The Top Scholar

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.3

Word count: 1.6K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

After I was relieved of office and returned home, I was nearly seventy. I ate my fill all day, went to bed at dusk, and woke at midnight. Sitting idly and bored, I took up poetry and classical prose, and my drafts piled up a foot high. I knew my learning was shallow and could not match the ancients. One day my sixteenth younger brother Zifu said to me, "Your poetry and prose ring like metal and stone. Your brush moves fast; you could write fiction, setting out in detail all you have seen and heard in your life, so that both refined and common readers may see it—would that not be better than poetry and prose?" I said, "Very well." So I took up my brush and recorded what my eyes had seen and my ears had heard. Having no name for it, I called it Clear Talks on Returning Home. My student Yang Xianqing said, "Why not call it Clear Talks Beneath the Woods?" I said, "Resigning office and returning home—how can that be spoken of lightly? I have seen men who served as officials all their lives, amassed great wealth, and stored up treasures; fearing that brothers and kinsmen would fight over their property, they willingly abandoned their ancestors' graves and lived abroad, so that in death they could not return to their native soil—worse off than a fox. Recently a man from Fujian disgraced himself in office through greed and was about to carry his treasures home. The villagers swore an oath not to sell him a house. Another held a prominent post, and his kinsmen, relying on his power, seized property by force and plagued the whole region, until the villagers were ready to dig up his graves and burn his house. He had long since lost office and to this day dares not return. So how can returning home be spoken of lightly?" Xianqing said, "What you say, Master, is truly so." This is the preface. Written on the first day of the tenth month of summer in the dingyi year, by the Master of the Scanty-Remonstrance Thatched Hut.

Editor's review

This preface is itself an engaging piece of writing. The author, nearly seventy, has returned home, eats his fill, wakes at midnight, and meant to study poetry and classical prose, but a student's remark that he "could write fiction" turns him to recording what he has seen and heard, and so Clear Talks on Returning Home comes to be. The preface does not begin with grand aims; it first disputes the ease of the phrase "returning home": some men hoard great wealth and abandon their ancestors' graves; some disgrace themselves in office through greed while the villagers swear not to sell them a house; some rely on kinsmen's power until the villagers want to dig up their graves and burn their house. A few sketches of the world, written with irony, dismantle the respectable talk of resigning office and returning home into real predicaments. The prose is spare and forceful, mixing narrative and comment, with the ease of notebook writing and the measure of a classical prose master. For readers, this preface is both an entry into the book's origins and a self-contained vignette of late-Qing officialdom and village life. It suits readers who enjoy notebook essays and those interested in modern scholars' lives and local society. As you read, note how the author uses "returning home" as a thread to link his choice of writing with his observation of the world.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy late-Qing notebook essays and prefaces
Readers interested in modern scholars' lives after returning home and local social ecology
Teachers and students needing short classical Chinese models or writing material
Those interested in worldly matters such as official corruption and clan property disputes

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting complete fictional plots or character stories
Readers needing systematic modern historical argument and source criticism
First-time readers impatient with classical preface style

Reading tips

Begin with the passage "how can returning home be spoken of lightly?" then look back at why the author chose "fiction" over poetry and prose.
Read the several sketches of the world as independent essays and note the irony and self-mockery in the narrator's tone.
If reading the whole book, compare this preface with the main text and observe the author's criteria for selecting what "my eyes saw and my ears heard."
Excerpt lines such as "in death could not return to his native soil—worse off than a fox" to appreciate the spareness and irony of classical notebook prose.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

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FAQ

What is the relationship between this preface and the main text of The Top Scholar?

From the material, this preface explains that after returning home the author meant to write poetry and classical prose but, on a student's suggestion, turned to recording what he had seen and heard in his life, and so Clear Talks on Returning Home came to be. It sets out the book's origins and method of取材, and is the key entry for understanding the notebook nature of the main text as "what my eyes saw and my ears heard," but the preface itself does not unfold the story of the top scholar.

What does "how can returning home be spoken of lightly?" express in the preface?

The author uses several sketches of the world to show that resigning office and returning home is neither respectable nor easy: some abandon their ancestors' graves to protect property; some disgrace themselves in office through greed and the villagers will not sell them a house; some rely on kinsmen's power until the villagers want to dig up their graves and burn their house. The sentence dismantles the elegant image of returning home and reveals a cool observation of officialdom and village life.

Can I read this preface without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Yes. The preface is not long and the language is spare; most sentences can be understood from context. The main obstacles are official titles and a few allusions, which common reference books can resolve. Grasp the main thread—"returning home is not easy"—and do not translate word by word; focus on the author's tone of narrative and comment.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.