The true story of Ah Q (Summary Part 1)

Have you heard of the name Lu Xun? He was a famous 20^th century Chinese writer, majoring in short stories and essays. His works were and remained highly influential and popular even to this day. He was so famous that an asteroid and a crater on Mercury were named after him! 

Lu Xun (left) started out as a medical student in Japan in 1904. One day, his Japanese medical lecturer screened a slide showing the public decapitation of an alleged Chinese spy taken during the Russian – Japanese War (1904-1905). Lu Xun was appalled at the complete apathy of the Chinese onlookers. They were callous and numb. Those gathered around the victim had come to enjoy the gory spectacle very much.

Disgusted, Lu Xun left medical college and began to write about the outdated traditions and backward mentalities of his people, hoping his writings will wake them up. Among his most popular works was ‘The True Story of Ah Q’ which was written in satirical style to mock a village bumpkin and the rest of the villagers.

Here, I have summarized the story into two parts. It makes an enjoyable reading because we could easily relate to some of the characters in this story.

This story took place in 1911 in a village called Weichuang in China. The protagonist was Ah Q (right). The author painted him as a typical and conservative Chinaman of his time.

There were two rich men living in the same village as Ah Q – Mr. Zhao and Mr. Zhien. The former’s son had just passed the county examination. The good news was announced with beatings of gongs in the village as was the normal practice.

Ah Q, drunk at that time, pranced around with excitement even though this achievement has got nothing to do with him. In his intoxication, he declared that he shared the same surname with the successful scholar, hoping some of the glory will rub on him. Sure enough, the villagers stood in awe of Ah Q. But alas, this instant glory did not last long for him.

The next day, a bailiff dragged Ah Q to Mr. Zhao’s house. There, he got a good verbal bashing from the old man. For not being able to give a satisfactory explanation to someone who was wealthy and powerful, Ah Q got slapped hard on his left cheek by Mr. Zhao before being shown the door.

Once outside, he got another round of scolding from the bailiff himself. After that, he even had to thank the officer profusely and paid him two hundred cash before being let off. When the villagers learnt what had happened, they said what a great fool Ah Q was and all the admiration they had for him just evaporated into thin air.

The villagers only appreciated his manual service and treated him as a laughing-stock; nothing more. They don’t care about his background. Ah Q has no family and used to sleep in a dark room in the village’s temple. He has no education, no regular job or fixed income. He does odd jobs like cutting wheat or grinding rice for anyone that needs such services. When there is a task to be done, the villagers will suddenly remember him and once that task had been done, they will quickly forget all about him.

Despite this, Ah Q was an arrogant man and looked down on all the other villagers, especially those poorer or weaker than him. Even in front of people who are well-off, he would say things like, “I used to be much better off than you! Who do you think you are anyway?” When he heard about the successful sons from those two rich families, he would comfort himself by saying under his breath, “My sons may be much greater!”

Ah Q has some ugly ringworm scars on his scalp. When he became angry, these scars will turn reddish in color and this made him uneasy. To avoid facing this reality, he barred anyone from mentioning certain words such as ringworm, bright, light, lamp or candle in front of him. But the villagers enjoyed working him up into a bundle of fury by deliberately uttering such words in front of him. Quarrels and fights would ensue without fail for Ah Q was not one to control his temper beautifully.

In these fights, the villagers loved to pull his pigtail roughly or bang his head against the wall several times. After giving him a few punches, they would whisper into his ears, “A man beating a beast!” before walking away triumphantly. But Ah Q refused to be humiliated. He would quickly slap himself and say, “It is as if I was beaten by my own son!”

Deluding himself that he was beaten by his own blood and flesh instead of others made him feels better. In good spirits, he then took to the wine shop, downed a few cups before going back to the temple to have a good sleep and by morning, all were put behind him as Ah Q has a good ability to forget unpleasant things.

One day after a fight with a beggar over whose body has the most lice; Ah Q was in a foul mood because he has less. While walking away, he encountered the son of Mr. Zhien who was also a successful scholar. Ah Q was annoyed that this young scholar had disposed away his pigtail. Disgusted, he picked up a fight with the younger man but got whacked by the latter instead.

Dashing off to seek relief at his favorite wine shop, he saw a young nun on his way and thought she must be the source of his misfortune that day. Conveniently, he put the entire blame on her and tormented her cruelly by rubbing her shaved head. “If a monk can paw you, why can’t I?” he said, pinching her very hard on her cheeks.

Hurt and humiliated, the young nun fought back and cursed him by saying, “Ah Q, may you die sonless!” Ah Q laughed very hard for he felt his bad luck had been avenged. What made him even more pleased was that the spectators inside the wine shop cheered him on and this made him very pleased with himself for his feat was admired. He felt elated, as if floating on air.

Once back in his room at the temple, Ah Q could not sleep that night. He kept thinking how soft and smooth the young nun’s face was. Although he used to look at all women suspiciously and contemptuously and regarded them as social pests, Ah Q was attracted to the young nun and was even bewitched by her soft and smooth face. That night he suddenly thought it was time for him, at age thirty, to take a wife who could later bore him a son.

Henceforth, Ah Q began to watch out for any woman who would take a fancy on him but unfortunately, there was none. Some even distant themselves when they saw him. This only makes Ah Q even more desperate for a woman’s companionship.

One night when he was taking a rest after grinding rice for Mr. Zhao, he saw Amah Wu. She was Mr. Zhao’s servant and she too, was resting after washing some dishes. When she tried to strike up a conversation with him, he thought she was trying to seduce him. Grabbing her, he exclaimed excitedly, “Sleep with me!” When she recovered from her shock, she screamed loudly and ran away. Before he could do anything, Ah Q was beaten by Mr. Zhao’s son with a bamboo pole.

He managed to escape but found himself in trouble. Ah Q had to atone for his sin by presenting some red candles and incense sticks to the Zhao family. He could no longer set foot into the Zhao’s house again or demand his wages from them. He must pay for the service of a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits in the rich man’s house. Lastly, if any misfortune befalls the servant, he will be held accountable.

After this incident, more women avoided him. They rather stayed indoors when they saw him on the streets. His favorite wine shop refused to give him credit anymore. The temple’s care taker asked him to leave at once. To add salt to his injury, nobody give him odd jobs; they preferred to give them to some beggars instead. To contain his throbbing hunger, Ah Q stole some turnips from the convent of the young nun who has a soft and smooth face and was chased by a very fierce dog.

To be continued……..