MIT Visualizing Cultures

Title: “A Quack Doctor Kills People” 庸醫殺人

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 18

Caption Translation: Doesn't the Book of Rites say, "Do not take medicine from a doctor whose family has not practiced this profession for at least three generations." How very true this is! In the southern part of Shanghai there was a street vendor selling used items. His son was sick and went to see a Doctor Zhang in Dongjiadu. Zhang rashly used a needle and knife, which caused the patient to bleed incessantly and to die right then and there. It is a common fault in the world that people would seek doctors randomly when they are sick. Yet when the doctor takes human life to be a children's game, it is indeed a severe violation of human feelings and heavenly justice. The saying "Military officials and executioners do not have descendants" refers to those who kill people wrongly. I will add one more to the list: quack doctors should have no descendants.

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 《禮記》不云乎：“醫不三世, 不服其藥。”何其鄭重也。滬城南市有擺舊貨攤者, 其子患外症, 就醫於董家渡之張某。張某妄用針刀, 致病者血溢不止, 立時斃命。夫病急亂投醫, 天下之通病也, 而醫家以人命為兒戲, 實為人情天理所難容。“兵官無後, 刑官無後, ”蓋為枉殺人者言之耳。吾為之進一解曰：庸醫無後

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Title: “Peace Negotiations in the Vietnam War” 越事行成

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 19

Caption Translation: The southern frontier has no peace, and relations between China and France have nearly collapsed. The Emperor and the ministers were increasingly worried and concerned; the common people's indignation was equally deep, and this has been going on for nearly two years. Suddenly, because the emperor tired of the turmoil, he turned toward improving the situation. An Imperial order sent Prime Minister Li to meet with the French Imperial envoy Fournier to sign a peace treaty in order to restore friendship, turn weapons into jade and silk, and to cease the war by negotiations at the dinner table. This indeed means the blessing of the country and good fortune for the people.

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 南服不靖, 中法交誼幾有瓦解土崩之勢。君相之廑懷彌甚, 士民之義憤同深, 於今將二載矣。乃忽焉而天心厭亂, 世運轉機, 欽命李傅相與法欽差福尼兒在津商訂和約, 言歸於好, 化干戈為玉帛, 藉樽俎以折衝。國之福也, 民之幸也。

Comments: Li Hongzhang and the French envoy Fournier signed an agreement in Tianjin to end the war on May 11, 1884, while the French threatened an attack on Canton. The Chinese asked G. Detring, German consul at Canton, to intervene, but it took another year to complete the signing of a treaty. The picture shows the French on the right, Detring on the left with the Chinese, and four French delegation members behind Li Hongzhang.

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Title: “Portrait of Marquis Zeng” 曾襲侯像

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 20

Caption Translation: Marquis Zeng Jiegang [Zeng Jize] is the elder son of Duke Wenzheng [Zeng Guofan], and hails from Xiangxiang county in Hunan province. During the Tongzhi reign (1862-1874), the hairy rebels [Taiping] were quelled, and a celebration was held in the imperial ancestral temple to record the success. All the officials in the Court recommended Wenzheng, who was then promoted to first-class marquis. After Wenzheng’s death, the present marquis inherited his title. In the beginning of the Guangxu reign (1875-1908), the western countries asked China to send officials to stay in their countries to communicate and build up friendship. The Court knew that the marquis was proficient with western sciences, and so sent him to visit England and France as an envoy. At that time, there were fissures in the relationship between Russia and us. Regarding the dispute over Yili, the former envoy to Russia did not fulfill the imperial assignment in dealing with the issue, so the Court selected and dispatched the Marquis to go there, and thus both sides signed the agreement of Livadia [1881, see comment]. During the Vietnamese war, the Emperor ordered the whole Court to discuss the war. Those advocating war and those advocating peace respectively insisted on their opinions. Only the Marquis suggested making substantial efforts in preparing for war in order to preserve peace.

In his letter to Prime Minister Li, each word is precisely to the point. His wisdom takes into account the entire situation, as to where the benefits and harm lie, he balances them for the benefit of tens and hundreds of generations. He is indeed an official like the pillar of a hall. Therefore we respectfully draw his portrait in order to satisfy people in the world who admire him with their whole heart.

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 曾劼剛襲侯, 文正公之長子也, 籍隸湖南湘鄉縣。同治紀元, 髮逆平, 飲至策勳, 舉朝交推文正, 錫爵一等侯, 文正薨, 今侯襲焉。光緒初, 泰西各國請放大臣駐其國, 以聯交誼。朝廷知侯通西學, 命秉節旄出使英法。其時, 俄與我有隙, 伊犁之事, 前使俄者辦事不稱旨, 簡調侯往, 遂訂利瓦諦亞之約。越南之役, 旨下廷議, 主戰主和者各執其說, 惟侯則謂實力備戰, 以保和局。觀其致李傅相書, 字字（走尺）稜, 針針見血。其智周乎全局, 而其利害所伏, 直綜乎十世百世而權其重輕, 斯真柱石之臣也。爰謹敬橅像以饜世之傾心景仰者。附錄：致李中堂書敬啓者：許久未奉賜函, 電報亦甚希簡。。。

Comments: In fact the treaty of Livadia negotiated by Chonghou was rejected, and Zeng negotiated the treaty of St. Petersburg. Zeng's letter to Li Hongzhang is posted on the wall behind him, and translated in van Briessen, p. 56.

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Title: “Money is the Root of All Evil” 見財起意

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 21, 22

Caption Translation:At Ma bridge, over thirty li east of Yangzhou city, there is a small market. It is also a place where passing travelers can seek rest. To the left of the bridge is a cake store which also sells wine and food. A piece of apricot-color curtain hangs on top of a tree branch, which greatly resembles the lonely scene described by the Tang poet: "Chickens cackle in a village inn under moonlight; traces of footsteps left on the frosty bridge." One day, two people from Anhui, Mr. A and Mr. B, traveling on business away from home, passed by that place. The sun was about to set. Feeling thirsty, they came to the store to ask for water. Behind the counter there was a middle-aged woman selling wine. The dishes were filthy, since she was not taking her job seriously.

After their meal, Mr. B told Mr. A, “Today it is too late for us to get to Yangzhou, so I will go to the market to find a place to stay.” He hurried off. Mr. A finished drinking and was about to go and meet B, so he went to the counter to pay for the drink. Seeing that he had money in his purse, the woman deceptively told him she had a room where they could lie down. She lured him in, then suddenly rushed forward to catch his hair and pulled him down. Her husband followed her with knife in hand, and imitating the ancient butcher Chen Ping, who evenly shared meat among the people, they cut A into pieces and put them into the pot. They thought that neither people nor ghosts would know of it.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. B returned to look for Mr. A and the woman replied by saying that he had left a long time ago. Mr. B looked for him but could not find him, and suspected that he went to a brothel. Returning to his residence to stay alone, he was extremely tired and wanted to sleep. The landlord of the residence kept a dog which was used as a watchdog. It entered Mr. B’s room barking violently, and tried to drag Mr. B out by biting his clothes. Mr. B understood that there was something abnormal happening, so he invited several residents to follow the dog where it went. Arriving at the store, the dog barked even more violently. Therefore, the crowd broke down the door to enter, and saw a flickering lamp in the kitchen as well as vapor steaming up from the pot. Uncovering it, they recognized Mr. A’s head. So they seized the four people in the store and sent them to the yamen of Jiangdu county. Soon after the four of them would be hanged in the city market. But for this dog, who knows when the crime against Mr. A could be exposed? This dog is indeed miraculous..

Translator: Paul Vierthaler,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 揚城東三十餘里之馬家橋有小集, 亦旅客往來可以謀棲止者。橋左有餅店, 兼市酒菜, 杏帘一角, 斜挂林稍, 大有“雞聲茅店月, 人跡板橋霜”景象。一日, 有甲乙兩人, 皖籍而懋遷於外者, 過其地。日丸欲墜, 口燥思漿, 乃就飲以解渴。櫃中一中年婦當壚, 滌器蹀躞, 其間不爲意也。食頃, 乙謂甲曰：“今日不及到揚城, 我往集上招寓所。”言已, 匆匆去。甲飲畢, 將往迎乙, 就櫃付酒貲。婦覷其有橐金也, 譌爲有室可以下榻, 誘之入, 突前揪甲髮, 曳令倒地, 夫從背後握刀, 效陳平宰社肉故事, 分切下於鍋, 以爲人不知鬼不覺也未幾, 乙回向索甲, 婦辭以去久, 乙尋之不獲, 疑入煙花叢, 歸寓獨宿, 倦極思寢, 寓主豢一犬, 賴以司閽者, 入室狂吠, 銜衣使出。乙知有異, 邀集寓公數人, 尾犬所至。及該店, 犬益號, 眾於是排闥入, 見竈下有燈熒然, 釜鍋中氣騰騰上, 揭蓋視之, 則甲首尚可辨認也。乃將該店四人扭送江都縣署, 不日將繯首市曹矣。微斯犬, 則甲之沈冤未知何日始能昭雪, 此犬亦神矣哉。

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Title: “A Cultured Man Suffers Abuse” 斯文塗炭

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 23

Caption Translation: As the saying goes, "The poor woman handled golden brocade year after year, but only to make wedding clothes for others.” When scholars study hard but cannot fulfill their ambition to get an official post, they can only rely upon their brush-pens to make a living. How bitter it is! A certain military secretary in Wenzhou was completely illiterate. When he received the appointment this year, he did not have staff assistants. As a former official visited the military site, he invited the official to help him and the official took this miserable job. The military secretary had entrusted the scholar with all his reports and letters, but he pretended to understand everything and arbitrarily changed the scholar’s words. Fearing that the secretary would make a big mistake, the scholar planned to abandon this swamp for the high ground. He asked the secretary for his salary, which, conversely, triggered the secretary’s anger and brought him some blows of the fist instead of the little money he asked for. Truly, a chicken rib is no match for a fist. Alas! Floating on pure waters, gazing on lotus flowers, and eulogizing on virtues—what a beautiful life it could be! If there were a great judge like Wang Zhongbao in this world, perhaps this gentleman could pour out his grievances.

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: “苦恨年年壓金線, 爲他人作嫁衣裳。”士子讀書不得志, 專恃管城子以覓生活, 傷矣。溫州參戎某, 胸無點墨者也, 今年接篆時, 因未請幕友, 遂以前任某遊戎所, 延之, 某甲承其乏。一切詳文咨扎【劄】, 既經委之某甲之手, 而又強作解事, 胡亂改竄。某甲懼其誤事也, 思爲出谷遷喬之計。向索薪水, 翻攖其怒, 竟以雞肋奉尊拳。噫, 泛綠水、依芙蓉、庾景行, 何其麗也。世有王仲寶, 此君庶可吐氣乎。金蟾香畫

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Title: “More Tally Sticks of Longevity” 海屋添籌

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 24

Caption Translation: Near the east archway in Moling city (today’s Nanjing area) there lives a Mr. Zhang who is a runner for the county government. The other day was his birthday, and he specially summoned two groups of women singers to perform together in his home. Stringed and woodwind instruments were played together and guest tables were laid out. All the people that entered the house toasted the host’s longevity, and the host replied, “How happy am I! This is one of the happiest days of my life.” Not long after, good fortune retreated and misfortune emerged. Disaster came in a flash. His superior official resented him for his forwardness, so he issued an order to have him taken to the Court where he was beaten thirty times. After that, the official told the runner, “I have added some more tally sticks to your longevity.”

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 秣陵東牌樓有張姓者, 縣役也。前日爲懸弧吉日, 特召兩部女伶在家合演。絲竹交作, 賓筵四張, 入室者舉爲主人壽。主人曰：“樂哉, 亦極人生快意事也

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Title: “Regretting an Official's Departure with Profound Respect and Love” 去思滋永

Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Page Number: 25

Caption Translation: Engraving steles to eulogize an official’s deeds, blocking the road and begging him to stay—officials from past to present are different, but the people are the same. Chief-Inspector Yu was promoted by imperial order from military defense official of Tianhe district to civil governor of Fengtian.

When he was in charge, his administration was strict and impartial, without injustice or deceit. Therefore, all the people in the district respected him as a god and loved him as their parent. Now that he is leaving his post, the literati and the elderly saw him off along the road, and women and children caught hold of his carriage wheels to stop him. Mr. Yu also turned around and greeted them with pleasure. To his superiors he can well repay the imperial favor; to those below him he can well console people for their sufferings. How we wish that all administrators were like Mr. Yu!

Translator: Wang Guojun,
revised by Peter C. Perdue

Caption Text: 鐫碑頌政, 遮道乞留, 古今有異治, 古今無異民也。天河兵備道裕觀察長奉命升授奉天府尹。溯在任時, 政尚嚴明, 毋枉毋縱, 故闔境士民畏之如神明, 愛之如父母。今去任, 紳耆祖餞, 婦孺攀轅, 公亦嘗顧而樂之也。上有以報國恩, 下有以慰民隱, 安得天下臨民者而盡如公哉！

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