But he and I often enjoy these talks，like sailors recounting their escape from a disaster at sea．
Preface
One morning in 1905．or the 3Ith year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu ofQing Dynasty，tWO brothers set Out by boat from their hometown Boa-ah，amountain hamlet in Fujian Province on the southern coast of China，for theDort city of Xiamen，some sixty miles away．The boys were full of excitementand chatted especi~~ly the younger one．Yutang was ten years old，and today，hewas taking leave of his hometown and going with his brother to study in Xiamen·Thev were sons of Pastor Lin Zhicheng，who was born in the poor village ofWulisha．Pastor Lin was sending his sons tO free missionary schools in Xiamen．
The Pastor was not a follower of convention，SO the boys did not wear queues．Yutang was a little guy，deeply tanned，with a prominent forehead'a pair of sparkling eyes，and a narrow chin．Six miles later,when the skiff camet0 Xiaoxi．the boys changed tO a five．sail junk，and sailed toward Zhangzhou on West River．There were paddy fields and farmhouses on either side ofthe river．and tall mountains stood behind them，clad in grey-purplish hues．Yutang thought it inexpressibly beautiful．After a day's journey，the junk was tied up against the bank under some bamboo trees．Yutang was told tO lie down，cover himself with a blanket and go tO sleep． But sleep was the last thing on the boy's mind．The boatman sitting at the iunk，s stern was sucking at his pipe，and between gulps of bitter tea，telling stories about the Empress Dowager Cixi，who ruled the court today，having put the Emperor Guangxu under house arrest for supporting the reformers at the palace．Another junk was tied up on the opposite bank，brightly lit by lanterns．A soft breeze wafted sounds of merrymaking and music from a lute across the water．
