ChlahR' Kal-ahek'a reign of terror. Mao Tun, a8 nn nctlve participant In the strUlJlle, knew every level and corner of Chlneae aoclet)'. Here,,1n thla croaB-aeetien of hlsl best short alortea, we find a remarkable Introduction to the awakening of the Chinese people.

'-0 '-0

SPRING SILKWORMS

OLD Tung PRO aat on a rock beside the road that skirted the CRIIRI, his long-stemmed pipe lying on tho ground next to him. Though It waa only a few dllya after "CleRr and Bright Fcstlval" the April Bun waR Rlrelldy very strong. It scorched Old Tung Pao'a spln(! J.Iko n

. bRain of flre. Straining down the road, the m(!n towing the fast junle wore only thin tunics, OpOIl In front. They were bent far forward, pu11lng, pulllng,' pulll:;g, grent beade of sweat dripping from their brows.

The sight of others toiling atrenllollsly made Old Tung Pao feel even wanner: he began to Itch. He wlla atilI weRrlng tho tattered padded jacket In which he lind pasaed the winter. H's unlined jacket had not yet been redeemed from the pRwn ahop. Who wou1l1 have believed It could get so hot right nfter "Clear and Drlght"?

Even the weathcr's not whl\t ,It used to bo, Old Tung Pao said to hlmaelf, and spat emphatically.

Defore him, the water of the cnnal wos gl'()(lll Ilnd shiny. Occaalonlll pRsslng boRts broke the mlrror~

amooth surface Into ripples nnd eddies, turning the re­flection of the earthen bank l\nd the long line of mulberry trees flanking It Into a dancing grey blur. But not fori long I Gl'adually the trees r(!nppcl\red, twlBtlng nnd weaving drunkenly, Another few minutes, and they were ago.ln standing BUll, reflected as clearly as before. 011 the gnarled flsta of the mulberry brnnchell, little l\ngers of tender green buda were already bursting forth. Crowded close together, the trees along the canal seemed to march endlellllly Into the distance. Tho unplanted

ce

.... ~ ~

JO MAO rUN

fields as yet were only cracked clods of dry earth; th& mulberry trees reigned supreme here this time of th&1year I Behind Old Tung Pao's back was another great stretch of mulberry trees, squat, silent. The little buds seemed to be growing' bigger every second In the hot sunlight.

Not far from where Old Tung Pao WRS slUIng, a INlY two-storey building crouched beside the road. That wae the silk ftlature, where the delicate fibres were removed from the cocoons. Two weelcs ago It was occupied by troops; a few short trenches stili sC6rred the nelds around It. Everyone had said that the Japanese soldiers were attacking In tills direction. The rich people In the market town had an run away. Now the troops were gone Rnd the snk fllature stood empty and locked as before. Ther& would be no noJse Rnd excl~ment In It agRln until cocoon selling time.

Old· Tung Pao had heard Young MllBter Chen-Bon of the MaBter Chell who lived In town-say that Shnng­hal wno Beethlng wllh unrest, that all the Bilk weaving factories had closed their doors, that the silk filatures here probably wouldn't open either. But he couldn't beJleve It. He had been through many periods of tur­moil and strife In his sixty years, yet he had never Been a time when the Bhlny green mulberry leaves had been allowed to wither on the branches and become fodder for the shoop. Of courBO If the silkworm eggs shouldn't ripen, that would be different. Such Mattera were nil In the hands of the Old Lord of the Sky. Who could fore. tell HIB will?

"Only just after Clear and Bright And BO hot al. ready I" marvelled Old Tun, Pao, lazing At tho email green mulberry leaves. He waB happy all well 011 sur· prlBed. He could remember only one year when It wos too hot for padded clothes at Clear and BrIght. He was In Ws twenties then, and the silkworm eggs had hatched

SPRING SILKWORMS tl

"two hundred per cent" I That WRB the year he got mllrrled. His family wall ftourhlhlng In those daYIl. His father waB like an experienced plough ox-there wae notblng he didn't understand, nothing he WRBn't wl11lnS' to try. Even his old grandfather-the one who hnd flrat started the family on the road to prosperltY-4leemed to be growJng more hearty with age, In spite of the hl\rd time he waB SAid to hove had during the years he WnIJ

a prisoner of the "Long Haire...• Old Ma8~r Chen waB BUll Rllve then. His 80n, the

preaent Master Chen, hadn't begun emoklng opium yet, and the "House ot Chen" hAdn't become the bad lot It was today. Moreover, even though tho HOllBO of Chen was of the rich gentry and his own family only ordInAry tillers of the land, Old Tung Pao had felt that the deBtlnles of the two famllleB were linked together. Years ago, 41Long Haire" campaigning through the countryside had captured Tung Pao's grandfather I1nd Old Ma8ter Chen and kept them working 68 prleoncra for nenrly eeven yearB ,fn the same cnmp, They hnd escRped to­gether, taking a lot of the "Long lIalrs' " gold with them -people stili talk about It to this day. What's more, at the Bame time Old MaBter Chen's Bilk trade began to prosper, the cocoon l'"lslng of Tung PRO'S family grew

• In tbe middle of tbe 19th century, China'., oppressod Ilea••tlte ro.e a.alnlt their feudal Manohu ruler. In one of the lon,..t (18111-1884) and bltterellt r..olutlons In history. Known as the Talpln, Rnolutlon, It wu defeated only with the a..l.tanet of the Intervontlonlet loreell 01 Enrhmd, FranCHI and the United Stat.. of America,

The Manohull hated and feared tho "Lonl Unlre," all they lIlanderou.ly called tbe Talpln, Army mon, and fabricated an lortl of 1In about them In a nln attAlmllt to dlsoredlt tbem with the people.

Old Tung Pao, although eleadlly deteriorating economically, III typical of ' the rloh pORlIants. Like otherll of hie elllllll, he felt. and thought the .ame all the feudal landlord rulore.

H MAO TVN

8ucces8Cul toO. Wlthlll tell yenrs grnndfather had eRl'ned ~119!1Jl'.h,~ buy ,~h!eo ..a,~r~_9f 'dee "paddy•_tw.o.,oacres' of mulberry 'grove, nnd build n modest house. Tung Pao's family was th'lf envy of the people ot ERst Village, just as the House of Chen ranked alnotl8' the nl'st {lunllleB In the market tawil,

But afterwards, both families had declined, Today, Did Tung Poo had no hUld of his own, In faet he WIIS

over three hundred AliveI' dollal'S In debL The HouBe of Chell was tlnlshed too. People said the llplr,lt of the dead "LolIg Hnlr" had sued the Chens In the underworld, Rnd because tho IOng of Hell had decreed that the Chene repay the fot'hme they had amassed on the IItolen gold, the family hod gone down flnancJally very quickly. Old Tung Pao was rather Inclined to believe this. If It hadn't been fOl' the Innuence of devils, why would n decent fellow like Master Chell have tllkcn to smoking op,lum?

What Old Tung Pao could nevol' underatand wall why tho foil of the Houee of Chen should offect his own

...... <:> famlly7 They certainly hadll't kept any of the "Long ......

HlllI'fI'" gold, True, hie fathel' had related that when gl'olldfolhet' Wlls escoJllng h'om the "Lollg Haire' " coml> he hot' rUII Illto 0 young "Long Hall''' 011 patrol ond had to ItllI him, What elae could he have done7 It wos "fate" 1 Stili fl'om 'rung Pao'll earliest recollectlone, his fn~I!r..,~,~j(I!!~~:.r~(n,iid. Offel'ed.' 8acdn~es to .,ppeRse the soul ..of, thedep"l'~·young "Long· Hah'~', tlme And time agnln~, That little wronged IIplrlt IIhould hnve left the 'it-ether world and been reborn long ngo by now I Although Old Tung Pao couldn't recnll what sort of man his grand· fathor was, he knew his father hnd been hard·worklng and honeat-he had eeon that wl.th his own eyes. Old Tung Pao himself wos n l'espect8ble person; both Ah Sze, his eldOl' lion, and his daughtel'.ln.lnw were I,,· ·dufltrlou8 and frugnl, Only his younger son, Ah To, was Inellncci to be a little nlghty, But youngeters were nil

SPntNG S1LlCWOnMS , 1S

like that. Thel'e was nothing renlly bad about the boy. , , ,

Old Tung Pao raised his wrinkled fnce, scorched by years of hot sun to the colour of dark IHu'chmcnt. He gazed bitterly at the canol before him, nt the bonts on Its waters, nt the mulberry trees I\long Its banks. All were npproxlmatoly the lIame 99 they hnd boon when he wos twenty, But the world hall chRnged, His famllY'j IIQYi.....Qfl!'n..,\l!l.!Uo... mMe, .theJr .meaLs ..of,pumpkln,lnstend ' of rice. He was over three hundt'ed sliver dollal's III debt:', ..

Toot I Toot-toot.toot,.,' FRr up the bend In the canal a boat whistle broke the

silence, There was a silk mature over there too, He could lIee vaguely the neat lines of Btones embedded ns reinforcement In the canal bank. A amnII oU.burnlng r,lver boat came puffing up pompously from beyond the silk mature, tugg.lng three larger craft In Its wake, 1m· medlRtely the poaceful water was ngltllted with waves roiling toward the bonke on both sides of the connl. A peasant, poling a tiny boat, haetened to shore nnd clutch· ed n clump of reeds growing In the shallows, 'fht' woves tOBBed him and hie little craft up nnd down IIko 0 lIee-saw, The peaceful green countryside WAB filled w.lth tho chug­ging of the boat engine and the sUnk of Its exhaust,

Hotred burned In Old Tung Pao's eyes. Ho watched the river boat approach, he watched It sail pant nnd glared after It until It went tooting around another bend and disappeared from sight. I!! h~tl nlwBYR abomlnotcd t~.e.JQt.(llKn devils' contraptionII. e-Jihtultl!t'·had .never met a foreTgnuevn;··t;ut' hla fnther' hod given '111m a .!l.!'~DU.Q!Lof 0"17 Otd-Mute... ·Chen 'hml-treen-red·eye. brows, afJleiUY:~i.:ro\lJ" A'lltlfMerged walk I Old MAster Cben hnd ha~d the" for's'iAii devils too. "The foreign deviiit have '8wlndle(j"ou'r monll'y away," he ulled to lIay, Old Tung Pao was only eight or nlnc the last time he

t4 MAO TUN SPRING SILKwonMS J6

saw Old Moster Chen. All he remembered about h.lm now were things he had heard from others. But when· ever Old Tung Pao thought of that remark-uThe for· elgn devlli have swindled our money away."-he could almost picture Old Master Chen, stroking hie beard and wagging his head.

How the foreign devils had accomplished this, Old Tung Paa wasn't too clear. Ho wos 8ure, however, thnt Old Master Chen waB right. Some thlngB he himself had seen qul~ plainly. From the tIme foreign goOOIl­cambric, cloth, oll-appeared In tho market town, from the tlmo the foreign river boats IncreaRed on the canal, what he produced brought a lower price In the market ovory day, while what he had to buy beeame more and more expensive. That was why the property hili father left him had shrunk unUl it finally vanished completely; and now he was ~n debt. It was not without reaaon that Old Tung Pao hated the forelm devils I

In the village, hIs attItude toward foreigners was well· ..... known. Five years before, In 192'{, someone had tord o N hIm: The new Kuomtntang"g'overnment laya It wants

to "throw out" the foreign devils. Old Tung Pao didn't bellevo It. He heard those young propaRanda IIpeech makers the Kuomlntang Bent when he went Into the mnrket town. Though they cried "Throw out the for­elg~~~!!!!'.,~.~J~!~. w~r.e. drealledliiWeiiterw~ty.la· ~tolhl)lg.· Hie guess wns that they were secretly In 'engUe wJtl\ the foreIgn devils, that they hlld been purposely Bent to delude the countryfolk I Suro enough, the Kuomlntang dropped the Blogan not long nfter. and prleee and taxe8 roae Bteadlly, Old Tung Pao wns Rrmly convinced that nil this occurred a8 part of l\ government conspiracy with the forelgll dev.lIs. .I~mLS01!'..!~~~".l._had. happened .that mll.de him ...

at~ost sIck ~1.lli...turv:-·Only.thLeocQOnB..8.Pun.. ~y. ..t',e foretl'ft81fiffi silkworms could be soid at a decent price. ------_ __._.. .._._-_ ­.. _ .

Bunts paid J:w...dollara...more..per .. load. for .t~em than tl\~~ld for the local._v.M·J~ty. ~!y'_"on good term9 with lilBdiIUjlRer.ln:law. Old Tung Pao iiii<r-<iuii'rreUed with her 'tiecauseofthliJ. She hod wanted' to ralee only foretgir1tlkWOiiiiii,··snUOlirTung·'Pno"if·younger SO" Ah To"llila-agreed"' w.m"·her.'i'hough .the boy dIdn't say much;tr, hl8"1ieiii'~ 'he cerlalilly had alBo favoured thl" ~ou·r8e. E.UiUe. had proved they were right, and theywo,ifdr1"t let Old Tung pac)'fOflent.....This 'year;he l1ad to 'comprumln:···Of ·tlie···ftve· tfa' .,.,. the "Wt)old raIse, only four-woUld be' iJlntworIM··or~helo'!iii" vnrtety: one rAy would contain foreign "iil1TcWorrn8. . ..

"The world's 80ln, from bad to wo~1 In another couple of yenrs they'll even be wanting fore.lgn mulberry treeBI It'B enough to take all the Joy out of life I"

Old Tung Pao picked up his long pipe and rapped It angrily agnlnBt a clod of dry earth. The sun was directly overhend now, foreshortening his ehadow till .It looked like a pleee of chllrcoat. Stilt In hts padded Jllcket, he wall bathed In heat. He unfnstAlned the Jncket and ewung Its opened edRes back and forth a few tlmeB to 'fan him­self. Then he stood up and started for home.

Behind the row of mulberry trees were paddy fields. Most of tl1em were a8 yet only, rteaUy ploughed furrowa of upturned earth clods, dried and cracked by the hot Bun. Here nnd there, the early crops were coming up. In one field, tile golden bloB8oms of rnpe.geed plants emitted a heady fragrance, And thnt gronp of houses way over there, that was the village where tl1ree gen­erations of Old Tung Pao's family were living. Above the' houBes, whlta smoke from many kitchen stoves was curling lazily upwards Into the Bky.

After crosBlng through the mulberry grove, O!d Tung Pao wRlked Along tile raised path between the paddy fleld8, then turned and looked Again at that row of treo8 bursting with tender green bud8. A twelve-year-ol(l boy

17 16 MAO TUN SPRING SILICWORIlfS

camo hounding along from the other end of the l\eld8, cniling I'a he mn:

"Gl'IludJ)R I Mn's waiting for you to come home And eR tI"

It wos Little PRO, Old Tung Pao's grandeon, "Coming I" the old man responded, atlll ga7.lng nt tho

mulberries, Only twice III his life had he Been theBe flnger.llko buds appear 011 tho branches lIO 800n aftel' Clem' and Drlght, Hla family would probably hRve a I1l1e crop of oll\cworms this year. FIve trays of eggs would hntch out a huge number of silkworms. If only they dldll't have another bad mRrket like IB8t year, per­hnpe they could pRy off part of their debt.

Llttlo Pao atood beside his grandfather. The child too lookell at the 80ft green 011 the gnarled flst branches. Jumpltlg happily, he clapped hIs hands alld chanted:

Green, tender Leaves at Clea1' and 111-ioht, The girls who tend siLTtwonns, Clap katr..d8 at the 8ight!

..... o Tho old man'a wrinkled fnco broke Into a amlle. He v.> thought It WRS a good omen for the little boy to rellpond

like this on soolng the flrst buds of the year. He rubbed hla hRnd affectionately over the child's lIhaven pate. In Old Tung Pao's heart, tlumbed wooden by a lifetime of

( poverty and hardship, suddenly hope beA'oll to stir agalll.

II

T "E weather I'emahled warm. The rays of the sun forced open the tender, nnger-lIke, little buds. ,They hall nlt'CAdy grown to the 81ze of a amaH hondo Around Old Tung Pao'a village, the mulberry trees seemed to rellpond especIally well. From a dletnnce they gave the appeAr. ance of 1\ low gTey picket fence on top of which a long swath of green brocade had been spread. Bit by 'bit,

day by day, hopo grew .In the henrte of the vlllnger8, The unspoken moblllzntlon order for the allltWorm cam· palg1\ reached everywhere nnd everyone. Silkworm rearing equipment that hod been laid aWRy for n year was again brought out to be 9crllbbed ontl monded. Be· aide the little strenm whIch rail through the village, women and children, with much Inughter ond calling buck and forth, wRshed the Implements.

\/ None of thes~ women or ch.lIdren looked renlly heRlthy. \ ~ Ince the ComW.K. of~prln,.,they.h~!! been el,ltln8' ,only

'Vo ,nu· their clothes were old and torn.JJL~

~... ~\ ~atter o~~t~_t.~.ey .~-~r.~~'~,~uc~'be~t~,r '0lf. th.'"~n, beggar8. Y) ~. Y~e..l!l.qID,~gQQ~.~p.l,~,r~~!,.s,:!~~l~~d~~..,~,I,i~m~utJ ~·... ~~».I,\.tumce and nand.JlIl,J.~19n~,.~urdened ~,~,ou't~, ..!~~t

fY el1Llu'..~~lIy m~u'~~!1JL~.!b~~~. _t.~,:~ hod only one thought~'"~~" tbeJr~da-n we get II goo(lcropof s.llkworma, ~-' everything will be aJrrtglitJ ... -Ttmy'''Could'IHready

~J vIIlUlIlIi"(flio\Y,'"ln a montl\,the' shltly green lenvcs would be converted Into anow-whlte cotoona, the cocoona ex­changed fOl' clinking sliver dollars. Although their stomachs were growlltlg with hunger, they couldn't re.­frain f"om smlllng at this happy prospect.

Old Tllng Pao'o daughter-In-lnw WRS nmong the women by the Iltream. With tho help of her twelve"yenr-old 80n, Little Pao, sho had alrendy ftnlohed washing the fomlly'o large troys of woven bnmboo strips. Sen ted 011 a stone beside the stream, Bho wiped her persplrlnR fnce with the edge of her tunic. A twenty-year-old girl, working with othor women on the opposite 8,lde of the stream, hailed ~~ .

"Are you raisIng foreign silkworms this year too 1" \ It was SIxth Trel18ure, Blster of young Fu-chlng, the

neIghbour who lived aerOB8 the stream. The thick eyebrow8 of Old Tung Pno's daughter-In-law

at once contracted. Her voice Bounded RB If ehe hnd just been waiting for a chance to let off steam.

18 MAO TUN SPRING SILKWORMS J9

.... <:>

"'" ~

"Dou't ask lI\e; what the old man aRYS, goesl" Bhe Rhouted. "He's dead sot Rgalnot ,It, WOll't let U8 rnlBe more than one batch of foreign breed I The old fool only hilS to hear the word 'foreign' to Ilend him up In the alrl lIe:!1 tak.4Ldollar.made-Gf..·forelgn sUver•. ~~~ugh; thoBe al'e the only 'fo.re1lJLthlnge he likes I" .-.... ---'-' - ....

Tii;'women on tho other Bide of the stream laughed. From the thrcshlng ground behind them R strapping young mnn approRched. He renched the streRm and crossed over on the fotlr log8 that eerved 8S a bridge. Seeing him, 1\19 slster-In.law dropped her tlrRde Rnd called In l\ high voice:

"Ah To, will you help m~ carry those trays? They'l'e OR heavy as dead dogs when they're wet'"

Without n word, Ah To lIf~d the six big trays and Ret them, drillplng, on his hend. Bnlnnclng them In place, he walked off, swinging hlB hando ,In 8 8wlmmlng motion. When III R good mood, Ah To refused nobod~·.

If Rny of the village women Rsked him to cnrry Bome­thing heavy or nsh something out of the etream, he WRe usunlly quite willing. But today he probably was a little grumpy, alld 00 he walked empty.hfmded with only sIx trays 011 his head. The sight of him, looking R8 If he were wenrlng six layerB of wide straw hate, hlo WRist twlRtlng Rt eRch step In Imitation of the ladles of the tOWII, aellt the women Into peals of laughter. Lotu8, wlfo of Old Tung Pao'a nearest neighbour, coiled wIth a giggle:

"Hey, Ah To, come back here. Cnrry a few trays tor me 0001"

Ah To grinned. "Not uIIleBs you call me a sweet nante I" He continued walking. An In8tant later he had reached the pOl'ch of hl8 hO\lse and Bet down the trays out of the oun.

"Will 'kid brother' do?" demanded totUB, laughlhg bolsteroualy. She had a remRrkably clean whIte com~

pleKlon, but her face was very flat. When she laughed, all that could be eeen was a big open mouth and two tillY 0llt9 of eye9. Orlg,lllal1y a slavey In a houoe In town, she had beell married off to Old Tung Pao'o Ilolghbour­u prematurely aged man who walked around with a sour expression and never said a word nll day. That w'­IC88 than elx montha ago, but her love affalra and e8capadea already were the tRlk of the vllinge.

"Shameless hU1l8Y I" came a contemptuous female vol e from acrOS8 the etream.

LQtus's piggy eyes Immediately widened. "Who said that?" ahe demanded angrily. "If you've got the brase to call me Ilnmes, let'8 see you try .It to my face I Come out Into the open I"

"Think you can handle me? I'm talking about n shnme­leBB, man·crazy baggage I If the ohoe fits, wear It I" retorted Sixth 'rrcnoure, for It was she who had spoken. She 000 WRa famou8 In the village, but R9 f\ mlschlevou8, lively younA' woman.

• Tho two bognn Ilpll\shlng watcr at each other from ~I2Olllte banks of the Iltream. GIt'ls who enjoyed a row took sldea and joined the battle, while the children whoop­ed- with laughter. Old Tung Pao's daughter-In-law wao more decorous. She p.leked up her remaining trays, .called to Little Pao 8hd returned home. Ah To watched from the porch, grlnnlnlr. He knew why Sixth Treasure

• and Lotus were qUArrelling. It did his heart good to hear that ohnrp-tongued Sixth Treasure get told 'off In public.

Old Tung PRO came out of the house with (\ wooden tray-atand on hie shoulder. Some of the legB of the up· rlghta hRd been eRten by termites, and he wanted to repair them. At the e.lght of Ah To standing there Inulrhlng At the women, Old Tung Peo's face lengthened. The boy hadn't mueh senee of propriety, he well knew. What dlsturbod him partIcularly wag the way Ah To and

£0 MAO TUN

LotuB wero alwnye tnllclng and laughing together. "That bitch Ie lUI evil IIplrlt, Fooling with her will bring tuln 011 our houae," he hnd oftell warned hl8 younKer 80n.

II Ah 1'01" he now bnrkod nngrlly. "Enjoylng the scenery 7 Your bl'Othol"S In the back mending equipment. Go and givo him n hnnet!" Ills InnAmed eyes bored Into Ah To, never Icnvlng the boy until ho dloappcnred Into the hOIlHC.

Only thon did Old Tung Pno start work on the tray­stand. After exnmlnlng It carefully, he slowly beRan hie repalre. Years ago, O~d Tung Pao had worked for a time 09 a carpenter. But he wos old now; his Rngers had lost their strength. A few minutes' work and he wna breathing hard. He raised hla head and looked Into the house. Five equares of cloth to which sticky ollkworm eggs were adhered, hung from a horizontal bamboo pole.

Hie daughter.ln-Iaw, Ah Sze's wife, wne at tho other end of the porch, pasting paper on big trays of woven bamboo strlpa. Laat year, to economize a bit, they hnd ....

<::> bought and \Ieed old newspaper. Old Tung Pao aWl Ul

mQlntal~.led th~t~(\8 why~~~.. ~1J~~.ltl\~.JI.(\t~.M~ ~oorJy.:: _. rtWft!··unJiJel(y-to1iie.15ii·per.wlth.'N.rltlng on It for euch a proealc purpose. WrJ~.lng .1l1epnt "scholarship, and ~c~9.1.I!I·~l!"fjri>.J.flf.d. .. ~Q-"be·~ respectetL. .. T~~~ year)he.·.whole famJly. had skipped- a· meal and with the money sRved, p... rchas~~_ speniol IItray posting paper." Ah Sze's wlfo pasted lhe tough, goallng-yellowsheelll smooth And flat: on every tray ahe Illso offixed three little coloured paper pictures, bouKht at the somo time. One wae the "Platter of Plenty": the other two showed R militant flgure on horseback, pennRnt In hand. He, according to local be. lief, WDS tho "GUArdiAn of Silkworm Hatching."

III wos only nble to buy twenty loads of mulberry leaves with that thirty sliver dollare ( borrowed on your fRther's IfIlArnntee," Old Tung Pao said to his daughter.In-Jaw, He wns stili panting from hie exertions with the tray-

SPRING SILKWORMS £1

stand. "Our rice will be finished by the day nfter to­morrow. Whnt are we goll1g to do 7"

Thnnks to her lather's Influence with his bOll9 and hlB wllllngnesR to gunrantee repnyment of the lonll, Old Tung Pno waR able to borrow the money nt R low rnte of Inter­est,....only twen~1':.ftYJL n.ek'.....cent n month I Both the princIPal and Intereot had to be repaid by the end of the ollkworm season.

Ah Sze'o wife ftnlahed pnstlng n tray and plnced It In the eun. "You've apent It all 011 leRves," ohe oald angrlly. IIWe'1I have a lot of Inove! left over, just like Inst yel\r I"

"Full of lucky words, Ilren't you?" demanded the old man, aarc8stleally. "( llupPolle every yenr'n 00 like lAst year? We cnn't get more thnn a d07.en or 00 londs of leaves from our own trees, With five setB of grubs to feed, that won't be nearly enough."

"Oh, of couree, you'ro lIever wrong I" she replied hotly. "All ( know Is with rico we can eat, without It we'\I go hungry I" HIli stUbborn refusnl to tRlso any foreign silkworms last year had left. them with only the ulIBalnblc local breed. Aa 1\ l'esult, she ",ns often contrary with him.

The old man's face turned I>urplo with rage. After this, neither would spenk to the other.

But hatching time was drawing closer every day. The little vlllago's two dozen farollles were thl'own Into 8

state of great tension, great determination, grcllt struggle. With It I'll, they were p09sesBed of a gl'el\tj hOlle, a hope that. could almost make them forget their hungry bellies.

Old Tung Pao's family, borrowing a little here, get­ting a little credit thoro, somehow mnnagod to get by. Nor did the other families eat Rny better: thoro wnan't one with a spAre bag of rice I Although they hnd harvestell n good crop the previous year, II\IHIIOI'ds, credltore, tnxca,

It MAO TUN SPRING SIL/CWORMS u

lovles, ono after nnother, hnd cleaned the peosonts out Pno. Now tho Incubating process could begin I She long ngo. Now RII their hopes were pinned on the 8prlng held the Rve pieces of cloth to which the eggs were nd­silkworms, The repnyment date of every 10011 they mode hered agRlnet her bare bosom. As If cuddling a nUfslng wns Bet for the "end of the silkworm seBson," Infant, she sat absolutely quiet, not dRrhlg to aUr, At

With high hopes and considerable fear, like soldiers night, she took the ftve ~t8 to bell with her. Her hU8~ going Into a hand.to-hAnd battle to the death, they pre· band wae routed out, and had to shnre Ah To's bed. The pared for their spring silkworm campaign I tiny ellkworm eus were very scratchy slralnet her flesh.

HGraln RRln" day-bringing lentie drlzzles-wns not She felt ~~PP'y..~n_~a 11~t1e frightened, like the first time for ofT. Almost Imperceptibly, the silkworm egge of the eh& we-pregnant:- and-·the· baby moved-ln8lde her. Ex~

two dozon village fRmllles began to show faint tlnles of _,!~.ll_~~~J!~I!!~ ..~e~eaUon I groon. Women, when they met on the public thre8hlllg Uneasy but eager, the whole fnmlly wolted for th ground, would speak to one another 8rltawdly In tones eggs to hatch, Ah To WflS the only exception. We're that were anxious yet joyful. Bure to hatch a good crop, he snld, but nnyone who thinks

"0Vel' nt Sixth TreoBure's place, they're almost rendy we're going to get rich In thl8 life, Ie out of his head, to Incubate their eggs I" Though the old man swore Ah 'I'0'8 big mouth would

"Lotus SRyS her fnmlly Is going to stort Incubating ruin their luclt, the boy stuck to hla gU1I8.

tomorrow. So soon I" A c1eRn dry shed for the growing grubs WIl9 nil pre­"Hunllg 'the Priest' hRS made A dlvlnntlon. He pre· pAl'ed. The second dny of Incubation, Old 'fung Pao

diets that this eprlng m\llberry leaves will go to fou~ smeared 0 gnrllc with earth om) placed It nt the foot of ..­o dollars a lond I" ~ the woll InBlde tho shed. If, In n few «Inye, the gOl'lIc0'-

Old Tung Pao's dAughter-In-law examined their five., N ,,-put out rol\ny sprouts, It mennt the eggewolllll hoLch sets of eggs. They lookel) bAd. The tillY eeed-like eggs I \\ct:kr/\ well. He did this every yeRr, but this year he wns more wore aUlI pitch black, without even a hint of green. Her 7 reverential than u8ual, and his honda trembled. L08t husbRnd, Ah Sze, took them Into the light to poor at them , year's divination had proved nil too accurate. He didn't cnrefully. Even so, he could find hnrdly any ripenlllg dare to think about that now. eggs, She WRS very worried. Every family In the village was bUlly "lncuLlRtlng,"j

"You In~ubote them Rnyhow. f4aybe this variety Is a F;ffithe time being there._~~ ..re~_ ~~'.n..~~'~JQ9J.pxlnt8 little slow, her hU8band forced hImself to say consollngly. ...... on t e threshing BrQW!d or the bnnha of the little atrenm,

Her lips pressed tight, ahe made no reply. -;,'. --'---;1-" . . . . . - -.-. -, . ' I kl d f d ItI d j tl An unofficial martial Inw )lAd been Imposed. EvanOld Tung Pno s wr n e aee sngge w 1 e ec on.

Thou II he Bald nothing, he thought their prollpects were peasants normally on very good terms stopped vl8ltlng dim. g one another. For a guest to come and fl'lghten away the

The next dRY, Ah Sze'8 wife alRln examined the eggs, oplrltll of the ripening eggs-thnt would be no laughhlg Ua' Quite n few were turning green; and a very shiny mRtter' At most, people exchanged n few words In lOW) green at thatl Immed'Bt@ly she told her hUlIband, told tones wilen they met, then quickly sepR1'8ted, This WRS

Old Tung Poo, Ah To ... ~he even told her 80n Little the "aBored" scason I

25 ~.. MAO TUN

Old Tung Pao's family W80 011 pIns and needIeR. In the five oets of eggs a few grubs hnd begun wriggling. It wao exactly one day before Grain Rain. Ah Sze'8 wJCe had calculated thnt most 01 the eggR wouldn't hatch until after that dRY. Before or aff.8r Grain Rain Wl\B all right, but for eggs to hatch 011 the day 1t8~1If waa con­eltloretl highly unlucky. Incubation WR8 no longer IIcccallnry, and the eggs were carefully placod In the epcclnl ahed. 01<1 Tung Pao 8tQle a glance at his garlic at tho foot of tho wall. Hlo heart dropped. There were still ollly the 8ame two 8mnll greell shoots the garlic had originally I lie didn't dare to look any closer. He prayed ollenUy that by nooll the day after tomorrow the garlic would have mnny, many more shoots.

At last hatching day arrived. Ah 87.e'8 wife set a pot of rice on to boll and nervou81y watched for the time when the 8team from It would rise straight up. Old Tllllg Pao lit, the Incellae and candles he had bought In RntlcllJRUOII of thla evellt. Devoutly, he placed them .... before the Idol of the Kitchell God. Hla two 80ns wellto

-l Illto the fields to pick wild flowers. Little Pao chopped n lamp-wick Into flne pleceo and crllohed the wild fiowero the mCII brought bnck. Everythlllg was ready. The sun WAS entering Its zenith: steam from the rice pot puffed straight upwartlo. Ah 87.0'8 wife Immediately leaped to her fcet, stuck n "socred" pnpel' flower and a pnlr of gooflo feathers Into the knot of hAir at the back of her hend alld went to the shed. Old Tung' PRO carried R wooden sCAle.pole j Ah SZ6 followed with the chopped lamp.wlck nnd the crushed wild ftowerll. Daughter-In­law uncovered the cloth pieces to which the grubs were I\dhered, snd sprinkled them with the bits of wick and flowers Ah Sze was holding. Then she took the wooden lIcale.pole from Old Tung Poo and hung the cloth pleceo over It. She next removed the pAir of goose feathers from her hair. Moving them lightly acrolls the cloth, she

SPRING SILKWORMS

bruohed the grubB, togeth~r with the cruohed lamp-wick and wild Oowero, on to a large bay. One o~t, two nt8 . • • the laRt oet contained the foreign breed. The .grubs from this eloth were brushed on to a 60pnrate tray. Finally, ohe removed the "oacred" pnper flower from her l1alr and pinned It, with the gOOS9 fenthero, Rgnlnot the tilde of the troy.

A oolemn ceremony lOne thRt hAd been hnnded down through the agosl Like wanloro tnklng an oath before going Into b&tt1e I Old Tung PRO nnd fnmlly now hod ahead of them a month of flerce combat, with no roat day or night, agalnat bad weather, bad luck nnd anything ~18e that might come alongl

The grubs, wriggling' In the traYll, looked very henlthy. Th@y were all the proper blaek colour. Old Tung Pao and his daughter-In-law were able to relAX a little. But when the old man secretly took another look at his garlic, he turned pale I It had grown only four measly shoots I Ah I Would thlo "enr be like laat year nil over agnln?

III

BUT the "fateful" garlic proved to be not 00 p8ychlc after all. The elJkwormA of Old Tung Pao'e family grow .md thrived I Though.lt rained continuouBly during the grubs' First Sleep and Second Sleep, And the weRther was a bit colder than at Clear and Bright, the "little darlings" were extremely robuat.

The silkworms of the other famlllee In the village were not doing badly either. A tense kind of joy pervaded the countryside. Even the small stream seemed to be gurgling' with bright laughter. Lotus's family WAil the 80le ~xeeptton. They were only ralelng one oet of grubs, but by the Third Sleep their silkworms weighed leae than twenty eaUles. Just before the Big Sleep. people saw

26 MAO TUN

I.A>tus's husband walk to the stream Rnd dump out his trays. That dour, old-looking man had bad luck written all over him.

Be4!ause of this dreadful event, the village women put Lotus's family strictly "oft limite." They made wide detours so as not to pass her door. If they saw her or her taciturn husband, no matter how far away, theY made hasw to go tn the opposite direction. They feared that even one look at Lotus or her spouse, the briefest convenatlon, would contaminate them with the un­fortunate couple's bad luck I

Old Tung Pao strictly forbade Ah To to talk to Lotus. "If I cntch you gabbing wIth that baggage Rlaln, I'll disown you I" He threntened In a loud, angry voIce, Bwndlng outside on the porch to mal(o Bure Lotu8 could hear him.

Little Pao was also warned not to play In front of Lotus's door, and not to speak to anyone In her family.

~

o 00 The old man harped at Ah To morning, noon and night,

but the boy turned a denf ear to his father's grumbling. In hiM heart, he laughed nt It. Of the whole family, Ah To alone didn't plnce much stock In taboos and sllper­1It1t1ons. He didn't talk with Lotus, however. He was milch too busy for that.

By the Dig Sleep, their silkworms weighed three lIndred cnttleB. Every member of Old Tung Pno's

family, Including twelve-yenr-old Little Pno, workod fOl' two days and two nights without sleeping a wink. The sUkworms were unusually eturdy. Only twice In hIs olxty years had Old Tung Pno ever seen the like. Once wne the yenr he married: once when his flrst eon WR8

born. The flret day after the Big Bleep, tho "little darlings"

Ate seven loade of leaves. They were now A bright 8r~n,

thick Rnd healthy. Old Tung PRO nnd his family, 011 tho

SPRING SILKWORMS It

contrary, were much thlnller, their eyes bloodehol from lack of sleep.

No one could guess how much the "little darlings" would ant before they spun their cocoon9. Old Tung Pno discussed the question of buying morc leavcs with Ah Bze.

"Mnster Ohen won't lend us any morc. Shall we try your fnther-tn-Iaw's boss again 1"

"We've stili got ten loads ·comlng. That's enough for one more day," replled Ah Sze, He could barely hold hlmAl1 erect. HIB eyelids weighed a thousand catUes. They kept wanting to close.

"One more day1 You're dreaming I" Ilnapped the old mnn Impatiently. "Not counting tomorrow, they stili hRve to eat three more days. We'll need another thirty loadsl Thirty loada, I Bay I"

Loud voices were heard outelde on the threshing ground. Ah To had arrived with men delivering flve loads of mulberry branches. Everyone wellt out to strip the leaves. Ah Sze's wife hurried from the shell. Acr08s the stream, Sixth Trenoure and her family were ralelng only a emnll crop of silkworms; having spare time, she came over to help. Bright 8Ulr8 fllled the sky. There wile n Blight wind. All up and down tho village, gay shouts and laughter rang In the night.

liThe price of leaves Ie rising fast I" a coar8e voice cl'led. "This afternoon, they were getting four dollars n load In the market town I"

Old Tung Pao was very UPIret. At four dollars a lond. thirty loade would come to a hundred and twenty dolhus. Where could he raise 80 much money I But then he figured-he was sure to gather over five hundred catUes of cocoons. Even at flfty dollars R hundred, thoy'd sell for two hundred llnd flrty dollars. Feeling a bit consoled, he heard a small voice t'rom among the lenf-strlppers.

£8 MAO TUN

"Thoy oay the folko enst of here aren't doing so well with their silkworms. There won't be any reasoll for the price of leaves to go much higher."

Old Tung Pao recognized tho opeaker R8 Sixth Trea· 8111'e, and he relaxed stili further.

The girl Rnd Ah To were Btonding beside a large bn8ket, stripping leRves. III the dim starlight, they worked quite close to each other, partly hidden by the pile of mulbel'ry branches before them. Suddenly, Sixth TreA8ure felt someone pinch her thigh. She knew well enough who It WOll, ond she Buppressed a ""rgle. But when, a moment later, a hond brushed ogalnst hor breJ\sta, Bhe jumped; 0 little shriek eBcoped her.

"Alya I" "Whnt's wrong?" demanded Ah Sze'e wife, working

011 the other side of the basket. Sixth Treasure's face flamed scarlet. She shot 0

gloMe at Ah To, then quickly lowered her head and ...... rellulncd strlpplllg leaves. "Nothing," she replied. "I o ~ think 11 calerpllhu' bit me I"

Ah To bit his lips to keep from laughing oloud. He had beon half 8wrved the paet two weeks and had 81ept Ilttle. But In oplto of hovlng lost a lot of weight, he was 111 high spl ... ts. While he never suffered from any of Old 'fung Poo'e gloom, nolther did he believe thot one good crop, whother of sllitworme or of rice, would enable them to wipe ofT their debt ond own their own Innd ogaln. He know they would never "get out from under" merely by relying on hard work, even If they broke their bocks trying. NevertheleRs, he worked with a will.' He en· joyed work, juet A9 he enjoyed fooling Rround with Sixth Treasure.

The next morning, Old Tung Pao went Into town to ~1borrow money for more leRves. Be!ore leaVI~ h'?!!1.~' ~ l ho bad talkecUhe..maUer·over with daulJliter-ln-aw. They :i ~ had decided to mortgRge theil' grove of mulberries that

'1,,/~\ ~ i \'" ( ~y ,~.~

SPRING SILKWORMS ~9

~roduced fifteen loads of leRves a yom' AS security for ~ ho loan. The grove was the lost piece of pl'operty the ') ­amlly owned: -ny the time the old mnn ordered another thirty londs,

and the first ten were delivered, tho aturdy "little dRrllngs" had gone hungry for hRlf on hOllr, Putting forth their pointed little mouths, they swayed from aide to side, lletll'chlng for food. Daughter.ln·law's henrt hnll ached to see them. When the leRves were flnAlly RpreAd In the troys, the silkworm Rhod At once re80unded with o slbllont crunching, 80 noisy It drownl'd out convcrl:la­tlon. III n very Bhort while, the trnys were agnln empty of lenves. Another thick layer wns plied on, Just keeping the silkworms supplied with leaves, Old TIIllg PAO and his family were so busy they could barely catch their breath. But thle wns the flnRI crlels, In two more dRYB the "little darllngB" would epln their cocoone. Peo­ple were pultlng every bit of their remaining strength Into this IRst deeperate struggle.

Though he hod gone without sleep for three whole doys, Ah To didn't appear partlculnrly tired, He agreed to WAtch tho shed alone that night until dnwlI to permit the others to get some reet, There WAe 0 bright moon and the weather was R trifle cold. Ah To crollched beside a small nre he hAd built In the shed. At About cleven, he gavo the silkworms their second feeding, then returned to squat by the fire. He could hear the loud rustle of the "little darlings" crunching throu"h the leaves. HIs eyee cloRed. Suddenly, he henrd the door squen~, And his eyelids new open. He peered Into the dnrkneR8 for a moment, then ehut hie eyeB again. Hie eare were AtIIl hleelng with the rustle or the leaveR, The next thing he knew, his head had Btruck agalnat hlo knees. Waking .wlth a start, he heard the door BCfoen bonR' and thought he saw a moving shadow. Ah To leaped up and rUBbed oublde. In the moonlight, he SBW Bome·

--

~ ~

rr:"~

{)~" ,\cP.~

~~'

.... .... 0 j

30 MAO TUN

one crossing the threshing ground toward the stream. He caught up In a flallh, seized And Rung the Intruder to the ground, Ah To was eure he had nabbed a thief.

"Ah To, kill me If you want to, but don't give me awny I"

The voice made Ah To's hair stand on end. He could see III the moonlight thAt queer Oat white face and those round little piggy eyea fixed upon him. But of menace, the piggy eyes had none. Ah To snorOOd.

"What were you after?" "A few of your family's 'mUe darllngs'I" "What did you do with them 1" "Threw them In the Iltream I" Ah To's fRce darkened. He know that In this way she

WA9 tryIng to put a curse on the lot. "You're pure polson I We never dId anything to hurt you."

HNevcr did anything? Oh, yes you did I Yes, you did lOur sUkworm eggs didn't hAtch well, but we didn't hRrm anybody. You were all so smartl You shunned me like a leper. No matter how far away I was, If you saw me, you turned your hends. You Acted as It I wasn't even human I"

Sho got to her feet, the agonized expression on her faco terrible to soe. Ah To stared at her. HI'm 1I0t Rolng to beAt you," he said finally. "Go on your way I"

Without giving her another glAnce, he trotted back to the shed. He waR wide awake now. Lotus- had only taken a handeul Bnd the remaining "little darlings" were nil In good condition. It didn't occur to him either to hate or pity Lotus, but the Isst thing ahe had said re­mained In hie mind. It seemed to him there wae Bome· thing eternally wrong In the scheme of human relatione: but he couldn't put his finger on what It was exactly, nor did he know why It should be. In a little while, he fOl'got nbout thIs too. The IU8ty 811kworms were. eating and eating, yet, 88 If by some magic, never full I

SPRING SfLKWORMS ~1

Nothing more happened that night. Just before the sky began to brighten In the ellst, Old Tung Pao nnd his daughter.ln-IAw came to relieve Ah To. They took the trnys of "little darlings" and looked at them In the light. The silkworms were turning Rwhiter colour, their bodies gradually becoming shorter Rnd thlckel', They were delighted with the excellent way the silkworms were developing.

But whctl, nt sunrise, All Sze's wlfo wont to drllw wntel' nt the streAm, she met Sixth 'freaeure. The girl'sexpression was serious.

"I SAW that slut leaving your place shortly before mid. nIght," sho whlspel·ed. "Ah To wns right behind her. They stood hero Rnd talked for II long tlmo I Your family ought to look acter things better than that I"

The colour drained from the fRce of Ah Szo's Wife.) Without a word, she carried her water bucket bnck to the houge. FlrRt she told her husband about It, thcn she told Old Tung PRO. It was n fine state of AO'alrs when a baggagc like that could sneak Into people's silkworm sheds I Old Tung Pno stamped with rage. He Imme. dlately summoned Ah To. But the boy denied the whole story; he SAid Sixth TI'easure WlIS dreaming. The old man then went to question Sixth Treasuro. She Insisted she hRd seen everything with her own eyoll, The old mAn didn't know what to believe. He returned home Rnd looked at the "little darlings." They were A8 sturdy AS ever, not R sickly one 'n the lot,

But the Joy that Old Tung PM and his family had been feeling wn9 dAmpened. They knew Sixth TreRsure's words couldn't be entirely without foundntlon. Their only hope WRS that Ah To and that hUllllY hnd played their little games on the porch rather than In the shed I

Old Tung Pao recalled gloomily that the garlic had only put forth three or four shoots, He thought the future looked dRl'k. Hadn't there been tlme9 before

81 MAO TUN

when the allkworltls ate ga'eat quantltl4lll of leaves and aeemed to be growing well, yet dried up and died juat when they were ready to apln their cocoons 7 Yes, often I nut O:d Tung Pno didn't dnre let himself think of Ruch l\ poss.lbllity. To entertl\ln a thought like that, even In the most secret recesees of the mind, would only be In­vlthllf bad luck I

IV

TilE "little darlings" began spinning their cocoons, but Old Tung l'ao's family WRS BtllI In a 8weat. Both their money and their energy were completely 8J>(lnt. They oWl had nothing to show fOI' It: there was no guorl\ntee of theh- eornlng any return. Nevertheleso, they continued working at top apeed. Beneath the rackB on which the cocoons were being 8pun flres had to be

...... ...... kept goIng to supply warmth. Old Tung Pao and Ah

...... 81.e, his elder son, their bncks bent, slowly oquatted Orat on this aIde thon on that. Hearing the 8mall rusUlngs of the oplnnlng sllkwol'ms, they wanted to smile, and If the soundll otopped fOl' n moment their heart~ otopped too. Yet, worried AS they were, they didn't dore to dlo­tllrb the ollkwormA by looking Inside. When the ollk­WOl'm8 squirted nuld In their faceR as they peerod up from bonoath the rncks, they were happy In s,plte of th~ momentary dl8comfort. The bigger the shower, the better they liked It.·

Ah To hnd l\ll'endy peeked 80veral times. LIttle Pao hnd caught hIm at It and demanded to know whnt W09

going on. Ah To made all ugly face at the child, but dill not reply.

• The emission 01 the ftuld melnl the silkworm II about to spIn Ita eoeoon.

SPRING SILKWORMS 88

After three daY8 of "spInning," the I1rell Were eXM Ungulshed. Ah Sze's wife could restrain herself no Jonger. She Iltole a look, her heart beating fRSt. Inside, all was white as Ilnow. The brush that had been put In tor the silkworms to spin on was completely covered over with COlloons. Ah Sze's wife had never scon 00 succesl!ful n "Aowering" I

The whole family was wreathed In smllell. They were on solid ground at IRot I The "little darlings" had proved they had a ClOneeleneo; they hadn't consumed th080 mulM berry leaves, at four dollars a load, In vain. The family could renp Its reward for a month of hunger and sleeploss nlghtll. The Old Lord of the Sky had eyes I

Throughout the village, thel'e were mnny similAr Bcenes of rejoicIng. The Silkworm Goddes8 had been benetlcent to the tiny vlllage this yenr. Moot of the two dozen families garnered good croplI of cocoons from their sllk­worme. The harvest of Old Tung Pao's family was well abovo Average.

AgaIn women and children crowded the threshIng ground and the banks of the lItt10 otrcam, All were much thinner thon the previous month. with eyes ollnk In their sockets, thronts rasping and hoarse. But evory­one was excited, happy, As they chnttered about the struggle of the past month, vllllono of plies of b"lght oliver dollars ohlmmered before their eyeo. Cheerful thoughts l1I,1ed. their .mfndo-they would get theirsummer cloHies'out of the pawnohop; at SJ>rhlgF:(IAtI~RI.Perhaps they.J;ouhIJJllt.R Jnt golden. Rsh. . ..

They talked, 000, of the forco enacted by Lotua Rnd Ah To a few nights before. Sixth Trellsure announced to everyone she met, "That Lotus hOB no shame at all. She delivered herself right to his door I" Men who heard her laughed coarsely. Women muttered n prnyer and called Lotus bad names. They ARid Old Tung Poo's

--N

~

flo,)

I~ MAO TUN

family could coneldor Itself lucky that a curse hndn't falloll on them, The gods were merclCul1

Fomlly nfter family waR Rblo to report a good harvest of COCOOIIR. People visited 0110 another to view the IIltllll"l white ROS8nmer. The fAther of Old Tung Pao's dnufh~r.I/I.IAW ettmo from town with his little son, They brou«ht «Iftil of Rweels nnd fruits nnd R s81~d fieh. Little Pno WR8 hnppy OIl a puppy frolicking In the snow.

The elderly vleltor sat with Old Tung Pno bilnenth a wlllow beelde tho stream. He had the reputation In town of n "mnn who knew how to enjoy life." From hours of Jlste/llng to the professlonnl story-tellers In front of the temple, he had learJled by heart many of the clnsslc tales of ancient times. He was a great one for idle chat.­ter, and often would say anything that came Into his head. Old Tung Pao therefore didn't tnke him very seriously when he leaned close nnd queried softly:

"Arc you seiling your cocoons, or will you spin the silk yourself at home 1"

"Seiling them, of course," Old Tung Pao replied cMually.

The elderly visitor slapped his thigh and sighed, then roee abruptly And pointed nt the silk filature rearing up behind the row of mulberries, now quite bold of leaves.

"Tung Poo:' he sold, "the cocoons are being gAthered, but the doors of the ,,11k maturee are ehut 8S tight as ever I They're not buying thlR yeilr I Ah, all the world Ie In tUI'moll1 The silk hOl/ReS ore not going to open, I tell you I"

Old Tung PM couldn't help smiling. He wouldn't bellevo It. How could he possibly believe It? There were dozens of silk ftlatures In this part of the country. Surely they couldn't all shut down 7 What's more, he had heard that they hnd made n deal with the J npaneee; the Chlneso soldiers who had been billeted In the silk houses hnd long since departed.

8pnINO SJLICWORMS 4~

Changing tho subject, the visitor related the lateet town goselp, salting It freely with classical nphorJsms arid quotations from the ancient alorles. Finally he got around to the thIrty sliver dollars borrowed through him a8 mlddlemnn. He said his boss woe anxious to be repaid,

Old Tung Pao became uneaey after all. When hIs ...Isltor hod departed, he hurried from the village down the ·highwAY to look at the two neflrest sllle filatures. Their doora were Indeed shut: not R soul WAS In sight, Business wns In full swing this Ume lost year, with whole rows of dark gleaming scales In opel'oUon.

He felt a IIltie panicky as he returned home. But when he saw those snowy COCOO"", thick and hard, pleasure mnde h.lm emile, What beauties I No one wnnts them 7 -ImpossIble, He stili had to huny find Ilnfah gatherIng the cocoons; he hadn't thanked the gods properly yet, Gradually, he forgot about the allk houses.

But .tn the village, the atmosphere was changIng dny by day. PoopIe who had just begun to laugh were now nil frowns. News was reaching them from town that nOlle of the JlelghbQu.rhli··~lIk" fllatures" was openIng Its ~90r8: ··"ICwiiiJ-ihe Bame with the houses along the high. ~-"

way. La8t year at th.s time buyers of cocoons were IItreamlng In and out of the village. This year there wasn't a B'1rIl of even half a one. In theIr place came J dunning credItors and government talC collectors Who promptly froze up ,ft you asked them to take cocoons In payment.

Swearlnll', curses, d'sappolnted sighs I With Buch a flno crop of cocoons the villagers lIad never dreamed thAt their lot would be even worse than usual I It WOll os 'f hailstones dropped out of a clear sky. People Hke Old Tung' Pao, whose crop was especially good, took It hardest of all.

..... ..... ~

~

w

MAO 'l'UN36

"What 18 the world coming to I" He beat his breRst and stamped Itls feet In helplellB fruelraUon.

But the vJllagers had to think of something. The oocoono would spoil If kept too long. They either hnd to eell them or remove the sUk themselves. Several families had nlrendy broullht out and repaired silk reels they hAdn't used for years. They would flrBt remove the silk from the cocoons and then see about the next step. Old Tung PRO wanted to do the Bame.

UWe won't sell our cocoons: we'll spin the IIl1k our­selvool" said the old man. "Nobody ever heard ot seiling Mcoonll until the foreign devllB' companlell started the thlngl"

Ah Sze's w.lfe wall the f\rot to object. "We've got oVer five hundred catUes of cocoons hero," Bhe retorted. UWhere are you going to gett enough reels 1"

She was right. Five hundred catUes was no smnll nmount. They'd never get flnlshed spinning the Bilk themselves. Hire outside help? That meant spending money. Ah Sze agreed with his wife. Ah To blnmed his fathor for planning Incorrectly.

"If you llstene<l to me, we'd have raised only one tray of forelRI\ breed and no locnls. Then the flrtoon loads of leaves from our own mulberry trees would have~ , been enough. and we wouldn't have had to borrow I"

Old TUl\g Pao was so angry he couldn't speak. At last n ray of hope appeared. Huang the Priest

had heard somewhere that a silk houso below the city of WUBlh was doing bUBlness 1\8 usual. Actually nn ordinary peaeant, Hunng was nicknamed uThe PrIest" because of the learned alre he affected and hIs Interests In Taol8t umnglc." Old Tung Pao alwaY8 got nlong with him fine. After learn.lng tho dotalls from him, Old Tung Pao conferred wIth his elder son Ah S~e about going to Wuslh.

SPRING SILKWORMS jr

"It's about 270 li by water, six dnys for the round trll)," ranted the old mnll. "Son of 1\ bitch I 1l'e t\ god­dam expedlUon I Dut whnt elee cnn we do? We can't eat the cocoons, and our creditors nre pressing hard I"

Ah Sze Bgreed. They borrowed a small bont and bought a few yarde of matting to cover the cargo. It was decided that Ah To should go along. TakIng ad­vantage of the good weather,the cocoon sailing "expedI­tionary force" set out.

Five days later, the men returned-but not with nn empty hold. They BUll had ono bnsket of cocoons. 1'l1e Bilk mAture, which they renchcd nfter n 270-li journey by water, offered extremely hnrllh terms-Only thirty-five dollars n lond for foreign breed, twenty fOI' local; thin cocoone not wanted nt ony prIce. Although their cocoone were nil first class, the people nt the silk house picked and chose only enough to flll one bAsket j the rest were rejected. Old Tung Pao and hIs sone reo celved a hundred and ten dollars for the 0010, ton of which had to bo spent no travel exponse9. The hundred dollars remaining was not even enough to pay back what they had borrowed for that laat thIrty loads of mulbilrry leaves I On the return trIp, Old 1'ung Pao became III with rage. His sons carrIed him Into tho houso.

Ah Sze's wife had no cholco but to take the ninety odd cattles they had brought. back and reel the silk from the cocoons herself. She borrowed a fow re<lls from Sixth Treasure'a fnmlly and worked for 81x daya. All their rlee WIIS gone now. Ah Sze took the ellk Into town, but no one would buy It. Even the pawnshop didn't want It. Only after much pleRding WM he able to per. suade the pawnbroker to take It In exchange for a load of rIce they had pawned before Clear and Bright.

That's the way It happened. Bocaulle they ralaed a crop of spring ellkworms, the people In Old Tung Pao'e village got deeper Into debt. Old Tung Pno's fnmlly

38 MAO TUN

rnlsed ftve trays snd gathered n splendid harvest of COCOOllS. Yet they ended up owing Bnother thirty sliver dollars and los,fng their mortgaged mulberry trees-to SRy nothing of Buffering a month of hunger alld sleep. leB8 nights In VIlIII I

November 1, 1932

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