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/ \ Huang Taichong's Debat e with Qian Muzha i ^ if After th e disturbanc e a t th e Confucius ' Temple , Ho u an d hi s friend s picke d a quiet place and held a discussion. Knitting his brow Hou said, 'Though the incident today is most satisfying, we were a bit rash. If the authorities should take the matter seriously, even Libationer Wang would be punished.' 'It was my fault,' Huang confessed. 'It was I who moved my hands first. ' 'What d o you mean by "rash"?' Wu sneered. 'If you attacked a tiger withou t killing it, there will be no end of trouble in future. It is because there are too many of us who are genteel that Beardy Ruan's life is spared!' Hou was not convinced by this kind of reasoning, 'In that case, is it right t o assault people in the Temple?' 'Why not?' shouted Wu. 'An assault upon the eunuch's son within the Temple grounds has th e sam e meaning a s Confucius' Spring and Autumn Annals whic h condemns unruly and thieving officials! ' Stroking his long, delicate beard Chen smiled and said, 'It is a pity that th e Confucius i n the Temple is made of stone. Otherwise, he would surely come down the Hall of Great Accomplishments and help in the assault!' Everyone laughed when he said this, whereupon Chen continued, 'Today, we acted correctly in beating him. We also acted correctly in letting him go. Beardy Ruan did not know about our fierce determination. He thought our publicatio n of th e Proclamatio n wa s th e resul t o f momentar y agitatio n an d i t woul d b e completely forgotten afte r a long lapse of time. No! We have not forgotten! W e surely cannot forgive a big, bad egg who harms the nation and wrongs the people! The Peach Blossom Fan Why do I say it was correct to release him? If he was indeed killed in the assault , then we will have brought greater calamity upon ourselves. I fear that the Revival Club and Beardy Ruan might then perish together. If one Beardy Ruan dies, there will be another Beardy Ruan. But why should the Revival Club be brought down with him?' 'Let us not indulge in useless talk. We must find a way to resolve the matter, ' said Huang. 'I have already thought o f a way,' Chen said . 'I do not know how you feel. I suggest that Brothe r Wu an d Brother Huang should go and see old Master Zho u Zhongyu and Qian Muzhai; ask them to smooth things over with Libationer Wang. I will go with Brothe r Ho u t o discuss the matte r wit h ou r club member s at th e Imperial Academy o f Learning. We should sen d a detailed repor t t o old maste r Wang an d sa y this matte r ha s nothin g t o d o wit h th e Academ y Scholars ; i t i s purely a private quarrel between Brother Huang and Beardy Ruan.' 'What kin d of talk is this!' old Licentiate Wu exclaimed i n anger, 'How ca n we place all the blame on Brother Huang alone?' Chen smiled, 'Old master, you do have a hot temper. I have not finish speaking yet! Brother Huang's honourable father was harmed by Wei Zongxian's party and died a s a result. H e bea t u p Beard y Ruan t o aveng e his father, s o there i s good reason for him to strike the man. On the other hand, our joint assault on Beardy Ruan may be described as an assembly of unruly people to cause trouble. We could but oblige Brother Huang to take all the blame himself for the rest of us!' Clapping his hands Chen cried, 'Great! Great! Brother Wu, let us go and see old Master Zhou and Qian Muzhai!' Wu Ciwei was still uncertain, but said, 'Even if nothing has happened, I would still go and visit old Master Zhou to learn from him, but I am not going to Qia n Muzhai's place!' Thus speaking, the two set off towards Zhou Zhongyu's home. Secretary Zho u receive d the m warmly . Wu an d Huan g sa w that h e di d no t have a...

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