Officialdom Unmasked

23. The Judge, His Mother and His Son

23฀ The Judge, His Mothe r and His So n Because of his encounter with the fortune-teller, Judge Jia was in a state of bad temper for several days. One da y when h e wa s burning wit h rage , an appea l came befor e him . Th e appellant wa s surnamed Kong. His native place was Qufu Distric t o f Shandon g Province. For many years his father ra n a small business i n Guide Prefectur e i n Henan Province. The Prefect of Guide was ordered to establish a middle school in his prefecture but he did not have the necessary funds. So he forced the merchants within hi s jurisdiction t o make donations . Old ma n Kon g operated a tiny sho p selling clothes. Though his capital was only a thousand strings, the great Prefec t wanted hi m t o donate three hundred string s each year. When h e protested, th e Prefect accuse d him of deliberate disobedience and locked him up. His son went and sought help everywhere, hoping that the Prefect would release his father . The Prefec t pronounced , 'I t i s easy i f he want s t o secur e th e releas e o f his father. Apart from donating three hundred strings annually, he must immediatel y yield an extra two thousand strings for the repairs to the yamen.' But how was his son able to produce such a vast amount i n a short time? As a result, the Prefec t ordered that his father be beaten two hundred times on his palms and his mouth be slapped a hundred times. After the beating, he was sent back to the detentio n cell. It was only out of the Prefect's mercy that the old man was not beaten on his buttocks. In great anxiety, the son brought his appeal to the Provincial Capital. It s o happened tha t Judg e Jia ha d n o plac e t o ven t hi s anger . H e casuall y glanced through the case file and slammed the wooden block onto his table, crying, 194 Officialdom Unmasked 'Of al l the sl y people unde r th e skies , there ar e none wors e tha n yo u people of Henan. The order to open a school comes from above. The intention is to cultivate more local talents. It is nothing of great moment t o donate a few coppers more. What i s so serious that you have to appeal?' The son Kong said in defence, 'I had not dared to appeal to your lordship. But I am so hard pressed that I have no other way but to come here and tell you of my grievances!' 'Rubbish!' the Judge exclaimed. 'How dare you appeal when you yourself resist a command? You people of Henan are indeed a bad lot!' 'I am from Quf u Distric t o f Shandong Provinc e an d w e are only tradin g i n Henan. Thoug h w e wh o bea r th e surnam e Kon g ar e descendant s o f th e Sag e Confucius an d we are spread out in all the provinces, I am not a native of Henan Province,' said the son Kong. Seeing that Kon g dared t o answer back, th e Judge's fury intensifie d a s if oil had been added to the fire. He slammed the wooden block on the table and cursed repeatedly. 'You are farting and talking rubbish! It is true that there is not one good man in the Kong clan!' he shrieked . 'What do you mean by these words, my lord? As you were growing up, whose books did you read? You say there is not a good soul in the Kong family, but what about Confuciu s th e Sage ? How i s it you r lordshi p has forgotten eve n tha t ol d gentleman?' the son Kong argued. Silenced by this retort, the Judge blushed a crimson red and struggled to fin d his words. After a long pause, he said in rebuke, 'How dare you answer back? Beat hi m for me , beat hi m fo r holdin g a n officia l i n contemp t an d creatin g a n uproa r i n court.' The attendants on either side cried in...